Wales rugby great Barry John has died at the age of 79.

The former Wales and British and Irish Lions fly-half died peacefully in hospital, his family announced.

John, who was nicknamed The King by New Zealand journalists after he inspired the Lions’ famous 1971 Test series victory over the All Blacks, won 25 Wales caps between 1966 and 1972.

He also played in five Lions Tests on their 1968 and 1971 tours, before retiring from rugby at the age of 27.

A statement released by John’s family read: “Barry John died peacefully today at the University Hospital of Wales surrounded by his loving wife and four children.

“He was a loving dad to his 11 grandchildren and much-loved brother.”

John played his club rugby for Llanelli and then Cardiff, where he struck up a half-back partnership with Gareth Edwards that went on to flourish for Wales and the Lions.

John was partnered by Edwards in 23 of his Wales international appearances, plus all five Lions Tests – one against South Africa and four against New Zealand.

Another star of Welsh rugby’s golden era, full-back JPR Williams, died four weeks ago.

Barry John was arguably rugby union’s first superstar and a mercurial player whose wizardry gained comparisons with footballing genius George Best.

Nicknamed ‘The King’ by New Zealand journalists after he famously orchestrated the All Blacks’ downfall during an unforgettable Test series against the 1971 British and Irish Lions, John was rugby royalty in anyone’s language.

A miner’s son from Carmarthenshire, John, who has died at the age of 79, enjoyed a spectacular career for Llanelli, Cardiff, Wales, the Lions and Barbarians.

At international level, it might have lasted only six years before he announced his shock retirement, citing pressures of fame and expectation as he stepped down before his 28th birthday.

But John’s impact on the sport could never be understated as an imperious fly-half whose seemingly-effortless ability to beat defenders often defied logic and gained him worldwide admiration.

In his autobiography, John’s famed half-back partner Sir Gareth Edwards wrote: “He (John) had this marvellous easiness in the mind, reducing problems to their simplest form, backing his own talent all the time.

“One success on the field bred another and soon he gave off a cool superiority which spread to others in the side.”

And another revered Wales and Lions colleague, Gerald Davies, said: “Whilst the hustle and bustle went on around him, he could divorce himself from it all.

“He kept his emotions in check and a careful rein on the surrounding action. The game would go according to his will and no-one else’s.”

Born in the village of Cefneithin to William and Vimy John, he was one of six children. All three of his brothers – Delville, Alan and Clive – played rugby.

John began his career at Llanelli, making a first team debut against Moseley two days before his 19th birthday in 1964. Two years later, he was capped by Wales and in 1967 he moved to Cardiff, where a partnership with Edwards quickly began to flourish.

Lions tours followed in 1968 and 1971, with that latter trip remaining the only time New Zealand have suffered a Test series loss to the Lions.

John scored 30 of the Lions’ 48 points across four Tests, and the flickering black and white television pictures showcased him in all his glory as a player who, like Manchester United star Best, often performed as though from a different planet.

Adulation naturally accompanied him – he was third in the 1971 BBC Sports Personality of the Year behind winner Princess Anne and runner-up Best – and took part in the corporation’s ‘Superstars’ programme alongside fellow household names such as Bobby Moore, Jackie Stewart, Joe Bugner and Tony Jacklin.

Then, 25 caps into his Wales career and after playing five Tests for the Lions, John called it a day.

He made his announcement in the Sunday Mirror newspaper, stepping away at a time when he was the sport’s biggest name.

“I was the first rugby pop star, superstar, call it whatever you want,” John recalled in an interview with Wales Online.

“I was third in BBC Sports Personality, then a month later I was the first rugby player to be the subject of ‘This is Your Life’. I was coming off the pitch against England at Twickenham and there is Eamonn Andrews with his big red book.

“I didn’t want to retire, but it was the circumstances. People didn’t understand how you had to go to work, how you had to be fit for international-level rugby.

“I was getting lethargic, tired. You can’t be like that on the international stage, especially at number 10.

“The invitations just flew in thick and fast. I had no time to myself, just knew I wasn’t as sharp mentally or physically as I wanted to be.

“I was up there (North Wales) doing a promotion for the bank. Youngsters were out, lots of people to greet me. I said a few words, and as I was being introduced to someone, she curtsied. Not a major one, a little one, but a curtsy nonetheless.

“That convinced me this was not normal. I was becoming more and more detached from real people. I didn’t want this any more.”

John’s career might have been relatively short and sweet by modern-day standards, but his legacy was one that most players could only dream of.

Wales won three Five Nations titles, a Grand Slam and two Triple Crowns during his stint on the international stage, and he remained in rugby after playing, reporting and writing columns for the Daily Express and Wales on Sunday.

John, who lived in Cardiff, is survived by his wife Janet and children Kathryn, Lucy, Anne and David.

Wales rugby great Barry John has died at the age of 79.

The former Wales and British and Irish Lions fly-half died peacefully in hospital, his family announced.

John, who was nicknamed The King by New Zealand journalists after he inspired the Lions’ famous 1971 Test series victory over the All Blacks, won 25 Wales caps between 1966 and 1972.

He also played in five Lions Tests on their 1968 and 1971 tours, before retiring from rugby at the age of 27.

A statement released by John’s family read: “Barry John died peacefully today at the University Hospital of Wales surrounded by his loving wife and four children.

“He was a loving dad to his 11 grandchildren and much-loved brother.”

John played his club rugby for Llanelli and then Cardiff, where he struck up a half-back partnership with Gareth Edwards that went on to flourish for Wales and the Lions.

John was partnered by Edwards in 23 of his Wales international appearances, plus all five Lions Tests – one against South Africa and four against New Zealand.

Another star of Welsh rugby’s golden era, full-back JPR Williams, died four weeks ago.

George Ford has called on England to build on the attacking endeavour shown against Italy when their Guinness Six Nations continues against Wales at Twickenham.

Although outscored 3-2 on the try count, England honoured their pre-match pledge to play with greater freedom after releasing the handbrake imposed by the kick-focussed tactics used during the first year of Steve Borthwick’s reign.

Roaming wing Tommy Freeman, scrum-half Alex Mitchell, debutant Ethan Roots and Ford himself were influential in a pleasing pivot away from the conservatism seen at the World Cup.

While England’s ambition dimmed after half-time of the 27-24 victory in Rome, Ford views the opener as a promising start.

“I know the scoreboard says it was very close, but that second half, we were pretty comfortable,” Ford said.

“The main positives for me were how we responded to them scoring tries, how it felt when we were trying to fire shots in attack and then how we controlled the game in the second half.

“Our intent to play and move the ball was good and I’m really pleased about that. It’s always a balance. You always want to make good decisions and do the right thing at the right time.

“At the very front of our minds is the intent to play, the intent to get behind the ball and attack the defence and go and try and break the line and scores tries.

“Since coming into camp two weeks ago, that’s been the biggest mindset shift from us as a team.

“This is the first game and we’ve been trying to implement that. We could have made better decisions a couple of times but playing in it was pretty exciting. We want to build this.

“I want to keep the intent to play, break the line and score tries and probably pick our execution up when we’ve got the ball.

“We understand it’s going to be a tough day – it always is against Wales – but we’re really excited to keep on getting better.

“There has been a mindset shift in defence and attack that is really enjoyable to be a part of.”

For the first time since 2019, England began the Six Nations with a win as the Jamie George era began with five debuts being issued amid a call from the new captain to believe they can win the title.

Front runners Ireland will have a major say in that given their demolition of France in Marseille, but – in the meantime – Ford values a start that produced few mishaps other than lapses in the new defensive system.

“Winning the first game is huge. You always want to start this tournament with a win. It gives you a bit of momentum, confidence,” Ford said.

“You want to win that first game because you go back home to Twickenham against Wales, which is such an exciting game anyway, with a good result so that you can go again.”

Rio Dyer believes that Wales will need to back themselves and build on a stunning second-half display against Scotland when they tackle England at Twickenham next Saturday.

Although Wales lost a pulsating Guinness Six Nations clash 27-26 to the Scots, it could not overshadow the vintage rugby they conjured from nowhere.

Trailing by 27 points with almost half the game left, Wales were heading towards record Six Nations defeat territory at a frightening speed.

But four tries in 20 minutes from Dyer, James Botham, Aaron Wainwright and Alex Mann, plus three Ioan Lloyd conversions, left Scotland hanging on.

“We were in our shell during that first-half, ” Wales wing Dyer said.

“We were hitting it up and getting put on the back foot, so the only thing we could do then was to kick it.

“Gats (Wales head coach Warren Gatland) said at half-time: ‘let’s actually play, let’s go out there, we have got nothing to lose now. We are under the pump, so let’s go out and show what we can actually do’.

“He was softly spoken, he wasn’t shouting at people, he just brought the boys in and said we can’t be putting out performances like that in the first-half in the first game of the Six Nations.

“I think it was amazing to see how the boys stuck together.

“We are a young squad who have only been in camp for two weeks. It is just about getting used to each other, but throughout that second-half we showed what we could do.”

More of the same is likely to be required against England, whose recent Twickenham record in the fixture is an imposing one.

Wales have lost their last seven Tests in south-west London since claiming a 2015 World Cup pool win, with just two Six Nations victories – in 2008 and 2012 – since the competition expanded 24 years ago.

Dyer added: “I think that kind of second-half should give the boys the confidence to say we can back ourselves a little bit more than we did in the first-half.

“Personally, I just think it is that confidence to play. We need to back ourselves, and that was the message at half-time before we went back out there.

“Everyone is here for a reason, everyone has got things they can do, and let’s not go into our shells.

“It is about pushing ourselves as a young squad to build the momentum on to next week.”

Changes look likely to the Wales line-up against England, headlined by a fit-again George North’s anticipated return in midfield.

And given the considerable impact made by a number of his substitutes, Gatland could easily hand starts to players like scrum-half Tomos Williams, hooker Elliot Dee and prop Keiron Assiratti.

Gatland said: “We will go there (Twickenham) with a lot of confidence we can build on that second-half and belief. That is the biggest thing, really.

“I think we can go there and say we know what we want to do.”

Scotland captain Finn Russell reflected on a range of emotions after his team ended their Cardiff hoodoo by thwarting an astonishing Wales fightback at the Principality Stadium.

A nerve-shredding 27-26 victory was Scotland’s first win in the Welsh capital since 2002, but it did not come before they were left staring at a 12th successive defeat as Wales threatened arguably the greatest Six Nations recovery act.

Having helped orchestrate a 27-point lead two minutes into the second half, Russell could have been excused for thinking it was a case of job done.

But Wales had other ideas, scoring four tries during 20 minutes of mayhem that included yellow cards for Scotland pair George Turner and Sione Tuipulotu, transforming what had been a hopelessly one-sided encounter.

Scotland also conceded 14 successive penalties, such was the ferocity and unrelenting nature of Wales’ all-court game.

Just when it was required, though, Scotland showed courage and composure during the closing minutes to dominate territory and go close to claiming a bonus-point fourth try.

“We had a really good first half and a brilliant start to the second, then a bit of complacency crept in,” Russell said.

“We had discipline issues in the second half which led to two yellow cards and them really getting on the front foot.

“But it showed that we’ve come quite a long way that we managed to win the game in the end. We held tough and did not allow them to get anything towards the end.

“I am probably a little bit disappointed with the second half, but overall it is a great start to the tournament for us. We’ve not won here in 22 years.

“We managed to dig it out in the end, but it shows how tough a place it (Cardiff) is to come. Wales never went away, and that was the pressure the team put us under, but also that the crowd getting involved.

“I’ve played in games with Scotland like that when we have lost, and that was the most pleasing thing, that we managed to find a way to win even though momentum, the crowd, everything was against us towards the end.

“There was loads of good stuff in that first half. With the way everything unfolded in the second half, I am a little bit down, a little bit frustrated, but when we look back there will be loads of positives to take.

“It (the second-half performance) was nowhere near where we need to be. But that is something we will address on Monday and we will build on the back of it and get ready for France (next weekend).”

Les Bleus will arrive at Murrayfield following a crushing defeat against Ireland, and Scotland can also take heart from beating France five times out of the last seven attempts in Edinburgh.

Their mission, though, will be undertaken without lock Richie Gray, who could miss the rest of this season’s Six Nations due to a biceps injury.

And flanker Luke Crosbie is a major doubt after hurting his shoulder, with Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend stating: “Both are in a lot of pain.

“Richie and the medics knew straight away it was a biceps injury. So that doesn’t look good for this Championship.

“Luke was a shoulder injury. It’s a painful one and that might settle. Let’s hope he has not done any significant damage there.”

Ireland, England and Scotland made winning starts to the Guinness Six Nations on a dramatic opening weekend that provided many twists and turns.

Here, the PA news agency examines five things we learned from round one.

England broaden their horizons

While a too-close-for-comfort victory over Italy hardly paints a flattering picture of their performance in Rome, tactically the game was a welcome change in direction for England.

True to the word of Steve Borthwick and Jamie George, their head coach and captain, greater ambition was shown in attack than at the World Cup.

Marauding wing Tommy Freeman roaming the Stadio Olimpico provided the most obvious evidence of a change in thinking, but the sight of scrum-half Alex Mitchell taking on defenders in a way not seen at a kick-heavy France 2023 was possibly more telling.

Italy’s near miss

Italy making an encouraging start to the Six Nations before falling away in the later rounds is a familiar theme, but in Rome there were many impressive moments from the tournament’s perennial strugglers.

Not only was it the smallest margin of defeat in their 31 Tests against England, but the inspired Azzurri were sharp in attack with Tommaso Allan’s first-half try brilliantly constructed and finished.

They led 17-14 at the interval and outscored England 3-2 on the try count and should march into round two with a renewed sense of purpose even if it is Ireland they face.

A star is born

What Ireland’s rivals would give to have their own ‘Big’ Joe McCarthy, the hulking second-row who laid waste to France’s pack in a remarkable victory in Marseille.

A man-of-the-match performance on his Six Nations debut was evidence of his nation’s depth at lock with even the outstanding James Ryan unable to force his way into the starting XV.

McCarthy’s physicality was a throwback to old school tight five forward play and he took on the role of enforcer by bossing the collisions and breakdown as well as carrying hard. Every team should have one.

Les Bleus in post-World Cup limbo

The question of how France would recover from the crushing disappointment of exiting their home World Cup in the quarter-finals was answered emphatically at the Stade Velodrome.

Their hangover from the tournament was most visible in a passive defence, which was breached easily by Ireland.

It could be a long Six Nations unless Fabien Galthie finds the right buttons to push psychologically as well as providing a new sense of purpose in the wake of their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity being snatched away by a one-point defeat by South Africa.

The great entertainers

Scotland feature heavily in the recent Netflix documentary on the Six Nations and they are undoubtedly box office, although not always for reasons they would appreciate.

From amassing a sensational 27-0 lead against Wales in swashbuckling fashion to almost falling victim to the greatest comeback in Championship history, they can dazzle and confound in equal measure.

And with magician fly-half Finn Russell – the self-anointed Lionel Messi of rugby – pulling the strings, you can not take your eyes off them.

Andy Farrell insists he had no concerns about Ireland suffering a World Cup hangover during Friday’s thumping Guinness Six Nations win over France.

Both sides went into a blockbuster championship opener in Marseille on the back of having their dreams of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup shattered by narrow quarter-finals exits.

Reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland emphatically responded with a 38-17 bonus-point success at Stade Velodrome to begin their title defence with a bang and help ease memories of a painful last-eight loss to New Zealand in October.

“There are no hangovers with us,” said head coach Farrell.

“There’s a realisation of where we’re at and where we need to go to next and what we need to learn and that’s it.

“Hangovers are for tomorrow; we’re three months down the line – that’s a big hangover, if you can’t get over it in that time.

“We talk about our past performances all the time, sometimes we go back three years to say we learnt this or whatever.

“Of course we’ll learn big things from the All Blacks defeat but it’s not a hangover, it’s just the next step in how we progress going forward as a team and that’s how it should be in my opinion.”

Tries from Jamison Gibson-Park, Tadhg Beirne, Calvin Nash, Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher stunned France to silence the majority of a capacity crowd at Stade Velodrome.

Les Bleus had little answer to their dominant visitors and played around 60 minutes of the match with 14 men after Paul Willemse was sin-binned and then sent off following high tackles on Andrew Porter and Caelan Doris.

Despite Ireland registering their biggest victory away to France, new captain Peter O’Mahony, who succeeded Johnny Sexton following the World Cup, believes there is significant room for improvement moving towards a round-two clash with Italy.

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“We’ve been on a journey for a long time and we’ve had lots of great experiences and banked them and we’ve had some tough ones and banked them as well,” said O’Mahony.

“It’s always about getting better and it was another step for the group.

“We spoke about it being a huge occasion for us but, at the same time, it’s just another game for us and how calm and composed we could really be in an environment like that out there.

“It was a great test for the group. We’ve plenty to work on but there were parts of the game that felt like a good performance.”

Gregor Townsend feared another dramatic Cardiff collapse would cost Scotland their first win over Wales at the Principality Stadium for 22 years.

Head coach Townsend was an assistant to Andy Robinson in 2010 when Wales scored 17 points in the final few minutes in Cardiff to incredibly turn a 14-24 deficit in to a 31-24 victory.

But this time Scotland – who were 27-0 ahead a few minutes into the second half – withstood a Welsh onslaught to win 27-26 and get their Guinness Six Nations campaign off to a positive start.

“It was a bit like 2010 and it went into my thoughts as the second half went on,” said Townsend after Scotland had ended a run of 11 straight defeats in Cardiff stretching back to 2002.

“I remember the atmosphere that day when Wales had the momentum behind them and came back on the scoreboard.

“The same happened today, fortunately we stayed ahead and we were able to play well in the final five minutes.

“A lot of effort went into that last five minutes – we should have scored a try and we felt there were a couple of penalties that could have gone our way in the last passage – but it was past 80 minutes and we got the win.”

Wing Duhan Van Der Merwe scored two tries and prop Pierre Schoeman also touched down, while skipper Finn Russell was flawless with the boot in landing 12 points.

After Van Der Merwe sliced through for a stunning second try just after the restart, Scotland were on course to eclipse last year’s record win over Wales.

But that was not to be and Townsend was grateful to see Scotland hang on while cursing significant injuries to forwards Richie Gray and Luke Crosbie.

“Both are in a lot of pain,” Townsend said. “Richie and the medics knew straight away it was a bicep injury. So that doesn’t look good for this Championship.

“Luke was a shoulder injury. It’s a painful one and that might settle.

“Not for next week (against France at Murrayfield), but let’s hope he’s not done any significant damage there. It’s a blow to lose two players from our starting team.”

On the nail-biting victory, Townsend added: “We were accurate and put Wales under pressure in the first half.

“Those two tries were really good reward and to have that cushion should have made it a more comfortable second half.

“The fact that it didn’t is a concern for us, but a lot of that was due to the penalty count (16 to four against Scotland) and the numerical advantage Wales had for 20 minutes.”

Wales made the most of second-half yellow cards for George Turner and Sione Tuipulotu to turn the contest on its head.

James Botham, Rio Dyer, Aaron Wainwright and debutant Alex Mann crossed, with Ioan Lloyd kicking three conversions, as Wales secured two losing bonus points.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland, whose young side head to Twickenham next Saturday to play England, said: Did we give Scotland too much respect in that first half?

“They were fully loaded and we’re a young team. To do what we did, be 27-0 down, other teams might have shown less character and start thinking about next week, even throw in the towel.

“We didn’t do that. They kept fighting and put themselves in a position to win. That showed real character and we’ve just got to play like we did in the second half.

“You can’t coach experience. When you’re out there in front of 75,000 people making that much noise and the pace is quicker than club rugby, sometimes that takes time for players to get used to.

“We’ll need a little bit of leeway, but it’s still Test rugby and it’s about winning. That’s what we’ve got to focus on.”

Scotland ended 22 years of hurt in Cardiff after they thwarted a spectacular Wales fightback to win an extraordinary Guinness Six Nations clash 27-26.

It was Scotland’s first win in the Welsh capital since 2002 – ending a run of 11 successive defeats – to set up a mouth-watering Murrayfield encounter against France next Saturday.

But Wales made them fight every inch of the way after the Scots had breezed into a 27-point lead after 42 minutes, with wing Duhan van der Merwe scoring two tries including a virtuoso long-range effort while prop Pierre Schoeman also touched down.

Captain Finn Russell kicked three conversions and two penalties, but it only told half the story.

Flanker James Botham’s try sparked the Welsh recovery then he was followed over the line by Rio Dyer, Aaron Wainwright and debutant Alex Mann, with Ioan Lloyd kicking three conversions.

Scotland found themselves on the rack after hooker George Turner and centre Sione Tuipulotu were sin-binned during the second period, yet they successfully closed the game out and left Wales wondering what might have been.

Both teams started brightly under the stadium’s closed roof and Scotland struck first when Russell kicked an angled 20-metre penalty, before quick lineout ball gave Tuipulotu a chance that Wales managed to defend.

Wales, though, could not stop wave after wave of attacks that led to the game’s opening try after 11 minutes.

Russell created initial space and after a strong run by wing Kyle Steyn, Scotland’s forwards took over and Schoeman crossed from close range. Russell’s conversion made it 10-0.

Scotland enjoyed scrum and lineout dominance and they controlled the opening quarter, even if Wales established promising attacking positions at times.

Russell extended Scotland’s lead with a second penalty – Wales wing Josh Adams was punished for throwing the ball away and denying Scotland a quick lineout throw – and alarm bells were beginning to ring for Gatland’s team.

Inevitably, Russell was at the heart of everything good about Scotland’s magic and he weaved his magic to devastating effect 10 minutes before half-time.

Scotland set up a strong position inside Wales’ 22 and the rest was all about Russell, who ghosted into space, threw a half-dummy pass, then delivered a try on a plate for Van der Merwe.

There appeared no way back for Wales, with their problems showing no sign of abating as fly-half Sam Costelow went off for a head injury assessment as Scotland led 20-0 at the interval.

It got even worse for Wales just two minutes into the second period when Van der Merwe carved them open from deep to claim a blistering solo touchdown, and Russell’s conversion put further daylight between the teams.

Costelow failed his HIA and Gatland made three half-time changes, sending on scrum-half Tomos Williams, hooker Elliot Dee and prop Keiron Assiratti, and Wales opened their account when Botham crashed over.

Turner was sin-binned for an offence in the build-up to Botham’s try and Wales struck again, this time through Dyer, with Lloyd’s conversion cutting the gap suddenly and unexpectedly to 15 points.

It was panic stations for Scotland when Tuipulotu went into the sin bin and Wales punished them immediately as Wainwright touched down for a third try in 13 minutes, with Lloyd converting.

The capacity crowd could scarcely believe what they were witnessing, but it was Williams’s influence off the bench that proved key as he injected pace and purpose into Wales’ game.

And when Mann claimed a 68th-minute try, again converted by Lloyd, the improbable dream edged closer, with Scotland looking bewildered and devoid of answers.

But they somehow held out, Wales left with the consolation of two losing bonus points.

Jamie George is convinced England can win the Guinness Six Nations but accepts they must learn fast after edging Italy 27-24 in Rome.

England were outscored 3-2 on the try count and were outplayed in the first half, which they finished 17-14 behind, but they rallied with an important Alex Mitchell try and two penalties from George Ford.

It was the closest Italy had come to beating them in 31 Tests between the rivals and even allowing for the five new caps in Red Rose ranks, it was a shaky start to post-World Cup rebuilding.

While England were labouring to victory at the Stadio Olimpico, Ireland looked sensational in a crushing win over France in Marseille the previous evening.

When asked is there is enough quality in the team to challenge Ireland, George said: “Absolutely. I don’t want anyone to be involved in this squad if they don’t genuinely believe we can go and challenge the best and win this tournament.

“Looking at Ireland, they were very impressive. Not many teams go to France and perform like that. It’s a blueprint for us, and any team, to look at how they approached that game.

“For us, we’re going to be learning fast and we need to make sure we learn our lessons, being very clear about what we want to go after this game.

“We’ve got a great opportunity to be back in front of our fans against Wales next weekend and really give them something to smile about.”

England have a new defence coach in Felix Jones and at times they were exposed by an inspired Italy, who took advantage of the lack of familiarity with the new system to engineer three tries.

“I’m very pleased the players found a way to change and win the game,” head coach Steve Borthwick said.

“There were areas we improved upon and it was brilliant to see five players making their debuts in the Six Nations, which doesn’t happen very often.

“But having said that there were plenty of areas we need to be better. Italy scored too easily and we need to look very closely at things that need to be improved around our defence.

Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada took little comfort from knowing that it was the closest the Azzurri had come to beating England in 31 attempts.

“When I spoke to the players and coaches in the changing room, no one was happy with this narrow defeat,” Quesada said.

“That’s something that’s very important for me because I didn’t care to look at the closest gap in history.

“I’m proud of the spirit showed by the team. England were close to our tryline many times but we kept them out, which is the team we want to be.”

England survived a scare at the Stadio Olimpico to launch their post-World Cup rebuild with a 27-24 victory over Italy in their Guinness Six Nations opener.

For only the third time in the history of a rivalry spanning 31 Tests, inspired Italy led at the interval, but their 17-13 advantage was methodically picked apart by Steve Borthwick’s men.

Tommy Freeman proved England’s most effective weapon in attack, the Northampton wing roaming the pitch in search of impactful moments, but it was Elliot Daly and Alex Mitchell who finished the tries.

As promised by new captain Jamie George, the favourites played with greater freedom and there was less kicking than in the first year of Borthwick’s reign, at least until the focus switched to grinding Italy down in the final half-hour.

But overall the more exciting rugby was played by the Azzurri, who showed ingenuity and ambition in their pursuit of a maiden victory against their rivals and their second try scored by Tommaso Allan was a beauty.

New caps Ethan Roots, Fraser Dingwall, Fin Smith, Chandler Cunningham-South and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso brought a freshness to England, who ended their four-year stretch of beginning the Six Nations with a defeat, but the initial outlook was far less rosy.

They lost replacement prop Ellis Genge to a foot injury shortly before kick-off and that was only the start of their problems as early enterprise from Italy engineered a try for Alessandro Garbisi.

It rewarded their brighter start and came when Lorenzo Cannone was sent through a gap, with Garbisi able to scoop up the offload.

With Allan and George Ford exchanging penalties the score read 10-3, but the deficit provided the jolt England needed as Freeman glided into space and delivered the scoring pass to Daly.

The try had been coming but it was quickly overshadowed by a stunning riposte from Italy, whose precise passing and clever running off set-piece ball was executed beautifully for Allan to score.

Two penalties by Ford kept England snapping at the Azzurri’s heels at half-time and they needed to regroup quickly, particularly in defence, to spare themselves an unwanted slice of history.

Reassurance came when Mitchell jinked and spun his way over the whitewash in the 45th minute and for the first time the visitors led.

Italy’s play now lacked its earlier precision and they were pinned deep in their own half as England tightened the screw with Ford landing successive penalties to propel them 10 points ahead.

Handling errors cost the Azzurri time and again and their line-out continued to malfunction in an exasperating period for the hosts that also saw Allan miss an important penalty.

Daly was sent to the sin-bin for a trip as Italy hunted the try that would haul them back into contention, but they were unable to produce any more magic as the upset slipped from their fingertips despite a last-gasp Monty Ioane touch down.

Ireland lock Joe McCarthy admitted he battled nerves and fears of being over-hyped ahead of his eye-catching Guinness Six Nations debut in Friday evening’s crushing demolition of France.

The towering 22-year-old was selected ahead of James Ryan and Iain Henderson in Marseille and justified the faith of Andy Farrell with a man-of-the-match display in a record-breaking 38-17 win.

His powerful performance alongside second-row partner Tadhg Beirne helped silence a stunned Stade Velodrome crowd en route to Ireland’s biggest victory away to the pre-tournament favourites.

“There was obviously a lot of distraction, the atmosphere is crazy, it’s hard to hear yourself think in these games,” said McCarthy, who won his sixth Test cap.

“I was quite nervous in the week because it was a big opportunity, playing my first Six Nations game.

“I just kept going back to the process and (had) loads of great second rows giving me help in the camp.

“The place was rocking. Again, you’re trying not to get over-hyped, because I’ve definitely had games before where you’re too fired up and you might start off a bit off.

“I was trying to chill as much as I could and keep the heart rate down.

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“I kind of like playing aggressively and flying around the place. I just need to keep looking forward, there’s plenty more to do.”

McCarthy’s only previous international starts came in a Rugby World Cup warm-up victory against Italy and a routine success over minnows Romania at last autumn’s tournament in France.

The youngest member of Farrell’s 34-man Six Nations squad gained further attention following his impressive outing against Les Bleus after presenting his man-of-the-match medal to his elder brother Andrew.

“It was hard to miss him there, he was looking like a leprechaun in the crowd – a big Irish blazer,” he said.

“It was good to see the family after the game, it was special.”

Tadhg Beirne says Ireland are brimming with “massive belief” after launching their Guinness Six Nations title defence with a landmark demolition of pre-tournament favourites France.

Andy Farrell’s reigning Grand Slam champions made a statement of intent in Marseille with a stunning 38-17 bonus-point win to propel themselves into pole position for further championship glory.

Ireland were a class above at Stade Velodrome, albeit their cause was aided by a first-half red card for France second-row Paul Willemse.

Munster lock Beirne, who claimed the second of five Irish tries en route to his country’s biggest victory away to Les Bleus, said the performance was a “special feeling”.

“You can’t really expect to beat France by a score like that,” he said.

“You always think it’s going to be a tight game and maybe if there wasn’t a red card it might have been a bit tighter but who knows?

“We also knew that with our ability and the way we play that we were going to be able to take it to this French team.

“Within this group, there’s a massive belief. It’s such an enjoyable group to be with and such an enjoyable group to play with; the way we play we all love it.

“Everyone’s involved and I felt from the get-go that we were just on it.

“It’s a special feeling when you’re in a game and everyone is doing their job right and everything is flowing.”

Both sides went into a mouth-watering tournament curtain-raiser on the back of agonising World Cup quarter-finals exits.

Jamison Gibson-Park, Six Nations debutant Calvin Nash, Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher were also on the scoresheet on Friday evening to ensure Farrell’s men bounced back from their last-eight World Cup exit to New Zealand.

Man of the match went to 22-year-old Leinster lock Joe McCarthy, who more than justified his selection ahead of James Ryan and Iain Henderson by producing a colossal display on his first appearance in the championship.

Beirne believes there is plenty more to come from his second-row partner, affectionately dubbed ‘Big Joe’.

“Well, he certainly was Big Joe out there,” said Beirne.

“He was physical, he did exactly what everyone was hoping that he would do and everything that we expected him to do. He does it in training, he’s so athletic and credit to him.

“What a first start in the Six Nations for Joe. There’s a lot more to come from him for sure.”

Ireland move on to a second-round clash at home to Italy after beginning the post Johnny Sexton era with a bang.

Fly-half Jack Crowley filled the void left by Sexton’s retirement, overcoming some errors to nail each of his five conversions and add a penalty.

Back-row forward Caelan Doris praised the impact of Test rookies Crowley, Nash and McCarthy.

“Momentum’s big in the Six Nations, we know that from previous years and it’s a pretty tough start coming over here,” he said.

“It’s a bit of a cauldron here, the French supporters are like no others in terms of volume – apart from the Irish, of course.

“We were aware of what we were coming into and it was just about playing our game.

“Obviously we’ve lost key figures, like Johnny, over the last number of months but other guys stepped up and it was a great night.

“It was class to see the likes of Joe and Jack step up massively and put in great performances.”

Andy Farrell hailed Ireland’s ruthlessness and composure after their Guinness Six Nations title defence was launched with a record-breaking five-try demolition of 14-man France.

The reigning Grand Slam champions propelled themselves into pole position for further championship glory by dismantling the ragged pre-tournament favourites 38-17 in Marseille.

Ireland’s bonus-point success, secured by tries from Jamison Gibson-Park, Tadhg Beirne, Calvin Nash, Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher, plus 13 points from Jack Crowley, was their largest winning margin away to France.

Les Bleus’ quest for victory at a largely subdued Stade Velodrome was damaged by the 32nd-minute dismissal of lock Paul Willemse.

“We’d take any type of win here in Marseille to kick off the Six Nations but the more the game was going on, the more you saw a performance building,” said head coach Farrell.

“I thought we got exactly what we deserved in the end.

“Our composure, it wasn’t all singing all dancing and the French side was always going to pose questions and the crowd was always going to get behind them.

“But we managed to silence them quite a lot through good composure.

“The main thing for me would be our ability to stay on it for the full 80 minutes and keep attacking the game.

“When you’re playing against 14 men for a long period, sometimes subconsciously you tend to shut up shop a little bit more,

“I thought our intent was pretty good and we were pretty ruthless when we needed to be, then obviously on top of that I thought our line-out in attack and defence was outstanding.”

Both sides came into a mouth-watering tournament curtain-raiser on the back of agonising World Cup quarter-finals exits.

Ireland began in the ascendancy but received a helping hand from the indiscipline of Willemse, who was sent off in the 32nd minute following a high hit on Caelan Doris having previously been sin-binned for a similar challenge on Andrew Porter.

Scores either side of half-time from Damian Penaud and Paul Gabrillagues and seven points from the boot of Thomas Ramos gave the hosts hope but Farrell’s men were a class above.

New Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony, who spent a spell in the sin bin in the aftermath of Gabrillagues’ try for bringing down the maul, said: “I don’t think it gets any better really.

“With the stress of the last couple of days I’d have given the whole lot up for a win tonight.

“Away from home, first game up, Friday night, Marseille, the Velodrome, I’d have been a happy man packing the whole lot in tomorrow morning if you’d given me the chance to take a win.

“It’s the biggest margin that we’ve beaten France by.

“I remember as a young fella watching Irish teams and you’d be hoping that they’d hang on in there, whereas it’s a different animal now.”

France were often rudderless in the absence of star man Antoine Dupont, who is sitting out this year’s championship to focus on his country’s sevens squad for the Paris Olympics.

Les Bleus head coach Fabien Galthie said: “It’s clear that the attack game wasn’t really up to scratch, we dropped the ball, had less speed. We need to up our game in attack and defence.

“The important thing is we pick ourselves up and assume that defeat.”

Asked about Willemse’s indiscretions, Galthie replied: “I’m not going to speak about the future of this great player who was doing all he could to defend for the French team.

“They were technical errors, we know the referees don’t give any ground when the head is involved and that is quite right.”