Six Nations: All points North as Wales face Scotland

(Above: Hooker Dylan Hartley of England in action against Scotland. Pictures: Getty)

This has been a week when football has managed, on and off the field, to deliver almost ludicrous drama. Who remembers now the United comeback from three-nil down against Chelsea?

Instead a cocktail of alleged racism, an Italian TV interview, and the verdict of a jury have left England looking for a new manager, Spurs seemingly certain to be soon doing the same, Harry Redknapp likely to need more bank accounts than one named after his dog, such is the demand for his services, and Fabio Capello left with plenty of time to ponder how to spend the 20 million quid he earned courtesy of the Football Association. My only advice to Fabio would be don’t put it in a bank account in Monaco.

Read more: The remarkable survival story of Six Nations rugby

But rugby at least can pride itself this week in delivering some extraordinary game-related excitement. After week one of the Six Nations fans were left to ponder one of the finest matches of recent years in Dublin, a player was banned for the whole tournament, another suddenly retired, a coach needed two stitches after punching his hand through a light bulb, and, going back to Dublin, perhaps the game’s new prodigy was revealed.

Leigh Halfpenny’s last second kick to win Wales the match against Ireland was almost the most boring detail of the whole 80 minutes. Wales should never have finished the game with 15 men after a horrific tip-tackle by Bradley Davies.

The incident, though, has far from overshadowed the game, not just because Davies’ escape proved short-lived. He won’t play again in the tournament, after a disciplinary committee meted out belated punishment in mid-week. Rather, the outstanding rugby and contest left everyone crying for more rather than crying foul.

(Above: George North, the new star of Welsh rugby.)

And the performance of Wales’ winger George North left the world wondering if rugby’s new superstar is a 19-year-old from Anglesey.

Such talk can fairly be dismissed as overexcited and premature, but even one of his colleagues, Rhys Priestland, has described him as a freak. A winger weighing more than 15 stone, the teenager won the game for Wales scoring one try and setting up another. He is the youngest player ever to score 10 international tries. One former winger told me this week the best way to deal with him would be with a baseball bat. Who said Wales would miss Shane Williams?

Wales’ confidence entering their match at home to Scotland will surely be matched by despair in equal measure on behalf of their opponents. Facing a prototype England team, it took several acts of supreme carelessness to lose. Chief among them Dan Parks’s charged down kick, which led to the decisive try. It’s all proved too painful for Parks, who promptly hung up his international boots.

At about the same time Parks was probably first thinking of jacking it all in, England’s new coach Stuart Lancaster was calling for nurse, after his excitement at the above try led to him damaging this hand and the electrics in the Murrayfield coaches’ box. You can’t begrudge his euphoria. He inherited a post world cup shambles, pensioned off the old guard, and brought in youngsters who look to be enjoying themselves.

They will now play the first Six Nations tie at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, home normally to Lazio and Roma. More than 83,000 fans are expected. Another victory may have the only downside of attaching some form of expectation to the new England outfit.

The only team producing few fireworks are France. They efficiently saw off Italy, and now face an Ireland team rocked by defeat. Another victory in Paris will leave the pre-tournament favourites looking worthy of their odds – maybe Capello will back them if he’s looking for somewhere reasonably safe to put his cash.

Ben Monro-Davies is a senior programme editor at Channel 4 News.