South Africa’s Eben Etzebeth handed 12-match ban for eye gouging

Eben Etzebeth, South Africa’s double World Cup-winning second row, has been banned for 12 weeks for an eye gouge against Wales. The 34-year-old was seen to make contact with the left eye of Alex Mann with his thumb in the Springboks’ 73-0 win over Wales last Saturday. Etzebeth had come on as a second-half substitute in Cardiff but was shown a straight red card in the 79th minute by French referee Luc Ramos.

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England fightback to break Welsh hearts

England’s ambition of making a fresh start on their return to Twickenham failed to produce the hoped for fireworks but they at least had the resilience to dig out a 16-14 victory over Wales. For the first time in Guinness Six Nations history, Warren Gatland’s team led at the interval in their great rival’s stronghold after storming 14-5 ahead through a penalty try and Alex Mann touch down.

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Scotland survive stunning Welsh fightback

Winger Duhan van der Merwe scored two tries as Scotland claimed a dramatic first win in Cardiff for 22 years after withstanding a remarkable fightback from Wales to seal a narrow victory. Prop Pierre Schoeman also crossed for a try for the visitors who led 27-0 early in the second half and looked like racking up a record score against the Welsh before yellow cards for hooker George Turner and centre Sione Tuipulotu killed their momentum and the hosts scored 26 unanswered points.

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