Six Nations takeaways: France triumphs despite Mauvaka madness and Lions squad shaping up

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Six Nations takeaways: France triumphs despite Mauvaka madness and Lions squad shaping up

2025-03-16 23:51 Last Updated At：03-17 00:01

LONDON (AP) — France prevailed in the Six Nations and the standings didn't change on the final day in an anticlimactic end.

Scotland was game but outgunned in Paris and France pulled away to win 35-16 on Saturday. It was France's second championship under Fabien Galthié, the coach since 2020.

England was second, a point behind, after handing Wales in Cardiff its worst defeat — 68-14 — in the tournament's 142-year history.

Wales' 17th straight loss in 17 months landed it with another low, consecutive wooden spoons for finishing last.

England's 10-try romp ended Ireland's faint hopes of a historic third consecutive title. The Irish needed a Dan Sheehan hat trick to labor past Italy 22-17 in Rome.

The top three teams all had 4-1 records, not seen in 10 years. France beat Ireland, which beat England, which beat France.

Here's the AP's take on the final round.

Dynasties are short-lived in the Six Nations era. England won three titles in four years that were capped by the 2003 Rugby World Cup triumph. France then won three in four over 2004-07 only to lose the plot at the 2007 World Cup to England in a Paris semifinal. Others since have won successive titles but were unable to sustain the run. Which made France coach Fabien Galthié pause when asked if the new champion was on the brink of something special. France joined 2001 England as the only teams to score more than 200 points, and became the first team to post 30 tries. Galthié warned about having to be humble because things can change very quickly. In international rugby, a week is a long time, let alone a year. But he acknowledged, “We feel like we're causing problems. We got a taste of something during this competition that allowed us to unbalance defenses.” While a marauding pack was complemented by X-factor backs, France's gamble on extreme 7-1 reserve benches paid off in spades. After the shock of losing to England, France debuted the 7-1 against, in order, Italy, Ireland and Scotland, and overwhelmed them as the second pack of fresh forwards drained the legs of tiring opponents in the third quarter. The combined first half scores against the trio was 59-36. The second half was 91-31. Why, with trophies on the line, would France want to change?

The silence from France coach Fabien Galthié about hooker Peato Mauvaka's headbutt contrasted starkly to his furious reaction and public blame on Ireland duo Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter for France superstar Antoine Dupont's ruptured ACL the previous weekend. The referee, TMO and, ultimately, Six Nations organizers agreed that Dupont's injury in a ruck clearout was accidental. But there was nothing accidental about Mauvaka's nastiness against Scotland's Ben White that earned him a yellow card and not a red. While both players lay on the ground, Mauvaka launched himself at White and headbutted him. It came after the whistle and was deliberate. He should have been sent off. But the yellow card was not upgraded by the bunker because “the danger was not high.” Degree of force should not be a factor, Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said. “I don't know how it wasn't raised to a red card,” he added. Mauvaka escaped with a sin-bin and France escaped from playing the last hour of the title-clincher with 14 men.

The debate in Ireland about whether Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley should be the starting flyhalf wasn't resolved by Crowley's performance against Italy. His first start since November was a mixed bag. He assisted in two tries though one was scrubbed by a knock-on, and kicked well out of hand but was only 25% off the kicking tee. Crowley, at 25, has three years on Prendergast and 16 more caps. After Jonathan Sexton's reign, both are still starting their test careers and Ireland hopes they will lead the team for at least a couple of World Cup cycles. But Crowley comes off contract after this season and is considering heading abroad, which would end his test career. He played every minute of the 2024 Six Nations triumph and started the July drawn series in South Africa. But his patchy form in a struggling Munster side was compounded by average displays in November against New Zealand and Argentina. Prendergast, driving an unbeaten Leinster, took over and started the next six tests and didn't lose until a week ago against France. He received a rising star award from the Six Nations this weekend but finished the tournament having missed the most tackles, 18. The debates goes on.

The AP's British and Irish Lions selection based on Six Nations form would start six Irish, four English, four Scotland backs and one Welsh. The squad to Australia isn't announced until May 8 and names will undoubtedly change. For instance, two-tour tighthead Tadgh Furlong made his first Ireland appearance on Saturday since July, and Scotland midfielder Sione Tuipulotu tore his pec in January and has an ambitious aim to return before May. The AP's team has only four players who have been Lions: Locks Maro Itoje and Tadhg Beirne, flanker Tom Curry and flyhalf Finn Russell. Itoje, Wales captain Jac Morgan and Scotland fullback Blair Kinghorn are the only home nations players to play every minute. Kinghorn's club commitments could clash with the Lions if Toulouse reaches another Top 14 final. Hooker Dan Sheehan was the leading try-scorer among forwards with five, the same as England wing Tommy Freeman. Tom Jordan, one of three New Zealand-born players, was the bolter after seamlessly fitting into the Scotland backline in place of Tuipulotu. Others to shine in the final round included Ireland wing Mack Hansen, Scotland flanker Jamie Ritchie, and England openside Ben Curry — Tom's twin — and flyhalf Fin Smith in the romp in Cardiff.

Lions: Blair Kinghorn, Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Tom Jordan, James Lowe, Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Caelan Doris (captain), Jac Morgan, Tom Curry, Tadhg Beirne, Maro Itoje, Will Stuart, Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Fatal North Macedonia nightclub inferno sparks outrage, disbelief and calls for punishment

2025-03-18 00:28 Last Updated At：00:31

KOCANI, North Macedonia (AP) — As families gathered at a hospital for updates, Tomco Stojanov already knew his son's devastating fate: 25-year-old Andrej died trying to save others in a nightclub fire that left dozens dead in North Macedonia, including many trampled during a desperate bid to escape.

“Thank you for your condolences, but my pain is incurable. The wound is incurable,” Stojanov said, holding up a photograph of his son, clean-shaven and wearing a suit jacket.

"He died while returning and entering to save other people. And he was pushed, run over, that’s how my son died."

North Macedonia is grappling with the loss of dozens of young lives in Sunday's nightclub inferno in the eastern town of Kocani, and trying to hold those responsible to account and prevent another calamity.

Authorities were investigating allegations of bribery surrounding the fire in the nightclub, which was crammed with young revelers and at double capacity. Kocani's mayor resigned Monday over the emerging scandal.

Fire tore through the overcrowded Club Pulse during a live concert, leaving 59 people dead and more than 150 injured from burns, smoke inhalation and being trampled in the panicked rush toward the building’s single exit.

Videos showed sparkling pyrotechnics on the stage hitting the club's ceiling and igniting the blaze as a band played.

Bribes to authorities to skip licensing requirements and skirt safety regulations are commonplace in North Macedonia, practices that have caught the attention of Western governments.

The European Union has repeatedly expressed concerns over pervasive corruption in the country, identifying it as a major obstacle to the country’s accession to the bloc.

Silent protests against corruption were held Monday in Kocani, joined by thousands of residents and separately by university students in Skopje.

“Justice is expected, that is what we all expect so that there are no such similar situations in the future,” Stavre Janev said at the Kocani protest.

The protesters' anger boiled over, with some toppling a van and smashing windows of a storefront — both belonging to one of the club owners.

The latest in a string of deadly nightclub fires around the world, Sunday's tragedy shook this nation of 2 million, where close-knit extended family bonds made the disaster personal to many. Clubgoers as young as 16 were among the casualties, and the nation declared seven days of mourning.

“We are all in shock, and I am shocked myself: as a mother, as a person, as a president,” North Macedonian President Gordana Davkova Siljanovska said in an address to the nation Sunday night.

North Macedonia’s government ordered a sweeping three-day inspection to be carried out at all nightclubs and cabarets across the country, starting Monday.

State prosecutor Ljupco Kocevski said a preliminary inspection of the Club Pulse nightclub had revealed numerous safety code violations, including a lack of emergency exits, an insufficient number of fire extinguishers and improper access for emergency vehicles.

The fire caused the roof of the single-story building to partially collapse, revealing the charred remains of wooden beams and debris.

“The omissions are significant. I can confidently say that this is a failure of the system,” the prosecutor told reporters, also noting the lack of an overhead extinguisher system and fire alarms, and the use of flammable materials to line the inside walls.

Speaking to reporters in Skopje, Interior Minister Panche Toshevski said it appeared the club’s owners paid bribes to former officials to issue a forged license and turn a blind eye to the venue operating far beyond capacity and in violation of fire code. Former economy minister Khreshnik Beteshi was being questioned at a police station in Skopje, his lawyer Eleno Milanov told reporters.

The country was in mourning as people watched harrowing scenes in the town of 25,000 people, where rescuers for hours carried out the grim task of removing the charred bodies of clubgoers.

A state coroner said the bodies were being brought for identification in batches from morgues due to the high number of people killed.

Flags around the country have been lowered to half-staff, and the death toll may rise further, with 20 of the injured in critical condition, Health Minister Arben Taravari said.

Neighboring and nearby countries — Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey — along with a number of others have already accepted some 50 patients with the most serious injuries, while several countries are also sending medical teams to North Macedonia, officials said.

“All patients who have been transferred abroad are currently in stable condition. We hope it stays that way and that we will receive positive news from abroad,” Taravari said.

Officials said 10 people remain in police custody for questioning in Kocani, some 115 kilometers (72 miles) east of the capital, Skopje. Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski added that a preliminary inspection revealed the club was operating without a proper license. He said the number of people inside the club was at least double its official capacity of 250.

Condolences poured in from leaders around Europe as well as from the office of the hospitalized Pope Francis.

Late Sunday, Kocani's residents held a candlelight vigil in support of mourning families, waiting in long lines to light church candles.

Beti Delovska, an economist from Skopje, said North Macedonia has never experienced a tragedy like this, with dozens of young people vanishing in minutes. She noted that many young people with bright futures had already left the nation, in search of opportunities elsewhere.

North Macedonia “is on its death bed,” Delovska said. “We have no more credible institutions, the health system is completely dismantled, education is poor, judiciary is partisan and corrupt to the bone,” she said.

"I do believe now that only God can save (North) Macedonia.”

Testorides reported from Skopje, North Macedonia