What is a line-out?


The line-out is an awesome sight in rugby union.
It is a way of restarting play after the ball has been knocked or kicked out of play past the touch line.

The line-out consists of three to eight players from each side, up to 16 in total, and is taken where the ball went out of play.
The aim of each player is simply to get their hands on the ball for their team.

So how does it work? The advantage is with the team throwing in.
They get the ball because they were not the team who last touched the ball before it went out. They also get to decide how many players will make up the line-out.

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Italian Rugby Federation president Giancarlo Dondi has hailed captain Alessandro Troncon`s contribution to his country`s most successful RBS 6 Nations campaign.


The veteran scrum-half turned in man-of-the-match performances against England and Scotland despite his late call-up to Italy`s squad after an absence of almost two years.


The Azzurri`s victories against the Scots and Wales saw them finish fourth in the championship, their highest place since they joined the competition in 2000.


'All the players has been fantastic, but I must admit watching Alessandro Troncon playing in this tournament was a great joy," Dondi said.


"He has been our best player, a true leader on the pitch. I personally believe he was one of the most exciting players in the whole tournament.'


Source: Official RBS Six Nations Site

Defending champions France eased their way past Italy by 39-3 in Saturday's RBS 6 Nations opener at the Stadio Flaminio.


First-half tries from Christophe Dominici, Cedric Heymans and Sebastien Chabal saw Les Bleus take a 22-3 half-time lead.


The Azzurri scored their only points with a Ramiro Pez penalty.


Pez had entered the pitch after 12 minutes as a replacement for injured fly-half Andrea Scanavacca who had pipped him to the starting role.


The visitors put their hosts under more pressure after the re-start and Chabal added his second try of the afternoon soon after.


Yannick Jauzion bagged a fifth try after Clement Poitrenaud supplied a short pass to the centre following a high kick from David Skrela.


Fly-half Skrela contributed four conversions and one penalty while his substitute Lionel Beauxis' penalty made it 39-3.


It could have all been a different story had Italy taken advantage of their early chances.


The Azzurri missed two easy penalties in the opening six minutes before they shot themselves in the foot, with a stranded pass from Gonzalo Canale and another misplaced pass from Andrea Masi leading to France's first two tries.


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Source: RBS Six Nations Official Website