"I called them stupid and told them they were not to fall into the trap when the Scots were killing much of the play. I told them they need to be calm and that I didn't want any more silly mistakes. It was hard but I am satisfied." - French coach Bernard Laporte on the half-time pep talk last Saturday.

"I think we made a lot of mistakes. We're scoring points but you have got to be critical. Defensively we were outstanding. The way the Welsh were going for the guts was difficult but the boys were superb." - England captain Matt Dawson offers a chillingly pragmatic assessment after thumping Wales.

"There was an advert on telly where a guy runs into a brick wall. It was like that except nowhere near as funny." - Manchester centre Richard Hughes on being tackled by Wasps hooker Trevor Leota during a recent cup match.