England Rugby - Choke! Choke! Choke!

Once again, England have failed to bring home the Grand Slam after much hype and fanfare. It's the 6th time that the English have lost their Grand Slam decider in 15 years of 5/6 Nations rugby and this time there is no consolation prize of the Championship as Wales comfortably got the 8 points and more to snatch the title from their much-hated rivals at the death.

Wales away at the Millennium Stadium was always going to be the toughest challenge yet for the English this season, and the biggest hurdle to overcome for their first Grand Slam since 2003.

A team that thrives on momentum, Wales are a completely different side when they're on a winning run, unrecognizable from the rabble that took on the Samoans, All Blacks, Springboks & Wallabies last autumn, and it showed on the field as they snuffed out the English who I can't remember having a proper try-scoring opportunity in this game.

The resolute Welsh forward pack led by the inspirational Gethin Jenkins who had taken over the captaincy from a slightly out-of-sorts Sam Warburton, frustrated the English who kept conceding penalties - by the first half, they had given away more penalties than they had done in the entire game against Italy.

The breakdowns were a mess generally and there were times where you wondered if Kiwi turned Aussie ref, Steve Walsh had any control on this game - the English press will probably be after Walsh's blood after this latest loss although it will merely be trying to find an excuse for their loss besides their own team choking at the end. Indeed, the Welsh were able to control the game and win because they played to the referee better than the English did.

The Welsh flair in attack was back in full song and it was they who looked like the side chasing the Grand Slam rather than the English. Once they got their first try, there was only going to be one team to win the Six Nations Championship and it was the defending champions whose brave Dragons brought their A game at the right time with Lions selection on the horizon - something that will please Warren Gatland immeasurably.

As for England, after all the hype from their media that they were on the  verge of a new era of English domination, this will be a bitter pill to swallow. Perhaps Chris Robshaw was right after all - winning the Grand Slam now would be detrimental for English rugby in their long term plan towards the World Cup as it was a sign that they had peaked too early.

Alas, there should be no more concerns about that, and Stuart Lancaster must now look towards repeating the form they showed this season until that Italy game last week and show that this season was no fluke. After such a dominant display throughout their Six Nations campaign, this will be quite a bitter pill to swallow for Lancaster's young charges.

For the neutrals, it was one of the most unexpected finishes to the Six Nations ever. Italy beat Ireland to finish 4th in the standings behind a surprising Scotland. The brave Scots under Aussie caretaker coach, Scott Johnson, almost beat France in Paris and end Les Bleus' wretched campaign on the lowest note and secure their first wooden spoon since 1999. Alas, Tim Visser's late try for Scotland ensured that Les Bleus got the wooden spoon anyway as the 7-point winning margin by Les Bleus was not enough to supplant Ireland in the final standings.

All Blacks fans must be concerned now that their 3-test series against France may not live up to the hype as a World Cup Final rematch with turmoil appearing to engulf French rugby at the moment. On the other hand, All Blacks fans probably remember all too well what happened after the French finished last in the 6 Nations last time.