England humiliated in Rome, Fulham robbed by early whistle – but Chelsea and Wimbledon march on

WEEKEND SPORTS DIGEST

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THE WEEKEND IN BRIEF

It was a weekend that reminded you why sport is worth paying attention to. The favourites fell, the underdogs triumphed, and several certainties that had seemed safe going into Saturday morning were in ruins by Sunday evening.

Italy beat England in a Six Nations match for the first time ever. Scotland put 50 points on France to shatter the Grand Slam. Southampton – a Championship club with a squad decimated by injury – walked out of Craven Cottage with an FA Cup quarter-final place after denying Fulham a goal that replays suggested should have stood, then converting a penalty in stoppage time.

Chelsea, for their part, needed extra time, a red card, a VAR intervention and four goals to eliminate Championship side Wrexham. Harlequins Women were beaten at home by Saracens. AFC Wimbledon were, mercifully, the exception: a clean sheet, three points, and a League One survival that is now all but done. For the rest, it was a weekend of shock, controversy and a fair amount of anguish.

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RUGBY UNION

Italy make history to send England’s Six Nations to the brink of collapse

Italy 23–18 England (Stadio Olimpico, Rome) — Saturday, 7 March

Thirty-two previous meetings. Thirty-two England wins. Then Saturday happened. Italy beat England for the first time in their history, and they did so not by fortune or fluke but by exposing, methodically, every crack that has widened in Steve Borthwick’s side all tournament. England had led 18–10 through Tommy Freeman and Tom Roebuck tries and the boot of Fin Smith, and for sixty minutes the record looked safe. Then Sam Underhill was sin-binned. Then, catastrophically, captain Maro Itoje followed him. England buckled — and Leonardo Marin finished a brilliant team move down the left touchline to seal a 23–18 win that will be replayed in Rome for years. Paolo Garbisi kicked 13 points, Tommaso Menoncello was Italy’s best player, and when the final whistle went, England were left to contemplate a third consecutive defeat in a tournament they began as title contenders.

They now travel to Paris for the final round having won one of four matches. For the first time in the Six Nations era, England’s worst-ever finish is a genuine possibility.

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Scotland’s 13-try epic blows the title race wide open

Scotland 50–40 France (Murrayfield, Edinburgh) — Saturday, 7 March

While England were collapsing in Rome, an hour’s flight away in Edinburgh something equally astonishing was unfolding. France had arrived at Murrayfield as the tournament’s only unbeaten side and strong favourites for a Grand Slam. They left having conceded fifty points. Scotland, whose tournament had stumbled after a heavy defeat to Ireland in Round 3, produced one of the most extraordinary attacking performances in Six Nations history — thirteen tries, a 50–40 scoreline, and a bonus-point win that sent them to the top of the table and reduced France’s title ambitions to rubble.

The Grand Slam is gone. The title is not settled. Next Saturday, Scotland host Ireland and France host England in a final round that no-one could have predicted when the tournament began.

Six Nations — after Round 4

Round 5 (final round): Scotland v Ireland (Edinburgh), France v England (Paris) — Saturday 14 March.

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Saracens end Quins’ homecoming with commanding derby win

Harlequins Women 26–43 Saracens Women (Twickenham Stoop) — Saturday, 7 March

The weekend’s theme – of favourites and high hopes punctured – extended to the Stoop, where Harlequins were hoping a home derby against Saracens would arrest a run of three defeats in four league games. Instead, Saracens extended their winning streak to twelve consecutive PWR victories and left with a 43–26 bonus-point win that puts Harlequins’ top-four ambitions in serious jeopardy. May Campbell scored her tenth try of the season from a driving maul in the opening exchanges, and though Jade Konkel hit back for the hosts, Saracens dominated the first half: Jess Breach finishing a sweeping move just before the break to confirm the bonus point. Harlequins battled hard enough in the second half to earn a try bonus of their own, Ella Cromack finishing in the corner for a fourth, but Zoe Harrison’s late penalty closed the curtain on a comfortable win for the visitors.

Saracens are back at the top of the PWR table. Harlequins, with their top-four place now far from secure, cannot afford another defeat.

Premiership Women’s Rugby — as of Saturday, 7 March 2026

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FOOTBALL

Gillett controversy and stoppage-time heartbreak end Fulham’s FA Cup run

Fulham 0–1 Southampton – Sunday, 8 March

Fulham crashed out of the FA Cup in circumstances that will take some time to make sense of. They had 68% of the ball. They created 24 shot attempts to Southampton’s five. They had fifteen corners to four. And they lost 1–0 to a Championship side on a stoppage-time penalty. The numbers tell the story of a team that dominated almost everything except the scoreline, but what will linger is the moment in the 18th minute that Fulham believe, with considerable justification, decided the tie.

Southampton goalkeeper Daniel Peretz launched a hurried goal-kick that cannoned directly off his own defender Ryan Manning, leaving Rodrigo Muniz to roll the ball into an empty net. The stadium erupted. But referee Jarred Gillett had already blown his whistle, ruling the ball had been moving when Peretz kicked it. Replays examined widely and at length in the hours after strongly suggested it had not. VAR was powerless to intervene.

Marco Silva, who had made nine changes with the Premier League run-in in mind and was already without Harry Wilson through an ankle injury, had a second goal ruled out for offside before Finn Azaz was brought down by Joachim Andersen in added time and Ross Stewart hammered the penalty into the bottom corner. Southampton, nine matches unbeaten and the first Championship club to reach this season’s FA Cup quarter-finals, deserved credit for hanging in. Fulham deserved better. “A really, really bad day,” said Silva. He was understating it.

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Chelsea twice come from behind to survive Wrexham scare in FA Cup thriller

Wrexham 2–4 Chelsea (AET) – Saturday, 7 March

In Wrexham on Saturday evening, Chelsea survived an FA Cup scare that will have given Liam Rosenior several sleepless hours. He had made eight changes with Wednesday’s Champions League trip to PSG on his mind, and what followed was exactly the kind of match that suggests that plan needed more thought. Sam Smith gave Wrexham – sixth in the Championship, the Hollywood-backed club who had already knocked out Nottingham Forest – a deserved 18th-minute lead. A fortunate Arthur Okonkwo own goal levelled it before half-time, but Callum Doyle’s brilliant instinctive flick on 78 minutes restored the lead and suddenly the upset was very much on.

Josh Acheampong’s equaliser four minutes later forced extra time, and the complexion of the tie changed definitively in the 93rd minute when George Dobson was sent off after a VAR review upgraded a yellow card for a high challenge on Alejandro Garnacho. With twelve men, Wrexham could not hold on. Garnacho volleyed in at the back post on 96 minutes, João Pedro added a fourth, and when Lewis Brunt headed home what he thought was a penalty-forcing goal in the 114th minute, VAR ruled him offside by a margin that will have tested even the most forgiving of measuring devices. Chelsea are in the quarter-finals. They should not have made it this hard.

There is something enjoyable about Wrexham’s cup run — a small ground, a passionate crowd, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney watching from the stands as their side pushed a Premier League club to extra time. But it is worth remembering, as we noted on these pages last August, that Wrexham sit 98th out of 116 clubs in the Fan Engagement Index with just 55 points — celebrity ownership and Netflix fame generating profile without the genuine community roots that make a football club something more than a brand. Three miles from Stamford Bridge, AFC Wimbledon – fan-owned, phoenix-built, seventh in the same index – won 1–0 with nobody famous watching. Different clubs, different stories.

Premier League — as of Sunday, 8 March 2026

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Wimbledon’s top-half march continues with clean sheet against relegation-threatened Cobblers

AFC Wimbledon 1–0 Northampton Town – Sunday, 8 March

Callum Maycock’s tenth-minute finish secured a third League One win in four for Johnnie Jackson’s side, stretching their unbeaten run and pushing Wimbledon 11 points clear of the relegation zone. Maycock tapped home from Marcus Browne’s superb cut-back after the Dons had pressed high from the opening whistle, and though Northampton tested Joe McDonnell – who made three important saves – the home side largely controlled the afternoon. James Tilley continued to impress with a surging run and low cross that deserved a goal, and Browne had an acrobatic effort cleared off the line late on. Northampton are now six league games without a win and remain entrenched in the relegation battle. For Wimbledon, their League One survival is now all but mathematically confirmed.

League One — as of Sunday, 8 March 2026

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Fulham Women close the gap with four-goal show against top-four Chatham

Fulham Women 3–1 Chatham Town – Sunday, 8 March

Fulham Women moved to the top of the FA WNL Division One South-East – first on both points and points-per-game – with a commanding victory over fourth-placed Chatham Town in what may prove to be one of the pivotal results of their season. Fulham led at the break through a header from a free kick, but Chatham levelled on the counter before half-time to set up a tense second period. Ellie Olds restored the lead with a clinical finish and Leila Lister capped a composed display by slotting past the keeper after beating her defender with pace to make it 3–1. The win puts Fulham top on 47 points from 17 games (2.76 PPG), one point and a game ahead of Norwich City (46 points from 18, 2.56 PPG), with a game in hand. The title is Fulham’s to lose.

FA WNL Division One South-East — as of Sunday, 8 March 2026

Fulham Women lead the division on points-per-game (2.59 vs Norwich’s 2.56) having played one fewer game than the leaders. Norwich City on 46 points from 18 games; Fulham on 47 from 18 — the title race is Fulham’s to lose. Chatham Town’s GD updated to +24 after today’s defeat. Table sourced from Fulham FC official app, 19:41 GMT, 8 March 2026.

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STORY OF THE WEEK

On any other weekend, Italy beating England for the first time in their history would be the only story anyone could talk about. This weekend it had competition. France were beaten 50–40 at Murrayfield. Fulham were eliminated from the FA Cup at home, denied a goal replays suggested should have stood, after creating 24 shot attempts and dominating a Championship side for 90 minutes. Chelsea needed extra time and a red card to see off Championship side Wrexham. Harlequins Women lost a home derby. The favourites, across almost every fixture involving our teams, either stumbled badly or fell entirely. It was one of those weekends that reminds you sport has no obligation to be predictable, and that next Saturday’s final round of the Six Nations will be extraordinary.