I was talking to a Scottish mate after Scotland's Calcutta Cup win against England on Saturday and he was in a bit of a daze about how well they had played.

Both teams played well but Scotland played incredibly without the ball, under pressure and in the wrong areas of the pitch.

I don't think I met an England fan post-match who thought differently. England were completely outplayed.

There are plenty of things to be encouraged about, but England were not good enough to beat Scotland.

'Taking Smith off did not make sense'

One thing that did not make sense was taking England fly-half Marcus Smith off for the last 20 minutes of the game.

There had previously been some reluctance to start Smith because of his lack of international experience given he is only 22.

After his Murrayfield performance, there is no question that Smith is the man for England at number 10.

No-one can say 'he needs to have experienced players around him' any more. Of course, that is always going to be of benefit, but we saw from that performance it was not necessary.

As we saw when Smith was replaced, England could not finish the game off with George Ford even though he is in form.

Smith looked comfortable and confident and you should not be taking fly-halves off when they are in total control.

He is going to be tired and his stats are not going to be where they were at the beginning of the game, but he had control of the England performance.

I don't think it was necessary to put another fly-half in to see the game out with only a seven-point lead.

'England made poor decisions'

Despite the defeat, there are plenty of things for England fans to be encouraged by.

England were good in possession and they had attacking intent. The problem was they lacked a bit of rugby nous.

With so much possession, you could see what they had been trying to do on the training park: go through a couple of phases then kick the ball in behind Scotland.

But there were really good opportunities for England to attack through the hands rather than kicking.

That kicking had come because of what they had practised, thinking they were playing away from home and the conditions were going to be wet and slippery.

It is absolutely right to have that as your go-to, but there were moments when it was time to attack and go for the try and they couldn't quite decide when that moment was.

In the second half England shoved it up their jumper a bit and changed tactic - and the first 20 minutes went really well.

It was not until the penalty try given after Luke Cowan-Dickie batted the ball into touch and his subsequent sin-binning when England lost their heads.

At 17-17, they still should have been in control of the game but they went chasing it, then Scotland had the momentum.

England had been in a really good position at 17-10 but they had inexperience in their team and as soon as that pressure came on they did not have anything to resort to, so they made those poor decisions.

You can't practise those things; it is not something you can ever do in training. You have got to have that understanding as a professional sportsperson to do the right thing at the right time.

When Cowan-Dickie went off and they gave the line-out to Joe Marler, surely they had enough experience in the team to know not to do that. That was odd.

It will disappoint England because it was unnecessary, but they will learn from it.

'England are not out of the race'

It is still very early days in the Six Nations and you cannot write anybody off yet.

England go to Italy next and can get themselves back on the horse and remember how to win a game. Then they are at home against Wales. England are definitely not out of the race.

They will probably struggle against Ireland and France but there is plenty of time for England to bounce back.

I am not thinking there is going to be a Grand Slam this year so every team is going to lose a game and therefore England are in with a chance.

Ireland were ruthless in their 29-7 29-7 victory against Wales. They are back to the precision they had four or five years ago, with a bit more intent and imagination.

Can Scotland compete with that? They can definitely give as good as France can give to Ireland.

Depending on a few decisions and the bounce of the ball Scotland could nick it when they go to Dublin in the final round of matches.

Matt Dawson was speaking to BBC Sport's Becky Grey.

Barcelona spent the final few hours of the January transfer window desperately trying to generate interest in a player president Joan Laporta has said is "better than Kylian Mbappe" and coach Xavi Hernandez insists can be "the best in the world in his position." However, as Laporta worked until midnight at the club's training ground offices with director of football Mateu Alemany, ordering in pizza, they could not find a new home for Ousmane Dembele.

Dembele, 24, is out of contract in the summer, meaning he's able to join a new team for free. Two weeks ago, following a failure to reach an agreement over a new deal, Alemany told the winger to find a new club before Jan. 31 as Barca wanted to remove his salary from the wage bill to make room for new signings amid LaLiga's tight salary cap controls. There was a late offer from a Premier League club, Laporta said, and tentative links with Paris Saint-Germain, but the France international never looked like leaving Camp Nou, even though that could mean he spends the rest of the season sitting in the stands, as Barca have threatened.

Dembele was once Barca's most expensive signing, joining from Borussia Dortmund for an initial €105 million in 2017 to replace Neymar after the Brazilian moved to Paris Saint-Germain for a world record €222m. But, almost five years after he joined the club, Dembele remains an enigma. He's made 129 appearances, scoring 31 goals, but has missed over 100 games through injury. Off the pitch, he's kept himself to himself, with one source telling ESPN that several teammates were even surprised to find out he got married during the recent winter break in Spain.

There remain more questions than answers. How good can Dembele be? Will he play for Barcelona again? And what comes next in a career which has promised so much?

Additional reporting by Moises Llorens and Julien Laurens.

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Why has his Barca career stalled?

Sources have told ESPN that as early as 2020, Barca had a feeling that Dembele was intent on running his contract down -- though sources close to the player say that's not true. That summer, a loan move to Manchester United failed to materialise because he wasn't willing to extend his terms until 2023. Barca wanted protection in the event that, in 2021, United didn't exercise an option to make the deal permanent that had been negotiated. In that scenario, Barca would have been left with a player in the final 12 months of his contract with his value greatly reduced.

The club ended up in that scenario anyway. Dembele sustained a long-term injury playing for France at Euro 2020, which made a transfer last summer impossible. The two parties have been unsuccessfully trying to negotiate a renewal ever since, despite sources on both sides of the talks telling ESPN the club wanted to keep Dembele and that the player's preference was to stay.

Injuries have been a theme throughout Dembele's Barca career: He has missed over 700 days with fitness issues, almost two full years. Those problems have prompted speculation in the media about Dembele's life away from the pitch. Sources have told ESPN that the club have sought to help the forward make lifestyle changes to improve injury prevention, but added that it's perfectly normal for a young footballer, living in a new country away from his family, to need support in one way or another.

Barca have helped by facilitating a chef, whom he shared with former teammate Miralem Pjanic, and instructing him to eat certain foods, such as red fruits, to help with his muscle problems. There have also been reports of unprofessional behaviour -- including video game sessions until the early hours -- but the truth is we still know very little about Dembele. It's true he has been fined for being late for training in the past, but he's not the only player to struggle with punctuality occasionally.

He rarely speaks to the media and lives a very private life in Pedralbes, just to the north of Barcelona's city centre. He spends most of his time with childhood friends. Moustapha Diatta, who was at Dortmund with Dembele and gave up a professional career to relocate to Barcelona with him. He also remains close to Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano -- they're both from the French town of Evreux. New Barca signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who played alongside Dembele at Dortmund, is also a friend.

Sources say that, contrary to popular belief, Dembele speaks excellent Spanish, although he's often surrounded himself with French speakers, such as Samuel Umtiti and, previously, Antoine Griezmann, at Barca. Beyond that, his relationship with his teammates is fine if not close, which is not unusual in working environments.

It's with that context that in late January, in the midst of increasing speculation about his future and his character, Dembele finally spoke out.

"For four years I have not stopped reading things about me without defending myself," he wrote on social media. "The gossip about me has been growing. People lie shamelessly with the only intention of harming me. I have never responded to anything. Was that an error? Probably. That stops now. I am 24 and, like all men, I have defects and imperfections. I have been through tough moments, caused by injuries and COVID-19. But I have always fulfilled my duty [as a footballer] because it is my PASSION."

Contract stalemate causes issues

Dembele remains an excellent footballer. He's not yet fulfilled the potential he showed at Rennes and Dortmund which led Barca to pay an initial €105m to sign him, but he's shown glimpses of quality. He's rapid, tricky and genuinely two-footed. At his best, he's capable of bringing 100,000 fans to their feet inside Camp Nou with one change of direction.

For that reason, both Xavi and Laporta were desperate for him to renew his contract. When he was appointed in November, Xavi told Laporta to make the issue a "priority."

"In his right position, worked on well, Ousmane could be the best in the world," Xavi said of the winger, who adds width, variety and pace to Barca's attack. Laporta agreed, comparing Dembele to Paris Saint-Germain's Mbappe; a comparison he reiterated this week.

At the same time, Barca were trying to negotiate a reduced salary with Dembele's camp. But a source close to the player wondered to ESPN how you can compare Dembele to the best players in the world but then not pay him accordingly? The timeline for the renewal negotiations and how many offers were made varies depending on who you speak to, but there were semi-regular talks between August and December. Laporta has previously said the club made two proposals, later claiming the second offer expired on Dec. 20. Sources close to Dembele say there was only ever one offer.

As the January transfer window opened, Barca became increasingly frustrated at the lack of urgency from Dembele's camp to agree a renewal. They even threatened to banish him to the stands if he didn't sign a new deal.

"It is intimidation and it doesn't work with us," Dembele's agent Moussa Sissoko told RMC on Jan. 18. "I am here to defend the interests of my player. Yes, we have certain demands, but we've already shown that Ousmane's career choices aren't dictated by money, otherwise he would not be here. If Barca wanted to negotiate, they could have come to the table with us to talk. Except there has been no discussion, just threats of no longer playing him [if he doesn't renew]."

Dembele is not the first player to reach the final six months of his contract. In the post-pandemic football world, it's become increasingly common for players to run their deals down. Mbappe and Paul Pogba are just two of a handful of the game's top players in the same position right now, with contracts expiring in 2022.

Barca's exasperation, in part, is related to their financial situation. They're €1.4 billion in debt and renewing Dembele would have made more room within their LaLiga-imposed spending limit for the year. Not just because of a reduced salary, but because it would have allowed them to spread the remaining transfer payments, which are amortised over the length of his contract, over a longer period of time.

It would have made registering Ferran Torres -- whose €55m signing from Man City made Dembele's camp wonder just how financially-stricken Barca really were -- much simpler. Instead, they had to send Philippe Coutinho out on loan and re-work Umtiti's salary. Renewing Dembele would also have made signing a new left-back a possibility last month, although they still managed to bring in 38-year-old right-back Dani Alves, who is earning very little, Wolves winger Adama Traore on loan and Arsenal striker Aubameyang on a free transfer.

As the end of January approached, tension bubbled to the surface after Sissoko's comments. Xavi said Dembele needed to sign a new contract or find a new club on Jan. 19. A day later, he left him out of the squad for the Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao. He has not played since. Alemany explained that Dembele had until Jan. 31 to leave Barcelona because he clearly "isn't committed to the club." The Spanish Players' Association [AFE] warned Barca against acting illegally with Dembele by not selecting him.

It now seems that there was very little contact between the club and Sissoko in January. Sources have told ESPN that Barca were waiting for an answer which never came, despite Laporta mentioning a December deadline this week, while Sissoko insists the club were never open to listening to what his client wanted -- which sources said was around €8m-a-year.

There was a meeting between Xavi and Sissoko last week, though the agent was photographed at the airport receiving a call from Paris Saint-Germain director of football Leonardo. Xavi has always said that Dembele has transmitted a desire to stay to him and the message was the same from Sissoko. There were links to PSG late in the window, and Laporta says there were offers from England, but sources close to Dembele say he was never going to leave in January. So as the window shut, and the pizzas arrived, Dembele remained a Barcelona player.

What next for Dembele's future?

Dembele has been training as normal this week and could even be included in Sunday's game against Atletico Madrid. Sources say he still hopes to stay at the club and even more so now that Aubameyang has joined from Arsenal. The two enjoyed a brilliant relationship on and off the pitch in Dortmund and both hope to play together again.

Laporta, meanwhile, says Barca have been assessing what their options are. They have even considered rescinding Dembele's contract, sources have confirmed to ESPN, something the player is unlikely to accept. But there is some division. While Laporta and the club's hierarchy have made it clear they don't want to use a player who is likely to leave, Xavi's position is not as tough.

The Barcelona coach has previously said sidelining a player for six months would not be a good look. In addition, someone of Dembele's ability could be useful as Barca find themselves in the unusual position of fighting for a place in the top four in LaLiga this season. Missing out on the Champions League next year would be a financial disaster for the club. In the post-Lionel Messi era, Dembele is one of the few attackers they have who is capable of turning matches.

On Wednesday, he was registered for the Europa League, with Barca facing Napoli later this month, in a sign that Xavi at least wants to keep his options open.

"It's difficult for him to play [for Barca again] because Xavi is rebuilding the team and knows who he can count on for this season and the next," Laporta said. "But [Dembele] has a contract and, if he's available, the coach will decide."

Laporta also reiterated that the previous contract offer has been taken off the table and added that if Sissoko wants to re-open negotiations "the conditions now would be completely different."

Dembele, meanwhile, has been left waiting. He knew staying at Barca entailed a risk of not playing any football but sources say he believes he will get minutes at some point. Those same sources insist he has no agreement in place to join any other club on a free transfer this summer, even if Laporta has intimated that he does.

The ball is in Xavi's court. Dembele has made it clear he's ready to play if needed and Laporta said he doesn't think the France international should feature again. Will he? Won't he? It may depend on injuries, suspensions and the need for results. Aside from Ansu Fati's injury, Barca are fairly healthy in attack at the moment, with lots of options, but that can change quickly.

As for the medium-term, the Dembele issue will resurface in the summer when his contract expires. Sources say they don't believe he can stay at Barca now because too many bridges have been burned. None of the parties have explicitly closed the door on reviving extension talks, although it seems improbable at this stage. PSG and the top clubs in the Premier League are watching on as Barca face losing a player who could cost them up to €145m for nothing.

"There have been a series of situations with Dembele which haven't been the best," Laporta reflected this week. "He didn't adapt, he cost a lot [of money] and he had a lot of injuries. We've been understanding when he's been injured or sad when the media have been [unfair with him], so there is some disappointment. He's a great player that we have not been able to enjoy."

Johnny Sexton says Ireland still have plenty to work on despite their resounding victory over Wales in the opening round of the Six Nations.

Next week they face highly-rated France in Paris looking to secure their first win at the Stade de France since 2018.

"We feel that there's plenty of stuff that we need to brush up on," said Sexton.

"France away is arguably one of the biggest tests in world rugby so we need to be at our very best and we need to learn some lessons from today even in victory.

"I think we did that well over November and hopefully we'll continue it."

Saturday's result extended Ireland's current winning run to nine games and added to the buoyant mood surrounding the side.

It is a stark contrast to a year ago, when Ireland opened began the Six Nations with a defeat in Cardiff.

"I can't tell you how demoralising it is when you go back to last year sitting in the dressing room with nothing to show for all your efforts," Sexton said.

"Triple Crown gone, Grand Slam gone and you're up against it to win a championship.

"There has always been confidence in the group even when times were low after the first two games of the championship last year.

"We felt we weren't too far away and thankfully it turned around results-wise. You're never confident about going away to Paris because it's a tough place to go but we are confident in the group and we feel that if we play our best we can win."

Farrell satisfied with win in tough conditions

Ireland's 10-0 half-time lead was not a true reflection of the control they enjoyed throughout the first half.

Sexton put two relatively easy penalties wide as the wind swirled inside the Aviva Stadium, but was not made to pay for the misses as Ireland put Wales to the sword after the break.

"We've just got to play the game in front of us - 10-0 was fine because the conditions were terrible out there," said head coach Andy Farrell.

"It was really difficult to kick in, play in, it was slippery and blustery certainly in corners.

"Putting all that together, obviously Wales came here to win and do a job on us so to be able to get a bonus point - we're delighted with that."

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac says ill-discipline and losing physical battles led to their 29-7 defeat against Ireland in their Six Nations opener.

The only consolation was a converted try from Taine Basham.

"No-one's happy with defeat, we came here wanting to win so they're all very disappointed," said Pivac.

Diminished Wales had travelled without a host of injured star names, including captain Alun Wyn Jones and the loss of almost 700 caps of experience, whish showed in a one-sided affair.

"We can't go back in time in terms of the players missing, we need to learn our lessons from today and this is the squad we've got," said Pivac.

"We talked about what we needed to do in that game from the outset and that was to match them physically and our discipline needed to be spot on.

"We didn't achieve that. In the first 20 minutes of the game, the penalty count was off and we let them into both halves very cheaply.

"We have got to make sure we are working hard, and there is no doubt the boys will want to improve in those areas."

Pivac believes those issues led to unforced errors in the struggling attacking game.

"When you make over 100 tackles in a half a bit of fatigue does set in," added Pivac.

"It happens to any side. I thought the boys came back very strongly in that last quarter of the game and kept fighting towards the end which we want."

Wales centre Josh Adams was shown a yellow card for a reckless challenge on Ireland captain Johnny Sexton with Ireland scoring two second-half tries with the extra man.

"Going a player down certainly doesn't help but we've got to regroup and be better," added Pivac.

"It's one of those things. Seeing it live the referee thought it was fine, two players colliding. The ball went one way and Josh has gone the other. He's picked up a yellow card and we move on."

Pivac insisted the experiment of playing wing Adams in the centre was justified, while he says Louis Rees-Zammit was fit to play after picking up an ankle injury in the warm-up.

"I think Josh saved us on a number of occasions," said Pivac.

"It's easy to talk about the people out wide but it's what goes on inside first, how quick we are to react at the first breakdown and the numbers we get on the far side of the ruck, the near side if they switch back or not. I think to single out one person is not the right thing to do.

"You'll find when you break this game down that he didn't go too badly at all."

Wales will host Scotland next Saturday looking to revive any title challenge.

"We certainly look forward to getting back home, there is no doubt about that," added Pivac.

"A full house at the Principality Stadium, there is nothing better and it certainly lifts the boys."

Pivac says he will consider any changes, especially in the forwards with the potential addition of Ross Moriarty helping the physicality problems.

"We will need to review the game first and foremost because I think we were a little bit better than maybe some of the stats might have indicated in that area of the game," added Pivac.

"Everyone's game gets looked at, and we will look to get the job done against Scotland."

Gregor Townsend says Scotland "have to back it up next week" after retaining the Calcutta Cup with a 20-17 win over England.

Marcus Smith's 17-point haul for England was outweighed by Ben White's debut try, a penalty try and eight points kicked by Finn Russell.

"It was far from perfect," said Townsend.

"We had to absorb a lot of phase attack from England, and through our errors, we weren't able to build our own phase attack. We were proud of how we played in the final quarter.

"It's a game we not only get up for, but we know we deliver close to our best rugby. Today wasn't our best rugby, but our standards are higher than they were a few years ago.

"We have set really good standards in defence over the last couple of years. We know how much this means to our supporters and the whole nation - we have to back it up next week."

As well as praising the "outstanding" kicking of Russell, Townsend provided an update on Jamie Ritchie after the flanker went off injured.

"It's not looking great right now - he's struggling to walk," Townsend said. "He did a bit of the splits competing for the ball. I wouldn't expect him to be available next week."

Captain Stuart Hogg said Scotland "had a clinical edge" and played "heads-up rugby" and added: "The forward pack as a whole were outstanding in slowing England down in the tackle."

LAS VEGAS -- The NHL All-Star Game took over Las Vegas this weekend, producing memorable moments, incredible sights and, in the biggest surprise, some close, compelling 3-on-3 hockey games.

Here are 10 takeaways from the Friday skills competitions and the Saturday All-Star Game, which the Metropolitan Division won with Philadelphia Flyers center Claude Giroux getting MVP honors.

The result is CA has burnt a legend of Australian cricket badly. CA will argue the price Langer has paid is the best thing for the men's high-performance model moving forward. On Saturday, Hockley spoke of a transition in how the team is coached. It will be of little solace to Langer

"It means I need to work on my game more, focus more, train more, so I can touch that level, achieve at that level. My training will double. It will be a higher level, so I have to work hard to match them"

Yash Dhull, on moving to the next level after his Under-19 success