A passionate thriller at Twickenham last night resulted in a historic victory for Warren Gatland’s Wales, with the final whistle ending a game, in which both sides put it all on the line, at 28-25. Undisciplined England couldn’t maintain their half time lead as they saw the win slip out of their hands in the dying minutes, and the men in red stayed strong throughout despite losing Liam Williams, Hallam Amos and Scott Williams in the heat of the battle – the latter two likely to join Wales’ ever growing list of long term injury woes.
So where did it all go wrong for England?
1. Joe Marler: Came out on top of opposing number Tomas Francis and led a much improved English scrum from last weekend. Decent carrying and, as always, was a nuisance for Wales on the pitch. Easily justified his starting position considering the question marks raised by the Fiji game.
2. Tom Youngs: Fantastic in defence and an improvement in the lineout, which bettered after losing the first to Bradley Davies. In the open field he brings a lot to the team, but has not done enough to banish doubts on the security of England’s set piece.
3. Dan Cole: Equally great performance at scrum time to solidify England’s scrum and got the better of opposing number Jenkins. Solid both in defence and contested the breakdown well. Gives away too many soft penalties, however, and was a key contributor to the indiscipline that ultimately led to England’s demise.
4. Geoff Parling: Fairly quiet on the pitch. Looked dangerous in the Welsh lineout as always, but did little elsewhere. Defence was good and tackles were strong and frequent, but nothing special came from the Exeter lock.
5. Courtney Lawes: Carried well as usual, but fairly inconspicuous in the loose. Discipline was questionable, but some big hits were made before he was replaced at half time by Launchbury, who is starting to come back into form after 7 months out with a neck injury.
6. Tom Wood: Nowhere near as impressive as he was last week against Fiji, which showed off the quality of the Welsh backline. Was strong in the lineout and was the main target for Youngs, although was unsuccessful in the loose which meant he somewhat blended into the crowd. Solid but nothing special.
7. Chris Robshaw: As always, works so hard in the contact and is influential at the breakdown, and visibly outshined Warburton in the match up. As captain, was responsible for some of England’s indiscipline. Reviews of his game will be characterised by that call. Result will haunt him and bring back memories of his 2012 final minute call for the posts against South Africa, and he is unsurprisingly criticised over the front pages this morning. Unjustified in my books – England shouldn’t be looking for draws; draws don’t win trophies. A bolshy call from a captain who would have been a hero had we seen a repeat of the Japanese success in the dying seconds of the game.
8. Billy Vunipola: Was quick to justify his selection with his presence felt from the start. So hard to bring down in the loose and was full of energy and fight. Worked well at the base of the scrum. Wasn’t too successful in penetrating the Welsh line, but did enough to earn his start next week if his hobbling at the end of the game was nothing serious.
9. Ben Youngs: A different player to the number 9 who squared up against Fiji. Back to his best and was all over the pitch. Good insight in setting up the May try. Box kicking was better than it has been but still needs work. Was replaced too early and his removal was felt.
10. Owen Farrell: Thrived despite the intense pressure he was under. Kicking from a tee was spot on and justified his selection over Ford. Solid in defence, although his kicking from hand was sometimes questionable, but highlighted by a wonderful drop goal to lift English spirits. Ultimately was outplayed by his opposite number Biggar who had a world class performance, but such a judgement could very easily have gone the other way if the score line was reversed. Contender for Man of the Match.
11. Jonny May: Seems like May can do no wrong at the minute, with yet another try to his name and even his scrambled run on his own line paying off for him (although compromising the nervous systems of most English fans in the process). Was quiet in attack but seems to always be there at the right moments.
12. Sam Burgess: Made an impressive hit on Jamie Roberts and was fairly solid in defence. Continually got over the gainline in attack but will be criticised no doubt for a controversial selection. Kicking from hand needs work, but did enough to justify his start.
13. Brad Barritt: Solid in defence but offers little in the way of attack. Was caught out of position in the build up to the Davies try. No thought to spread the ball wide as a platform for talent on the wings and was easily missed amongst the uninspiring English backs.
14. Anthony Watson: No X-Factor from the wing and, bar one run down the line in the first half, was barely noticeable. Inventive chip and chase that led to the May try but equally was left short in defence to concede the late Welsh try.
15. Mike Brown: His usual world-class self. Was solid under the high ball, especially important with Biggar’s high calibre performance, and looked threatening as always in attack. Dwarfed when he squared up to Sam Warburton, but a reminder of his early playing days when he was always the first to a fight. Will be criticised for giving away the match winning penalty, but it was a tight call and errors elsewhere were the bigger problem for the men in white.
Ultimately, you have to salute the Welsh for persevering in a game where everyone put their bodies on the line, and for not letting their spirits drop when yet more injuries compromised their starting lineup. It was a courageous performance, and one that will certainly go down in the history books for the boys in red. All in all, last night provided a stellar example of the passion and class that comes with World Cup rugby, and it was a thrilling game from both sides that would have been enjoyed by fans and neutrals alike.
Main Photo
