THE SCRAPE TO VICTORY
Edgy England fend off valiant Welsh effort
IF Barry John was watching from the heavens, he would probably have switched off with a few minutes to spare. This was hardly rugby from the gods. It was scrappy and tense and ended with an English victory that will not be remembered as one of the generational classics.
George Ford was the architect of a second-half fightback, kicking and squeezing England to two wins from two in the Jamie George era. There were moments when Welsh fans were praying that Dan Biggar would swap his pitch-side punditry suit for a pair of boots, as the visitors coughed up a nine-point lead. Their 12-year wait for a Six Nations victory at Twickenham continues.
In the end, this was just about a happy homecoming for the English. The standout player was Wales’s Tommy Reffell but his Ardie Savealike interventions in attack and defence were not enough. Ultimately, England’s strength in depth on the bench proved the difference but they will face far sterner tests in their final fixtures against Scotland, Ireland and France.
Head coach Steve Borthwick was relieved to see his side squeeze out another narrow victory and noted that his young England team will keep on improving.
He said: ‘I am proud of the way the players stayed in the fight, that is the way a team finds a way to win — it is a young team with a blend of experience.
‘What is important to recognise is this phenomenal competition, whilst that was not a classic flowing rugby contest. The hard-fought game, the theatre and drama of it was so significant. There would have been a few people who had raised heart rates in the stands, I know I did!’
Captain George is aware that the Red Roses will have to improve against Scotland when they travel to Murrayfield in a fortnight.
‘There is belief,’ said George. ‘We need to utilise this fallow week, we have got a good opportunity to rest up a bit then focus on getting better because we know we are going to need to get better going up to Murrayfield.
‘The foundation we have laid has allowed us to have some belief and we believe in what we are doing, believe in the England way and want to continue what we are doing and keep growing.’
There were black-and-white images of John, JPR Williams and Mike Weston on the big screens before kick-off to stir up old memories with a minute’s applause to recognise their brilliance in this historical blockbuster.
The sights, smells and sounds of Whitton Road remain the same on the walk down to the stadium. The annual pilgrimage past the fresh doughnut stalls and the street preachers. The queues outside the Cabbage Patch and the ticket touts who had travelled from east London to west. There was so much familiarity, yet so much uncertainty. There were 30 players across yesterday’s matchday squads who did not feature in the 2023 edition of this fixture. The mural of Owen Farrell now has a ghostly presence on the West Stand. A rivalry restarted.
Alex Mann would barely be recognised if he walked these streets but the Wales flanker, winning his second cap, scored the try just before half-time to give Wales a two-score lead. It was a result of Welsh discipline, not conceding a single penalty in the firsthalf while England were on the receiving end of two yellow cards.
From day one, England have talked about breathing life back into this old place. They extended their walk into the stadium and jogged around the perimeter of the pitch before kick-off. Small details that alone will do little to ease the scar tissue of just three victories here in 10 games.
It came down to their performance on the pitch to get the pulse racing and it did not happen until the 72nd minute.
England had three visits to the Welsh 22 in the opening 10 minutes but left with zero points. New era, old problems. Ollie Chessum was sin-binned for a high shot on Keiron Assiratti and he was soon joined by Ethan Roots, who pulled down a maul as Wales were charging. Outcome: penalty try.
It took a moment of defensive brilliance to prevent Wales from moving further ahead. Maro Itoje caught rookie No 10 Ioan Lloyd trying to run the ball from his own line and forced a turnover penalty. England opted for the scrum and Ben Earl charged from the base to score. However, Ford was charged down before he had the chance to kick the conversion.
England held off a 25-phase attack from Wales. A feather in the cap of their new defensive coach Felix Jones, whose face appeared on the big screens as Joe Marler put in the hit to turn over possession. It was disciplined and aggressive but in the final minute of the half, England were broken again. Wales used chip kicks and tried to lob the ball wide to unpick the rush defence. In the end, Reffell intervened with turnovers and offloads, before Mann’s try gave Wales the half-time lead.
‘We know how good Tommy is defensively but we wanted him to get more comfortable as a running threat,’ said Wales coach Warren Gatland. ‘We saw that and it can take his game to the next level. He was absolutely outstanding.’
Wales only had to make just 37 tackles in the first half — compared to 117 by England — but rookie fullback Cameron Winnett was ready to intervene with a try-saving tackle on Elliot Daly early in the second half. Ford kicked the opening points of the third quarter and there were vulnerabilities in the Welsh scrum when they brought on rookie prop Archie Griffin, who has not started a Premiership match for Bath.
In contrast, England unloaded the likes of Dan Cole and Ellis Genge to draw on every ounce of their experience. They won a penalty at the set-piece and kicked for the corner.
It felt like an age was spent resetting scrums but England will have few complaints.
They attacked through nine phases, before Daly offloaded to Fraser Dingwall whose try narrowed the deficit to one point. Ford took control of proceedings, targeting Wales with spiral bombs and a 50-22. The hosts began to take over the territory and, when Mason Grady was sin-binned for a deliberate knock on in the 72nd minute, England’s No10 finally kicked his side ahead. It was tense until the end, although the itching feeling at the final whistle was that both teams have so much more to give.
SCORERS; England — Tries: Earl, Dingwall.
Cons: None Pen: Ford (2).
Wales — Tries: Penalty, Mann. Cons: Lloyd. Pens: None. Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa). Attendance: 82,000.