England coach counts his side’s lucky stars

– England coach Eddie Jones accepted his side had used up all their “get-out-of-jail cards” following a gripping 21-16 win away to Wales in the Six Nations.

The Grand Slam champions were 16-14 behind with just four minutes left when wing Elliot Daly (right), following a poor clearance kick by Wales centre Jonathan Davies, surged past Alex Cuthbert for a superb try in the corner.

As had been the case in their win over France the week before, England had come from behind to seal victory with a late try.

“We have used up all of our getout-of-jail cards and against Italy (on February 26) we don’t want to be in that position again,” Jones said.

“I thought it was a great game of Test rugby,” added Jones after England moved to within two wins of world champions New Zealand’s all-time record of 18 successive Test victories.

“A lot of credit goes to Wales, who were superb. They hit hard and hit often off the ball, which made it a fantastic Test match.”

Jones, paying tribute to his hard-working locks, said: “Courtney Lawes is like a human icepack. He has ice all over him after that many tackles and carries. Joe Launchbury as well.”

Shortly before his blistering score, Daly had raced back to prevent flyhalf Dan Biggar scoring a stunning intercept try.

“The boy’s got gas and he’s got that X-factor about him,” Jones said. “I don’t necessarily think wing is his best position, but it suits us at the moment.”

Wales led 13-8 at the break after Liam Williams crossed to cancel out an early try by England scrum-half Ben Youngs.

But the lead never got beyond five points and Wales coach Rob Howley was left to rue a lack of composure in the closing stages.

“The intensity and application of our players for 75 minutes was outstanding,” he said.

“We played with pace and accuracy, as did England.

“England know how to win, and we lost, but it was a fantastic performance.”

Wales suffered a setback when George North was ruled out an hour before kick-off after failing to overcome a leg injury sustained in their preceding 33-7 win away to Italy.

Howley, however, said he expected the powerhouse wing to be fit for Wales’ next match, against Scotland on February 25. – AFP