England ‘find a way’
SIX NATIONS: BORTHWICK PRAISES TEAM’S RESILIANCE AGAINST WALES
Steve Borthwick praised England’s resilience as they “found a way to win” after coming from behind to beat Wales 16-14 in a tense Six Nations encounter at Twickenham on Saturday.
Wales were 14-5 ahead at halftime and on course to end a seven-match losing streak at Twickenham following a penalty try and an effort from Alex Mann either side of a score by England No 8 Ben Earl.
Never before had England been nine points down at home and still won.
But England, down to 13 men early on after forwards Ollie Chessum and Ethan Roots were sin-binned, hit back after the break.
A George Ford penalty cut the deficit before a try from centre Fraser Dingwall left England, third at last year’s Rugby World Cup in France, just a point adrift at 13-14.
Ford then landed another penalty to make it 16-14 as England led for the first time in the match after Wales were reduced to 14 men following a yellow card for replacement Mason Grady.
England, thanks to committed defence, then closed out the game to make it two wins out of two in the tournament following a 27-24 victory away to Italy, with Wales not scoring at all in the secondhalf.
“This is a team that stays in the fight and a team that finds a way,” said England coach Borthwick.
“The work we’re doing each day is paying dividends.”
Discipline proved a problem, with England conceding six firsthalf penalties but in hooker Jamie George’s first home Test as captain, the home side turned things around.
“What I sensed at half-time was (the team were) calm, composed, with great leadership from Jamie and a determination to find a way to win,” former England skipper Borthwick said.
England were booed off the field the last time they played at Twickenham following a World Cup warm-up defeat by Fiji in August.
But a crowd of more than 81 000 gave them a very different reception following Saturday’s success, with George saying: “The fans seemed like they had a really good day out.”
England, however, will likely face a sterner challenge away to Scotland on 24 February when the Championship resumes after a rest week, as they look to end a three-match losing streak against their oldest rivals.
“We know we are going to need to get better going up to Murrayfield,” said George.
For a new-look Wales this reverse meant they had lost their first two games of the tournament following an agonising 27-26 defeat by Scotland in Cardiff .
“I’m proud of the effort and the performance. I’m actually disappointed we didn’t come away with a win, said Wales coach Warren Gatland.