Wales turn on style but lack guile
meeting in the group stage of the 2019 World Cup was wasted.
Despite their fourth defeat by England in a year, the Pumas left Twickenham emboldened.
“It’s like winning the first four rounds of a heavyweight boxing fight and not knocking them out,” said England coach Eddie Jones.
“Everyone was disappointed, weren’t they. The fans were, we were disappointed.”
Jones’s own disappointment manifested itself in a rare loss of cool in the stands after Underhill had been penalised, which led to a beating for his notebook and a cry – swearing deleted – of ‘How stupid are we?’
He was tetchy afterwards too, interpreting a question on whether the drab spectacle represented value for money – with tickets costing up to £110 – as an accusation of a lack of effort by England.
“I am not a columnist, I am not a businessman. All I do is coach a rugby team,” said Jones. “I try to get them to play as hard as we can. We played hard. We might not have played well but we played hard. So I am disappointed in the question.”
England, no question, gave their all – as did Argentina – but phase two of the Jones era began to the sound of heavy snoring.
ENGLAND – Con: ARGENTINA – Pen: Tries: Pens: Try:
LOSING HIS COOL: Eddie Jones was left frustrated by his side THIRTEEN is a horrible number but even though that is now how many games it is since Wales beat Australia, there is a rare sense of optimism among Warren Gatland’s men that they have taken their first steps into a brave new world.
Whether the head coach was persuaded by his experience of having two playmakers on the field for the Lions, or by the fading powers of cannonball centre Jamie Roberts, the last rites have been read over Warrenball and a route plotted towards the 2019 World Cup that involves a much more slick, subtle style.
Owen Williams was the standard-bearer, giving fly-half Dan Biggar a variety of attacking options. He was also composed in defence against a monstrous Australian midfield and smart with ball in hand.
Steff Evans scored his third try in as many starts, finishing off a wonderful move that involved Biggar, Jonathan Davies, Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny to give Wales an early 10-7 lead.
But Evans also exposed the fragility of this new Wales, making errors that allowed the wily Wallabies to stretch their lead at crucial moments. He failed to clear and was tackled into touch, from which Tatafu Polota-Nau scored Australia’s first try and a poor kick meant Wales went into half-time with a 22-13 deficit when Michael Hooper returned it for their third.
To rub salt in fresh wounds, Kurtley Beale stripped the ball from him in a tackle with 17 minutes remaining
WALES AUSTRALIA
to canter in under the posts for a score that settled the outcome.
Evans was not alone – in all, Wales made 16 handling errors and, worse, turned over at restarts three times – and to his credit held his hand up afterwards.
“Our errors cost us the game. We played good stuff but you have to be accurate against a team like Australia,” he said. “They like to play a bit of rugby and we matched that, but our exits let us down.
“We can build on that. There are a lot of positives. We need to concentrate on ourselves and polish off those errors. I need to be accurate with those touches.”
Evans is likely to get another run on Saturday, against Georgia, as Gatland looks to underline his bold statement. Davies suffered a nasty ankle injury late on, but flankers Aaron Shingler and Josh Navidi were not embarrassed in their battle with the masterful Hooper and deserve a shot at the more muscular Georgians.
“There is a lot to be excited about,” said lock Jake Ball. “We’ve got an exciting squad. They are encouraging those guys to play with confidence.
“It’s great to see so many new faces. There has been freshness among the squad. New guys bring different things. It has brought a new vibe, which has been great. It is quite nice, everyone learning from each other.”
The lessons will come thick and fast, with South Africa and New Zealand lying in wait.
It was an emotional day for me There is a whole new vibe