Wales prep for RWC after Six Nations triumph
Cardiff: Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones sang the praises of his coach, Warren Gatland, after their 25-7 Six Nationstriumph over Ireland in Cardiff yesterday.
The victory means Wales secured the Grand Slam for the third time under Gatland’s guidance after they also achieved the feat in his first season in charge of the team in 2008 and also in 2012.
And Jones believes Gatland deserves plenty of credit for the side’s achievement. “Anything can happen when you work hard and you’re a proud nation, and we’ve shown that,” he said.
“Warren’s the man at the top and we’ve been under pressure, but he’s always been unwavering. He’s got a bit left on his contract, but I’m sure we’ll miss him when he’s eventually gone.
“At times we’ve been unconvincing so we like to think there’s still potential in us. We’re well aware we’ve just put a big target on our backs before the World Cup.” Gatland meanwhile hailed his charges and singled out his captain for special praise. “It was a fantastic performance and we didn’t look too tired, did we? We spoke beforehand about the players playing for themselves, their families and the fans and being able to create a bit of history. You can never take that away from them now,” he said.
“I said if we won the first game against France we’ve got a good chance of winning the whole thing. If that creates that bit of belief in the players then maybe something like this can happen.
“Alun Wyn Jones has really matured as a player. He’s done a great job of leading the team in this campaign. He’s tough, he’s resilient and he deserves all the adulation he gets.
“We know on our day that we’re capable of beating good teams so I think we’ll have a break now and start preparing for the World Cup.
“These boys will run through a brick wall for you. They’re a really tight group and really close to each other. If we go there with a bit of luck and not too many injuries we’ve got a good chance of beating anybody.” -Planet Rugby London: Coach Eddie Jones says England must end their habit of letting leads slip if they want to win the World Cup. England were 31-0 up on Scotland in yesterday’s final Six Nations match, only to be reeled in and eventually draw the game 38-38 at Twickenham.
“It is a recurring thing. It is not a one off,” Jones told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“When you want to be the best side in the world you have to put sides like Scotland away. We had the opportunity to do it and we didn’t.”
England squandered a 21-point first-half lead to lose to South Africa in June and saw a 10-3 half-time advantage turn into a 21-13 defeat by Wales three weeks ago. Jones cited both matches as evidence of his side’s weakness in converting winning positions to victories.
“We just lacked discipline to keep doing the simple things well,” he added.
“We failed to get control and discipline back into the game when it gets loose, and we think we are on top and get a bit ‘freewheely’.
“It’s 100% mental - there was no physical difference. It’s going to take some digging deep into the team psyche. “Obviously I am concerned but the great thing is we know the problem and can fix it. It will take time to fix it. We have time to do that, 100%.”
England play Wales at home and away on August 11 and August 17 before completing their World Cup warm-up with Tests against Ireland and Italy on August 24 and September 6.
Their Japan 2019 campaign begins against Tonga two weeks later, with games against the United States, Argentina and France completing their pool fixtures.
Other result: France 25-14 Italy
-BBC Sport from a maul was all the Reds had to show as Jamie Booth, Rahboni Vasayco and Dan Pryor all scored for the Sunwolves.
Needing to score first after the break, the Reds did just that Paenga-Amosa and Hoopert scoring to reduce the margin to two before Paenga-Amosa’s second put the Reds ahead for the first time in the 66th minute. Queensland face the Brumbies in Brisbane on Sunday while the Sunwolves host the Lions on Saturday.
Results: Round 5-Chiefs 23-23 Hurricanes, Brumbies 19-13 Waratahs, Stormers 35-8 Jaguares, Sunwolves 31-34 Reds, Lions 3633 Rebels
-AAP