IT’S TRIES Jones is in a huff
RUGBY UNION
ENGLAND are set to complain to World Rugby about referee Pascal Gauzere after two huge first-half decisions put Wales on a course for a Triple Crown.
Controversial tries by Josh Adams and Liam Williams set the Welsh on the way to a 40-24 win in Cardiff but England coach Eddie Jones believed his side were short-changed as their Six Nations title defence crashed and burned.
“They are huge decisions,” said Jones. “We can’t debate it, we are not allowed to debate it. All I will end up with is a fine and that won’t help anyone. The dog won’t be able to eat its food, wife won’t be able to eat, so I can’t say anything.
“They get points maybe they don’t deserve and we have to fight to get back in the game. It makes it difficult and you have to be good enough to overcome it. They were worthy winners, but we have to be good enough to overcome those, as unusual as they might be.
“The score indicates a substantial win for Wales, but I don’t think that indicates the actual game.”
Having weathered an England fightback, it was the difference in the two sides’ collective coolness under pressure which decided the game.
The visitors coughed up a trio of kickable penalties to take their grand total to an unwieldy 14.
And rookie fly-half Callum Sheedy closed out the game like an old master before another replacement, Cory Hill, crossed for the bonuspoint try that gave Wales a record score against England.
It must have felt to the away side in the first half that they were facing 16 men at the Principality Stadium – despite it being empty.
A rash of early penalties in the opening quarter of an hour led Gauzere to instruct England captain Owen Farrell to talk to his team.
He went to do so with Dan Biggar seemingly lining up an easy kick at goal.
But the Wales fly-half suddenly switched tack and delivered a pin-point cross-field kick into the pursuing Josh Adams’ arms, with the defence still in conference.
Farrell argued his point forcefully with the official that England had been done up like kippers but got only a Gallic shrug in return.
It got worse for them when Liam Williams touched down in the 30th minute with another controversial try. Gauzere adjudged, after long deliberations with his TMO Alex Ruiz, that Louis Rees-Zammit had not knocked the ball on in the build
up. The Wales wing – whose stock continues to rise – looked as surprised as anyone.
But the officials decided that as it had rebounded off Henry Slade before hitting the ground and gave the try the green light.
England kept their heads and struck back four minutes before the break through Anthony Watson, who stepped through Williams’ attempted tackle after taking Jamie George’s pass.
Biggar, who had received a heavy hit from Jonny Hill in the first half, went off five minutes after the break leaving Sheedy to come on and steer the Wales ship home.
Both he and half-back partner Kieran Hardy rose to the challenge admirably.
As Jonny Hill coughed up another penalty inside the England 22, the scrum-half did not think twice, tapping and going through a startled visiting defence to stretch over and score.
Elliot Daly, who endured another uncomfortable game in the full-back role, wasn’t even watching. Youngs showed his own nose for the goal line with a showbiz dummy, taking him under Williams for England’s second try after a sweeping attack which, with Farrell’s conversion, tied the scores at 24-24.
It was Farrell’s 1,000th point for his country.
But then the penalty tap was turned back on by England and Sheedy punished them with three superb strikes.
Cory Hill’s barrelling effort with a minute left was the cherry on the top as Wales ran in four tries against the men in white for the first time since 1998. The Grand Slam is their next goal – but the drawing board awaits for England.
Scrum-half Ben Youngs, who had given his side hope with a try midway through the second half, said: “Credit to Wales for capitalising but our discipline wasn’t where we’d expect it to be.
“It was very similar to when we played Scotland. That’s the most disappointing thing for me and it’s something we need to get hold of quickly and eradicate from our game.”