CUTHBERT SHOW DESERVED TO BE CROWNED WITH WELSH VICTORY
WALES suffered a fifth Six Nations reverse in a row at Twickenham in the Six Nations as they failed to overhaul an England side who were nothing special.
Wayne Pivac will be encouraged by the pluck his side showed in hitting back from 17-0 down, but the hosts were able to take the spoils 23-19. Predictably, there was controversy. When is there ever an EnglandWales game played without controversy?
This time it centred on the officials overlooking a shove on Adam Beard which prevented the Wales vice-captain jumping at the line-out that led to England’s try. Maro Itoje’s smirk, caught on TV cameras, said it all. There were plenty of other complaints about the officiating too.
MARK ORDERS runs through the winners and losers.
Winners
There are plenty of reasons why it was good to see Alex Cuthbert playing so well on Saturday.
One, because it was his 50th cap and it’s always a positive to see a player mark a landmark occasion with a strong performance.
Two, because Cuthbert has had to contend with a lot of flak over the years.
Some of the criticism, it needs to be said, was fair when his form lapsed significantly at one point. Players know when they are not playing well and in a professional sport they expect to be subjected to onpitch scrutiny – it goes with the territory.
But there was also some stuff that was nasty and personal and Cuthbert understandably took it to heart.
That was then.
This term, he has returned to Wales older and wiser and has been playing well for the Ospreys, proving popular with his team-mates and showing maturity from day one at the region.
For Wales, he has shown he is very much a genuine World Cup contender, with all three of his appearances in recent months seeing fine performances.
Indeed, on Saturday he was outstanding, using his pace and strength to either bullock his way through would-be tacklers or simply go around them. He went looking for work and was a threat virtually every time he had the ball, making 137 metres from his 14 runs.
It was an effort that deserved to be rewarded with a win, but sometimes the script, like life in general, simply refuses to oblige.
Nonetheless, just days after the birth of his second child, Cuthbert had much to be proud of, on and off the pitch.
Taulupe Faletau
International rugby, so we thought, was so demanding that anyone returning from long-term injury needed to be eased back into the fray, perhaps with 25 minutes towards the end of a game which ideally wouldn’t have too much riding on it.
The Test game, after all, is a supreme examination of where a rugby player is at. It tests reactions, endurance and mental and physical strength. A lot of it is played on instinct, with little time to think. Pretty much everyone who’s been away from the Test arena for a while because of injury needs time to move back up the gears.
Yet after playing just a game and half for his club after seven months out, Taulupe Faletau went the distance in an England v Wales game in the Six Nations.
He also banged in a monumental performance.
There were 17 tackles and nothing missed, 14 carries and 31 metres made. Wherever the action was, Faletau was. He supported moves, turned opposition ball over, drove hard into contact or used his feet to avoid it; he made telling hits and frequently got Wales out of trouble by popping up when danger beckoned.
His was the display of a senior player thriving on responsibility and pointing the way for others.
It’s an early candidate for understatement of the year to suggest Wales would have been delighted to see him back.
Nick Tompkins
It is fair enough to point out what Nick Tompkins can’t do.
He isn’t a great kicker out of hand, nor is he someone who is built along Jamie Roberts lines and able to dominate gain-lines.
There are some who argue that he isn’t the smoothest passer of a rugby ball.
But there are also many things he can do.
Adaptable and boasts huge tenacity and determination? Tick. Blessed with a never-say-die spirit and doesn’t understand the notion of a lost cause? Tick.
Against England, his passing was also decent enough and he kept challenging their defence with his running. Oh, and he has a gargantuan workrate.
The first text this writer received after the final whistle was one with Tompkins’ name in the first line, hailing his effort.
Someone else went as far as to call the previously unsung Saracen ‘awesome’.
A rewatch of the game underlined that many of the plaudits were welldeserved.
Tomos Williams
There was a spell in the opening half against England when Harry Randall appeared to be putting a stamp on the game with smart kicking and sharp decision-making.
But Tomos Williams ended up winning the scrum-half battle.
Not only was the Cardiff player’s passing fast and accurate, he also made one sharp break and set up a try with a defence-beating pass. There was also a basketball-style offload thrown into the mix, while Williams didn’t shirk his defensive duties.
It was his most complete performance for Wales.
Losers
A month or so ago, after the Heineken Champions Cup match between Harlequins and Castres had been blighted by a contentious display from the man in the middle – contentious being a euphemism after an effort riddled with what some people viewed as ‘horrific’ and ‘disgraceful’ calls – concern was expressed that the chap in charge, Mike Adamson, was down to referee the England v Wales Six Nations joust.
Such a prospect was described as “frightening”.
After the events at Twickenham on Saturday, all in the Wales camp will understand where those expressing such anxieties were coming from.
“Is there anything we can do to help you out at the minute?” said Dan Biggar at one point as Wales struggled to cope with Adams’ interpretations.
Others expressed the view that the Scot just didn’t have a great day, full stop.
Some just didn’t rate him as a ref
eree. What is to be said?
The officials not sanctioning England for Maro Itoje’s shove on Adam Beard at the line-out from where England scored their only try vexed pretty much all this side of the River Severn.
There were several other decisions that Wales could be justified for feeling aggrieved over as well.
In a tight game, such stuff matters. With technology and back-up available to officials nowadays, there’s no real excuses. Wayne Pivac did well to retain a sense of calm in his postmatch press conference.
Lawrence Dallaglio
Does the man of the match have to come from the winning side?
Taulupe Faletau was the best player on the pitch on Saturday, closely followed by Alex Cuthbert. Some might have felt Cuthbert was the top performer with Faletau next best. No matter.
Dallaglio gave the gong to Marcus Smith, who was good without being exceptional.
Possibly, he wasn’t even the best player on England’s team, with Maro Itoje and Alex Dombrandt laying claim to that particular title.
It’s all subjective, of course, but, in keeping with a lot of stuff at Twickenham on Saturday, it was a call best described as highly debatable.
Wales’ line-out
Wales recorded a perfect line-out against Scotland in Cardiff, but in the other two games in this year’s Six Nations they have seen seven throws go astray, albeit that one of them against England in London resulted from a shove by Maro Itoje on Adam Beard which paved the way for a home score.
Even taking that episode into account, it’s an area of play that Wales forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys may feel the need to work on before the game with France a week on Friday.
Les Bleus have won more line-outs than any other side in the competition and are adept at pinching throws as well. Whatever it takes, Wales need to be more accurate.
Wales in this year’s Six Nations
It seems safe to write that the Minor Miracles Department is going to need to work overtime if Wayne Pivac’s side are to retain their Six Nations title.
The loss for Pivac’s team in London was cushioned to an extent by the second-half rally that saw the visitors come back from 17-0 adrift.
They outscored England 3-1 on tries and had their moments when the game broke up in the second period.
But analysis of the video of France’s effort in thrashing Scotland at Murrayfield should prove sobering for Wales, with Les Bleus next up for Pivac’s side.
France were powerful up front, with huge men powering across the gainline and handling skilfully as well.
The hooker Julien Marchand proved a menace over the ball while his replacement Peato Mauvaka carried forcefully, with scrum-half Antoine Dupont again proving a catalyst and the whole backline a constant threat.
The team are playing off the same page and Shaun Edwards has added steel to France’s defence, with Les Bleus making more dominant hits than any of their rivals in this year’s championship.
Wales outscored England 19-6 over the final half-hour and so will hope to take that momentum into the game a week on Friday.
But they will still need to go up several levels to challenge France because on the evidence at Murrayfield Fabien Galthie’s side are proving every bit as good as their pre-tournament hype suggested.