We knew England would crack under pressure: Sheedy

CALLUM SHEEDY says Wales knew England’s discipline would crack “if we could choke them enough” after he put the boot into Eddie Jones’ team.

England conceded 14 penalties in their 40-24 Guinness Six Nations defeat at the Principality Stadium. And they imploded during the final quarter when substitute Sheedy kicked three penalties in nine minutes during a 16-point unanswered burst by Wales that meant Triple Crown glory and left them two wins away from a second Grand Slam in three seasons.

“It’s tough to say whether you are surprised teams give away penalties,” Bristol fly-half Sheedy said. “It is like anything – if a team is under pressure, discipline starts to get a bit wavy.

“We knew if we could choke them enough, they would get ill-disciplined. Thankfully, that happened.”

While England begin to pick through the pieces of a Six Nations campaign in rubble, Wales march on with 14 points from a possible 15. Tournament no-hopers Italy are next up on March 13, before Sheedy and company head to Paris seven days later.

Victories in both games would secure a fifth Six Nations clean sweep and sixth title, but Sheedy knows how quickly things can change.

“I couldn’t kick snow off a rope two weeks ago [against Scotland], according to the public, and now I will probably be a decent kicker!” he said. “The people who build you up are the same people who shoot you down. You’ve got to take it with a pinch of salt.

“I hope the Welsh people enjoy this win, as they should. In tough, testing times, it’s great to get a win over England.”

Sheedy is just seven Tests into his international career, yet he has already proved an integral part of Wales’ armoury. And the 25-year-old has been around long enough to understand that this season’s big Six Nations prizes are still to be achieved.

“Let’s take each game as it comes and not get carried away with Grand Slam chat,” he said. “We will keep our feet firmly on the ground. We will enjoy the Triple Crown, and then a big week ahead of Italy.

“Grand Slam might be said in the public, but it won’t be said in the circle. [Captain] Alun Wyn Jones won’t let it.

Meanwhile, Ireland captain Johnny Sexton admits Saturday’s crushing victory over Italy does not mean “everything is fixed”.

Andy Farrell’s men bounced back from losses to Wales and France by running in six tries during a 48-10 bonus-point success in Rome. Fly-half Sexton added all six conversions and two penalties on his return from a head injury to help ease pressure on head coach Farrell.

Ireland travel to Scotland on March 14 before concluding the tournament six days later at home to England and Sexton acknowledges there is still plenty to do to salvage an “okay championship”.

“Each game has been different and I suppose [Saturday] was an accumulation and everything coming together a little bit,” he said. “But it doesn’t mean everything is fixed now; we’ve got to keep improving and obviously a massive test ahead going to Murrayfield, it’s always an incredibly tough game.

“If we get a couple of results in our last couple of games, it will be an okay championship, it will be what might have been, but we want to finish on a high.”