TOP OF THE POPS, EDDIE?
Wales hit No 1 but Jones has his dig after England loss
SOMEONE delivered a pot of fool’s gold to Cardiff and Eddie Jones brought along a giant spoon to stir it up.
Yesterday’s victory moved Wales up to No 1 in the world rankings but their new status has no 24-carat hallmark.
It is testament to their haul of 15 wins in 16 games but the All Blacks, who they have not beaten since 1953, will not experience much change to their sleeping pattern.
‘They are the favourites for the World Cup now,’ quipped Jones, mischievously.
With his cardigan slung over his shoulders, the Red Rose coach strolled nonchalantly into his press conference, before asking for the Arsenal score and praising his experimental side.
What actually matters is the ranking on November 2 — the night of the World Cup final — but Jones still seized his opportunity to pile the pressure onto Welsh shoulders.
‘ When you go to No 1, you’re favourites for the Rugby World Cup,’ he added.
Wales had under-fire Dan Biggar to thank for the victory. Warren Gatland’s side will be a match for anyone in Japan, but the hype generated by last night’s feat flatters to deceive. Their preparations have been ripped apart by a season-ending injury to fellow No 10 Gareth Anscombe and critics have questioned whether they have depth in reserve.
Former Wales star JJ Williams made headlines with comments that Wales would never win the World Cup with Biggar at fly-half, but the latter responded in style by picking apart the English in his signature approach. ‘A special thanks to JJ Williams for his comments this week,’ shot back Biggar, over the stadium tannoy, as he picked up his man-of-the-match award.
With their 31-man squad named last Monday, England lacked the edge they had at Twickenham in the opening warm-up victory and delivered a fruitless first half.
They conceded seven penalties in 40 minutes and, for the first time since the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal against France, failed to score a single point in the first half.
For 80 minutes, Biggar’s high balls soared close to the closed stadium roof. The noise of the crowd was trapped inside, simulating conditions of Sapporo and Kobe, and England failed to outmuscle the Welsh defence against the roar of the home support.
Wales targeted Elliot Daly early on. Inside the first two minutes, Biggar landed two kicks on the makeshift full- back to test his mettle. Daly rose to the challenge, but it bought territory for the Welsh who eventually turned pressure into points.
The hosts turned down two kicks at goal early on, opting for lineouts, but it took 26 minutes to crack England’s blitz defence.
‘These boys wear this jersey with pride,’ said Wales coach Warren Gatland. ‘Teams are going to beat us because we’re a small nation, but if they do beat us, they’re going to have to play pretty well because these boys are pretty proud Welshmen who won’t roll over easy.’
Aaron Wainwright was at the heart of the Welsh forwards’ effort, while Lewis Ludlam landed plenty of body blows for England.
England can be pleased by their scrummaging efforts in the opening two games — fronted by Ellis Genge and Dan Cole — but they must offer more in attack.
‘We set these games up to deliberately practice things,’ said a defiant Jones. ‘ We’ve got other options from the five-metre line which we haven’t shown yet — and won’t show for a while.’
Keeping a healthy squad is a priority and Wales are already facing a casualty list of Anscombe, Ellis Jenkins and Toby Faletau.
Full-back Liam Williams pulled out before kick-off, while flanker James Davies was replaced by Josh Navidi after 26 minutes.
On the English front, Willi Heinz suffered jelly legs after a blow to the head and suddenly the pitch resembled an A&E ward. In the same run of play, Anthony Watson bit in to cut off a Wales overlap but, in doing so, slapped down Hadleigh Parkes’ pass and received a yellow card.
Controversially, Ben Youngs did not have time to step foot on the pitch to replace Heinz before Biggar, sniffing an opportunity, caught England in no man’s land with 13 men on the field. He swiftly executed a wily left-to-right crossfield kick for Josh Adams, before a second from right to left for George North. North scored the try, which Biggar converted, and Wales had their biggest half-time lead against England since 1975.
‘We do need to learn how to defend better with 13 men,’ sneered Jones. ‘I should have studied my rugby league harder this week. I’ll go up to Wigan and get some lessons how to defend with 13 men. It is what it is. It was a difficult situation, we didn’t cope, so well done to Wales.’
The second- half performances will send few shockwaves through the Southern Hemisphere.
Jones made changes up front — bringing on Joe Marler for his first game since his retirement U-turn — but England only managed six points through George Ford’s boot.
Halfpenny missed a long-range penalty but, after Ken Owens shifted to No 8 following an injury to Jake Ball, was on target with his second effort.
It edged Wales closer towards the unholy grail of top spot, but Gatland was not getting too excited.
‘ Lots of journalists will be out there saying “this is a joke” — probably Kiwi journalists more than anything,’ he said. ‘ We’re not making a big fuss of it. It’s just a number, isn’t it? It’s a nice accolade to have but it’s all about the next few months and backing it up in the World Cup. We’ve got to keep things in perspective.’
England had an attacking lineout to snatch a draw in the final minute, but their maul was swamped by defenders and, for the first time in history, Wales were No 1.