Henry can rest easy
EXILED England wing Henry Arundell was on corporate duty at Twickenham yesterday.
The Racing 92 flier — who is unavailable for Test selection, having signed for another two years in Paris — has been making his mark in the Top 14 since being part of the Red Rose squad at the World Cup.
DURING this Six Nations, all teams once again have Netflix camera crews embedded with them, to capture footage with a view to another ‘Full Contact’ series, about the 2024 championship. It is noticeable how players and coaches have gradually become more familiar with the personnel assigned to follow them and efforts have been made to integrate them. In the case of Wales, the Netflix crew have been decked out in official team merchandise during this campaign, to allow them to feel more part of the set-up.
When the home side were carving up the Welsh defence in the opening stages of this match, Arundell may have had pangs of regret about what he was missing, but as the game unfolded he will have remembered what it was like to chase kicks, make tackles and wait in vain for space to run.
CONDITIONS were favourable on this occasion, but there is no roof to shield teams from the elements at Twickenham, as there is at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Whenever a proposed redevelopment of the national stadium goes ahead, England head coach Steve Borthwick is not a fan of adding a roof, if that were to be an option. Asked about it, he revealed a traditional view of rugby as an all-weather pursuit, saying: ‘Generally, I’m a believer that rugby is a game that is played outdoors and you’ve got to adapt to different conditions. That’s the way I feel about it.’
GEORGE FORD is one of the most affable and good-natured characters in the England squad but he had to endure some moments which tested his patience in the first half. There was a lot of focus on the referee’s decision to let Wales charge down and kick away his attempted conversion of Ben Earl’s try, but there was another incident soon after involving the home No 10. When Josh Adams kicked to touch on the right, a ball boy caught the ball, preventing Ford (left) taking a quick throw-in and the fly-half snapped at him, before quickly apologising profusely.
ENGLAND have now won each of their last six games against Wales at Twickenham in the Six Nations: 2014: WON 29-18
2016: WON 25-21
2018: WON 12-6
2020: WON 33-30
2022: WON 23-19
2024: WON 16-14
Wales’ last win in England remains their 25-28 victory in the Rugby World Cup in 2015. Their last Six Nations win at Twickenham came in 2012.
IN the build-up to this match, there had been significant focus on the intriguing sub-plot of Cardiff-born and raised England wing Immanuel FeyiWaboso (right) facing his home country in just his second Test appearance. The fear was that he would be the subject of hostility from Welsh fans, but when his name was read out before kick-off there was barely any response at all. However, moments later, he had to endure having a TV camera lingering for an awkward close-up as he sang God Save the King.