Dragons roar!
Wales make history with 12th victory in succession Gatland labels England as chokers in ‘big games’
Warren Gatland, the Wales head coach, labelled England chokers after a stunning second half saw his team score 18 points to take them to a 21-13 victory over heavily-fancied visitors whose Grand Slam hopes were blown apart.
Instead, it is Wales, celebrating a record 12 consecutive wins, who have designs on landing their third Grand Slam under Gatland whose record of upsets against England includes a famous World Cup win at Twickenham in 2015 and another Grand Slam-denier against Stuart Lancaster’s team two years earlier in Cardiff. It was enough for Gatland, the front-runner to succeed Eddie Jones after the World Cup in Japan, to question England’s mental strength.
“I look back at England over the past few years, and when it has really mattered, I question whether they can win these big games,” said Gatland. “We’ve had a record of being pretty good in those. We knew exactly where we were. We said to the players, ‘They have no idea what animal is turning up this week,’ but we did. We always knew how important this game would be. We went through some pain last week in terms of how hard we trained. The message to the players was that there is no way anyone is training as hard as us. I think it paid dividends, not necessarily from a physical point of view but a mental point of view. We said before we left the hotel that we would win because we’ve forgotten how to lose.
“It was probably one of the best weeks I’ve had with the team. I’ve been involved with a lot of teams and yesterday’s captain’s run was as good as I’ve ever seen. The challenge now is not to be complacent or drop our levels.”
It is the second time in the tournament that Wales have rallied from a half-time deficit, clawing back 16 points against France and overturning a 10-3 England lead in this match, to take their place at the top of the Guinness Six Nations table, with a trip to Murrayfield and a final-day home match against Ireland to come.
Gatland did have one last barb to deliver on England prop Kyle Sinckler, whom he labelled an “emotional timebomb” before the game. Despite describing the Harlequins tighthead as a “fantastic footballer”, he added that “he does have a few demons to deal with”.
England head coach Jones rejected Gatland’s assessment, even though he substituted Sinckler in the 55th minute after the prop had given away a couple of penalties.
“I didn’t know Warren had a degree in clinical psychology. I might go and see him,” said Jones, who asked for Sinckler to be cut some slack. “I know you guys want to single him out because Warren said what he said but don’t be unfair to him. He’s a young player on the way up. Look after him a bit.”
Jones highlighted England’s weaknesses in the air and in the penalty count as the reasons behind their surprise defeat. They can still win the title if Wales slip, as England’s final two games are both at Twickenham against Italy and Scotland.
“We’ll be chasing Wales,” said Jones. “Everyone is smiling here at the moment, but there is always another day, so we’ll see what the lie of the land is after Italy. The world hasn’t ended. We’ll learn from today. We weren’t quite good enough, but there is no embarrassment in that.”
Jones also has injury issues, with news that his co-captain, Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley, who has not played since just before Christmas due to a knee injury, is to have surgery on Tuesday and is set to be out of action for three months. “Dylan will have the operation, and I think it will be at least 12 weeks,” said Jones who also saw Hartley’s Saints team-mate Courtney Lawes helped off with a leg injury during the second half. Wing Jonny May will also be assessed for a head knock.
Georgia will provide live opposition during England’s three day camp in Oxford this week.