CARDIFF, Saturday - Cory Hill and Josh Adams scored second-half tries as record-breaking Wales came from behind to beat England 21-13 in the Six Nations in Cardiff on Saturday to stay on course for a Grand Slam.
It seemed England were on course for a clean sweep of their own when they led 13-9 early in the second half.
But Wales, in coach Warren Gatland’s final Six Nations in charge before the New Zealander stands down after the World Cup in Japan later this year, hit back in style.
Hill forced his way over for a try before wing Adams caught a pinpoint cross-kick from replacement fly-half Dan Biggar to go over for a late try that put the result beyond doubt.
Victory also saw Wales, who had been 16-0 behind at half-time in their tournament opener against France before winning 24-19, establish a new national record of 12 successive wins and break a mark that had stood since 1910.
But two more penalties from Anscombe early in the second half cut England’s advantage to just a point at 10-9.
Farrell nudged the visitors further ahead with a penalty to make it 13-9 only for Hill to put Wales in front for the first time with a 63rd minute score before Adams struck.
This was England’s first defeat in five Tests against Wales since Eddie Jones took over as coach after the 2015 World Cup.
With the Principality Stadium’s retractable roof open at England’s request, the visitors saw long-range kick specialist Elliot Daly push an early 48-metre effort wide of the left post.
England had scored tries inside the first three minutes of their last five Tests but in a gruelling series of early exchanges the Welsh defence held firm.
Fly-half Anscombe, selected in place of proven goalkicker Biggar, declined a couple of early penalty shots at goal, preferring to kick for line-outs.
But from one such kick, England lock George Kruis stole possession off a Welsh throw-in.
England, with prop Kyle Sinckler, lock Courtney Lawes and Curry making plenty of tackles, went ahead in the 17th minute when they forced a scrum penalty inside Wales’ 22 to give fly-half Farrell a simple penalty chance before Anscombe replied from similarly close range for Wales.
The only try of an absorbing first half came in the 27th minute when a break across the line by centre Henry Slade took England, whose vocal fans were well represented in a capacity crowd, into Wales’ 22.
It seemed Wales were clearing the danger near their own line but Lawes stripped the ball off Tipuric in a ruck and Curry burst clear through an unguarded blindside for a breakaway try that Farrell duly converted.
When Wales did get close to England’s line the visitors’ defence held firm and speedy wing Jonny May showed there was more to their much-talked about kicking game than grubbers behind the back-line with a superb chip and sprint down the left touchline to clear a potentially dangerous situation on the stroke of half-time.
But a scrappy start to the second half saw Sinckler concede two penalties which Anscombe kicked to cut England’s lead to just a point at 10-9.
Unsurprisingly, Jones then replaced Sinckler -- labelled a ‘time-bomb’ in the build-up by Gatland -- with Harry Williams rather than run the risk of a yellow card or worse for the Harlequins front-rower
A previously composed England were rattled and Wales after a sustained period of possession sent Hill in for a 68th-minute try that Biggar, significantly, converted before Adams applied the finishing touch from a cross-kick, once again from Biggar.
FRANCE REVEL IN ‘FUN’ VICTORY OVER SORRY SCOTLAND
PARIS, Saturday - A smiling France team revelled in a bonus-point 27-10 victory over Scotland on Saturday after rediscovering a “fun” brand of rugby, according to captain Guilhem Guirado.
The French team, fired by impressive rookie fly-half Romain Ntamack, bounced back from defeats by Wales and England with a comprehensive win over the outgunned Scots.
When replacement Gregory Alldritt celebrated his 22nd birthday by barrelling over for his second try in injury-time, it handed France a bonus point for four tries scored, Ntamack and Yoann Huget having also crossed the whitewash.
“I’m happy at how the team behaved and played,” said Guirado, who had promised a “revolt” following the 44-8 loss to England, their worst result against ‘Les Rosbifs’ since 1911.
“Some things have been said in the past few days. I was convinced we would play a big game and we did just that.”
Guirado said he had liked seeing players rediscover their smile, also praising the often fickle national fans who ensured a good atmosphere at a sell-out 78,000-strong Stade de France.
“We had fun on the pitch and it was a pleasure to be out there,” said the hooker, with an away trip to Ireland next up.
“It’s been a long time the stadium hasn’t been full like that. It was a great atmosphere and that’s what I like about playing on Saturday at 3 o’clock,” the defeat by Wales coming in a Friday evening fixture that saw rafts of empty seating in the stadium built for the 1998 Football World Cup.
Guirado said he was also “very happy about getting that bonus point”.
“I was nervous when Scotland scored, but then we came back and stuck to the task.”
The victory, he added, was “going to put a lot of pressure on because we have to go out there and try to repeat what we’ve done here”.
Coach Jacques Brunel, whose side had four tries disallowed, was quick to hail his young guns, including Ntamack.
“He played very well, directed the team very well,” he said, adding there had never been any doubts over players stepping up.
“I’m pleased by the whole team. The players are there because they are capable of playing at this level.
“There were no question marks, no doubts.”
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend, who played in the last Scottish side to win in Paris, in 1999, bemoaned his team’s poor start against a side which could have gone either way on the back of two defeats.
“They played with confidence partly due to our errors and they put us on back foot,” said the former fly-half.
“We had seven penalties and a yellow card in the first half and that should have led to more than three points,” he said of the 10-3 half-time scoreline.
“In the second half, to come out a lose a try almost immediately from 80 yards out again gives the opposition more confidence.
“We weren’t able to come back from that.”
Townsend, who faces a tough two weeks preparing for the next game against Wales, added: “A lot (in the defeat) came down to our inability when we got behind them to score tries.
“Converting opportunities is the element closest to winning and losing at Test level, it’s a very important area to improve.
“When we win games, we’re accurate in the opposition 22m. Today that was one element that didn’t work.” - AFP
0 comments:
Post a Comment