Wales vs England - Review

16 - 21

A thrilling encounter saw the men in white beat the Welsh at the Millennium Stadium. Here we will look at how the English won it against their Welsh counterparts, who the key players were, and where the teams go from here.

Leigh Halfpenny vs Mike Brown

Halfepenny, after being targeted by the English for his lack of height, received a few kicks early on to test him against the English chasers. He dealt with this comfortably and showed himself to be as competent as ever under the high ball. He ran strongly and performed well, just like his opposite number Mike Brown. Does Mike Brown win this individual battle because of that glorious grubber kick to give Anthony Watson the try and his slightly stronger running (82 metres gained)? I would say no, because of Halfpenny's kicking responsibilities that he handled supremely, apart from one mistake which Biggar made up for later on in the half with a splendid drop goal.

Preview verdict: Tie
Verdict: Tie



Alex Cuthbert & George North vs Jonny May & Anthony Watson

Pace. Power. Passion. That is how I described the wingers in the preview. I was wrong. Well, half wrong. The English boys certainly showed these traits. The Welsh wingers however were non-existent, unless they were being sin binned or concussed. Jonny May constantly closed down Alex Cuthbert and put him under heaps of pressure, although coming off of his wing for the Wales try was poor defensively. Anthony Watson however didn't put a foot wrong. A fantastic finish after Mike Brown's kick, some great tackles and impressive collections under the high ball showed that Anthony Watson is here to stay in that England shirt.

Preview verdict: Wales
Verdict: England



Jonathan Davies & Jamie Roberts vs Jonathan Joseph & Luther Burrell

I thought the experience of the Welsh would help them win in this department, I was wrong however. England limited the Welsh physicality, and considering this is their entire game plan, they completely nullified the Welsh offence, after the first 10 minutes at least. Whilst quite throughout the game bar a break or two by Luther Burrell, it was Jonathan Joseph's moment that sealed victory for England in the battle of the centres, ducking under poor tackles from Rhys Webb and George North and scoring the crucial try. Proof that modern centres don't have to be big boys.

Preview verdict: Wales
Verdict: England



Dan Biggar vs George Ford

Biggar actually had a more impressive game than I thought he would. Some impressive kicks, especially after restarts, some good tackles and good game management led to Biggar being one of the stand out Welsh players. It just so happens however, that he came up against man of the match George Ford, who, despite a couple of poor kicks that were charged down, kicked very smartly, kept his cool under severe pressure and tackled everyone possible, even if he was driven back a few metres each time. There can be no no questions about his defensive game any more the way he played, the only time the Welsh managed to get over the England try line was when Jonny May stepped off of his wing to help cover him. Trust this man. Would I have given him man of the match? Continue reading and you'll find out...

Preview verdict: England
Verdict: England



Rhys Webb vs Ben Youngs

In the first ten minutes of the match Rhys Webb looked like he would be the man to guide Wales to victory. A good try showed why he is the starting scrum half for the team in red. However, I thought his kicking was poor, especially his box kick at the beginning of the second half that heaped pressure on his team and ultimately led to the England try. That was unforgivable. A mistake that Ben Youngs would not make. One of a few English players that could have claimed man of the match, Ben was very good, impressive all over the park, controlling the pace of the game in the second half, making tackles and clearing England's lines when needed. He looked sharp and aware of everything around him, calm under extreme pressure, which led to a very strong performance from the Leicester man.

Preview verdict: Tie
Verdict: England



Gethin Jenkins, Richard Hibbard & Samson Lee vs Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley & Dan Cole

I backed Samson Lee to be the key man for Wales. To give them that extra in the front row that would lead them to victory. However, he was let down by his fellow prop Gethin Jenkins, who's poor scrummaging led to England gathering momentum at scrum time and allowed them a strong platform to push on. Incredibly it was England's great scrummaging that led to the Welsh try. The pack were moving too fast to react to Faletau's retrieval of the ball and after some poor defence the Welsh took a comfortable lead. Hartley was quiet, which is unusual, nothing special from him and a couple of poor throws, although he did stay out of the sin bin. England lost nothing when Tom Youngs came on and this could prove to be a selection dilemma for Lancaster in the coming weeks.

Preview verdict: Tie
Verdict: England



Jake Ball & Alun Wyn Jones vs Dave Attwood & George Kruis

Wait... did Wales have any second rows playing yesterday? I didn't notice any, until lanky Luke came on. I was expecting much more from Alun, who should have used his overwhelming experience to drive Wales forward in front of an expectant crowd, but he couldn't do that. Attwood was unfortunate to have his try disallowed, but that is irrelevant as both he and Kruis had great games, and have shown that when England have a fully fit selection of second rows to choose from, Lancaster will have a very difficult decision to make.

Preview verdict: England
Verdict: England



Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton & Taulupe Faletau vs James Haskell, Chris Robshaw & Billy Vunipola

Work horse vs work horse. Captain vs captain. Wrecking ball vs wrecking ball. That was the battle. I tipped England to come through and they did. Many suggested Robshaw for man of the match, I thought he and Warburton were almost equals through the game, putting their bodies on the lines and making tackle after tackle, however Robshaw made more tackles (26) and in the end was the more influentials player. The captains showed why they are selected as players and not just leaders, it was exactly the battle I was hoping for. Vunipola left a lot to be desired in the first half and was outshone by Faletau's great piece of work at the base of the scrum to set up Webb's try. In the second half however, Billy really stepped it up and was looking more dangerous in the loose. Morgan would still be my pick over Vunipola for now, but there is still time for Billy to shine. James Haskell would have been my man of the match, and probably would have been the official man of the match if it wasn't for Wales's best player of the half - the post, or his one lapse in concentration which led to Wales's try. He was, as predicted, everywhere much more visible than Lydiate who was uninspiring with his performance. Haskell could be a key player for England in the other big games this year, with his rousing speeches, impressive performances and admirable work rate, and I look forward to seeing if he can carry England to victory against Ireland.

Preview verdict: England
Verdict: England



Substitutes: One noticeable impact off the bench came from Billy Twelvetrees, who was a man possessed towards the end of the game. I wouldn't go starting him just yet however, but if he continues to play like that off the bench then England will be delighted.


Overall

What a game. England dealt with Wales's one dimensional game plan after a tense and nervous first half. It seems bizarre to consider this five point victory as a big defeat but it was. Apart from the first 10 minutes the Welsh offered nothing to threaten the English try line. For England I would like to see Eastmond in if fit, the 10, 12, 13 bath combination has been lethal all season and Kyle could provide that bit extra going forward that we didn't see from Burrell today. Wales will have to question a lot, some questions that had already been asked of them and some new questions. When will they learn that physicality can not be Plan A, Plan B AND Plan C. Why is Cuthbert in the 23? Does George North keep his place in the side? I think he'll be effective against Scotland and if the brutal concussions don't keep him out he should starts and score a try.
I'm happy with my prediction of England winning by 8 points, the 5 point winning margin could well have been larger but we knew it would be a tight game, I was surprised by how non-existent the Welsh team were in the second half though.
The men in white will gain a lot of confidence from this, not just for the 6 Nations but for the World Cup. England are sure to trounce the Azzurri at home next week, whilst the Welsh travel to a confident Scotland side with a horribly disappointing defeat, and the Scots will be hungry for blood.

Who Was Your Man of the Match?