WALES 23 ENGLAND 15: THE LAW of averages does not seem to apply to Warren Gatland's Wales. Eight consecutive championship wins have already elevated this side out of the ordinary and a third grand slam in five years is now distinctly possible, a feat achieved by only one other nation since 1924 (England in 1995). This was also their third victory in a row over England, who have not suffered that particular indignity for 20 years.
The tighter than expected margin will not concern anyone in Cardiff. For the English, though, the law of gravity still pertains: what goes up inevitably comes down unless supported by something more permanent than one-off examples of John Bull-style resilience. While Joe Worsley was magnificent in his role as a human scud missile, his epic man-marking job on Jamie Roberts was the equivalent of a goalkeeper enjoying a shot-stopping blinder. On other days, not least against Ireland at Croke Park on Saturday week, England would be unwise to rely on him bailing them out so spectacularly.
That is not to say Martin Johnson’s side did not contribute fully to what Gatland rightly called “a proper Test match”. Both their props, Andrew Sheridan and Phil Vickery, put in lion-hearted defensive shifts and Harry Ellis and Riki Flutey were again impressively alert. But in the absence of regular lineout possession – England had only four throws all match – and with a similar paucity of scrums, Johnson was given a glimpse of a future he ultimately has no choice but to embrace. England were frequently forced to survive a gripping contest on their wits rather than pre-ordained patterns and, encouragingly, played all the better for it.
There was precious little alternative given the loss of two more players to the sin-bin – 11 yellow cards in seven games – and yet another double-digit penalty count. As well as devising fresh ways of maintaining 15 men on the field, Johnson may now need to reconsider his options for Dublin.
If he reprogrammes Worsley to hunt down, say, Brian O’Driscoll, it will leave a plenty of space for the clever David Wallace and his backrow. Are England going to best the Irish in the set-pieces? Unlikely. It might be more advisable to inject more pace into their back-five and midfield, with Worsley potentially more valuable on the blindside flank. Tom Croft’s lineout ability and round-the-park athleticism could also come in handy. “I’m not into moral victories and all that rubbish,” muttered Johnson. No one is expecting him to be, but Saturday’s pragmatic game plan is not a realistic long-term formula.
It should be remembered too that England have not strung together two consecutive decent performances in the past 18 months. This was their best under Johnson’s stewardship and, had a late Toby Flood penalty attempt not drifted wide, the last five minutes would have been very interesting. But we have seen this before: the 2007 World Cup was a classic example of a side raising themselves off the canvas, openly motivated by outside criticism, before discovering passion only gets you so far.
England’s best days – against France in 2007 and Ireland last year – have come when they trusted their instincts rather than sticking to old-school orthodoxy. Saturday’s improvement does not automatically prove that a consistent English revival is nigh.
It will never happen if England keep winding up referees at their present rate. Only 16 minutes had elapsed when Mike Tindall saw yellow for ball-slowing; if the centre was slightly unlucky, the team had just been warned in no uncertain terms by Jonathan Kaplan. Andy Goode’s banishment two minutes after half-time was a product of desperation, with Wales revitalised by a powerful half-time pep talk from Shaun Edwards, but Johnson’s decision to send on Flood betrayed the manager’s feelings. “It’s a perception issue,” said Johnson. “We’re England away from home, we’re probably not going to win the penalty count.”
Maybe, but should that not be factored into England’s activities at the breakdown? Effectively accusing referees of being biased against English players is hardly going to help either.
Ultimately it was discipline which separated the two teams. For the first 20 minutes in particular Wales were smart, organised and slick and would have been further ahead had Goode not threaded a neat kick in behind the defence and invited Paul Sackey to nip in between Mark and Stephen Jones.
Admittedly Wales overdid their reliance on the boshing skills of Andy Powell and Roberts, but there was little wrong with their handling or temperament. Had Shane Williams been fit, it would also have given them more attacking options, as France may discover in the Six Nations inaugural Friday night fixture in Paris next week.
WALES:L Byrne; L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues), T Shanklin (Cardiff Blues), J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), M Jones (Scarlets); S Jones (Scarlets), M Phillips (Ospreys; Peel, Sale Sharks, 72); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), M Rees (Scarlets; Bennett, Ospreys, 67), A Jones (Ospreys), I Gough (Ospreys), A-W Jones (Ospreys), R Jones (Ospreys, capt), M Williams, A Powell (Cardiff Blues; D Jones, Scarlets, 60).
ENGLAND:D Armitage (London Irish); P Sackey (Wasps; Tait, Sale, 65), M Tindall (Gloucester), R Flutey (Wasps), M Cueto (Sale); A Goode (Brive; Flood, Leicester, 52), H Ellis (Leicester); A Sheridan (Sale), L Mears (Bath; Hartley, Northampton, 65), P Vickery (Wasps; White, Leicester, 65), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), N Kennedy (London Irish; Croft, Leicester, 55), J Haskell (Wasps; Narraway, Gloucester, 65), J Worsley (Wasps), N Easter (Harlequins).
Referee:J Kaplan (South Africa).
Attendance:74,594
- Guardian Service
