Gritty England emerge victorious in tale of two teams in transition،
TWICKENHAM, London — England have talked all week about rebuilding confidence at Twickenham and they managed to rebuild the foundations with a narrow 16-14 victory over Wales. But it was a transition match, and it played at a level worthy of both teams: these are two groups of players getting used to tactical changes and new teammates.
This is what this whole occasion was like on a cold Saturday afternoon. There were new touches inside the stadium, while the match had glimpses of brilliance, but it was as much about managing discipline as it was about being clinical on the pitch.
Outstanding player Tommy Reffell wore Welsh red; The winning and decisive moments came from the players in white, bolstered by the introduction of props Ellis Genge and Dan Cole after 52 minutes and by George Ford's clear thinking late on.
It was about pressure and counter-pressure, expanding the width of the game, breaching blitz defenses, but above all controlling the waves of a match and striking when the opportunity allowed. In the end, it was England who fought their way across the finish line, leaving them as one of two teams still in contention with the cry of winning the Grand Slam championship.
But like last week, there is a lot to take away from this Wales performance. They dropped just one point against Scotland last week in Cardiff, coming back from 0-27 down to lose 26-27. Warren Gatland arrived at this Twickenham test in an optimistic mood: he has won seven of his 20 matches here between Wasps and Wales, and has already knocked this old stadium into silence.
The message to his youngsters was to put aside any feelings of intimidation and embrace the challenge of being the one to break the sense of optimism slowly building around the work Steve Borthwick is doing with England.
England came out of the blocks here, but it was Wales who went into the break with a 14-5 lead. England's first-half discipline cost them two players in the trash, with Ollie Chessum receiving a yellow card for a shoulder to the head of Welshman Keiron Assiratti after 11 minutes. The second yellow came six minutes later and resulted in a Welsh penalty try, with Ethan Roots temporarily sent off for his role in bringing down the maul.
England managed to overcome the numerical disadvantage well, scoring with 13 men as they managed to force a scrum from 10 yards out and Ben Earl broke through three Welsh defenders to score. Ford had his conversion reduced, with the referee saying he had started his run when he took a step to the left.
Wales regained momentum and then came the second Welsh punch as Alex Mann scored just before the break. England at this stage looked disorganized and a little disconcerted. Wales had not conceded a penalty, England looked vulnerable in defense – just like last week – and the players in red were hoping to record their first Six Nations victory at Twickenham since 2012.
Then came the English Revival. They won a penalty back after 48 minutes, then Fraser Dingwall buried himself in the corner in the 63rd minute. The key moment of the game came in the 69th minute, a series of moves that marked the start of a series of winning moments. First Freddie Steward took a brilliant high ball, Ford then kicked a 50:22 and from that lineout Mason Grady was taken out for a deliberate knock-on and Ford gave England a two-goal lead points from the start. Accomplished job.
The fact that “Swing Low” finally broke into the stands in the 79th minute speaks volumes. Up until that point there was this nagging feeling that, one way or another, Wales were going to crush this English comeback. But it was not to be, with England hoping for a narrow victory.
England came into this match talking about wanting to regain the trust of their supporters. Jamie George, the England captain, was passionate about this and there were changes: the team bus was parked further back in the grounds, allowing players to pass through more supporters on their way to the stadium. There was more music in the game and subtle changes to their locker room. There have been nagging injuries in their last few matches here, having won just three of their previous 10 Tests at the ground. Borthwick remained confident with the same XV that beat Italy last week, the first time an England manager had named an unchanged team since the 2019 Rugby World Cup final.
Questions have been raised about the vulnerability of England's blitz defense under new coach Felix Jones, something Italy exploited well last week. There's some history here, given South Africa won just seven of their first 14 Tests under Jones' regime when he worked there. But then again, Jones has won back-to-back World Cup titles and is considered one of the best in the world in his field. The players spoke during the week about the room to make mistakes and continuous learning.
And there were mistakes. Wales looked to exploit some English vulnerability on the wings given their narrow defense. Ioan Lloyd moved the point of attack from right to left and in the first half it worked. Some of the highlights will make the England team look ugly. They had few answers to Reffell's offloads and his ability to slow the breakdown. He made a key offload to help Wales score their second try through Mann.
“We wanted him to be comfortable with the ball in his hands and become a threat,” Gatland said. “He has a good balance in his game and that can take him to the next level. He was absolutely outstanding today.”
But despite the nine-point gap, England's lead did not bow. They played better in the second half, with more determination and physicality, and Genge and Cole coming off the bench with 28 minutes remaining changed the balance of the game in England's favor. They started to dominate the scrum, the decisions followed and from there they were able to build and ultimately hold on. Earl was England's standout player, their main gainline breaker, while Steward did well under the high ball.
“What I see here is a team that remains in the fight,” England coach Borthwick said after the match.
Wales will lament this as a missed opportunity. They had the opportunity to extend their lead, enough for their young captain Dafydd Jenkins to say “we should have won” after the match.
This is the belief that Gatland has instilled in this young group and it will bear fruit. “We're not there yet, but we're going to be a very good team in the future,” Gatland said. “I am proud of this effort and today we will learn more about game management.”
But for England, they will remember a performance where there was constant improvement, but above all, a match where they managed to win at Twickenham. Instead of boos, there were cheers. This is what George wanted.
“I loved every second, from the finish to the final whistle,” George said after the match. “Do we want a better performance? Of course. I loved every second and we felt a lot of pride and noise in the stands. This is the first step. It won't go exactly the way we want, but coming back from a win at Twickenham was important.”
As the England fans filed out of the stadium, the emotion that overwhelmed them was one of relief and quiet satisfaction. A supporter was present in the hall and chain-smoking. “I don’t know why we do this to ourselves,” he said, smiling and exhaling in relief at the same time. But that’s why they keep coming back. There is a dawning belief, a recognition of what this England team is trying to do and a relief to see them win again.
