A long, frustrating drive back along a traffic-clogged M4 will have added insult to injury for Warren Gatland’s Welsh side after having been on the receiving end of a resurgent, if not convincing, English performance at Twickenham on Saturday.
It’s a shame that the impressive pre-match entertainment to mark the centenary of England’s rugby fortress was not mirrored by the 80 minutes of play that followed, but as far as opening matches of the 6 nations go, England will struggle to see the negatives.
Sporting the classic shirt of yesteryear, an injury replenished England side began the match with relative caution, threatening momentarily but rarely capitalising on opportunities. As the first half minutes ticked away, the 80000 strong crowd feared that all the hyperbole surrounding a “new look” England team may just have been exactly that as an uninspiring 3-3 score line hardly looked like a step in the right direction. That was until Stade Francais’ James Haskell showed that his time abroad had been worth the bigger pay cheque, as he dived over the line following a dominating bout of English pressure that took advantage of the 34-minute sin-binning of Wales lock Alun Wyn-Jones.
Wyn Jones’ game changing act of stupidity (tripping Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley) began a point-filled period of the match that ultimately cost the Red Dragons their first 6 nations encounter. 17 points alone were scored whilst Wyn Jones warmed the Welsh bench, including a second try from the in-form Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care, who skilfully dummied to go over at the beginning of the second half.
20-3 was the score that greeted Wyn-Jones when he returned to join his fellow morale-sapped teammates, an addition that helped spur a spirited comeback from the men in red in the latter stages of the game. Adam Jones went over for the first Welsh score, taking full advantage of an overstretched English defence, a try quickly followed by a supreme individual score from one of Wales’ most potent threats, James Hook, who carved his way between Matthew Tait and Tim Payne to make the score 20-17 with 6 minutes to go.
The familiar feeling of disappointment began to spread through the English ranks as once again Warren Gatland’s men looked destined to get one over on their old foes, but where the old England-team would have just accepted the impending defeat, the “new look” had other plans. As Stephen Jones looked poise to finish Johnson’s men off with a swift counterattack from his own half, full-back Delon Armitage pounced on his floating pass for a decisive interception that eventually saw James Haskell run in his second score of the day. It was the killer blow to the Welsh jugular.
As a spectacle, the match lacked cut-throat precision, with both teams relying on mistakes rather than crafting periods of genuinely skilful play. Wales especially were the architects of their own downfall with a catalogue of unforced errors ranging from a diabolical lineout to poor-discipline, errors that have to be ironed out when they face Scotland at the Millennium Stadium next weekend.
For England however, the match was momentous. Scepticism surrounding selection was a hot topic in the press on the lead up to their premier match of this year’s competition, and although it was not the full-throttled domination so many hoped for, the team did manage to hold up, even throwing a few tries into the mixer which was a welcome change from the Autumn performances. Anything other than a victory would have made Johnson’s position as head-coach ever more fragile, so for him, this victory meant more than just points in the 6 nations. It wasn’t a classic encounter, but for England it was a crucial victory in what they hope will be a year to remember. For Wales, if they carry on as they did on Saturday, 2010 will perhaps be one to forget.
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