You only had to look into Rhys Webb’s eyes to see what the defeat had meant. He didn’t seem so very far from breaking down late on Saturday as he articulated the overwhelming sense of regret that Wales had not held out to the last.
“We know that we need to play for the full 80 minutes,” Webb said. “We’ve talked about that before. We played some great rugby at times, but basic errors that crept in during that last 10 or 12 minutes. We can’t afford to switch off. It is difficult to take as a loss, to be honest.”
To have talked about seeing the job through is one thing, though when the dust had settled on the defeat, it was hard to evade the reality that England had seen to the small percentages that win games such as this. The performance provided a little deliverance for the interim coach Rob Howley but confidence in him does not flow from it like a river.
The removal of Ross Moriarty in the game’s 53rd minute took away from Wales the source of the momentum which had been building with some monumental tackling and Howley’s explanation of this did not provoke confidence. “It was just a substitution,” he said. “He played 70 minutes last week. Our bench had a huge impact last week.” The flying gumshield of Moriarty told the story as Wales defended like it was their life’s work in the first half. It sailed through the night air after one of his myriad thumping tackles.
There was another haunting for the Welsh, in the decision of Alun Wyn Jones not to kick penalties and points when the opportunity twice arose in that same first half. Howley said it was his players’ call. “You back your players making decisions on the field,” he said. ”They felt at the time that was the right option. They backed themselves. You trust your players. If that was how they felt at the time; that’s okay with me.” It felt like the kind of group-think which did for Stuart Lancaster’s England, against Wales, in the 2015 World Cup match at Twickenham.
It was equally hard to find empathy for the decision to throw Alex Cuthbert into the occasion when the nation’s conversation had centred on his desperate struggle for form. In the final reckoning, it was the inadequacy of Jonathan Davies’ attempt to clear his lines which proved fateful, and then the failure to fan out and prevent England gaining width in possession.
Six Nations team of the weekend – round two
Six Nations team of the weekend – round two
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1/15 15. Stuart Hogg (Scotland)
Bagged his third try of the tournament as his footwork left Baptiste Serin of France on his heels. Could have done better to prevent Gael Fickou’s score, but his attacking flair still ensured he was the standout 15 this weekend.
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2/15 14. Elliot Daly (England)
His match-winning try will go down in English folklore, but it was his determination to chase Dan Biggar and beat him to the loose ball after his interception that saved England in Cardiff. Has jettisoned into Lions contention over the last two weeks.
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3/15 13. Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
If he eased himself in last weekend Ringrose dazzled against Italy as he beat five men and made more metres than anyone else in Rome rout. Bagged a try of his own for good measure.
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4/15 12. Gael Fickou (France)
A constant thorn in the Scottish defences’ side as he combined power and precision to burst open gaps in the line. Took his try very well, reaching out to score that immediately capped the Scots’ momentum.
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5/15 11. Liam Williams (Wales)
Just ousts Simon Zebo thanks to his illusive running against solid defender Jack Nowell and beautiful line the cut through the England defence and score on the stroke of half-time. Had another chance when he combined with Jonathan Davies, and unlucky to be on the losing side come the full-time whistle.
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6/15 10. Dan Biggar (Wales)
About as good a defensive display as you will see from a full-back. Made an exceptional 14 tackles as Nathan Hughes tried to ram the ball down his throat, and his interception on his own line saved Wales from conceding and gained them 80m in the process. Unlucky not to bag himself a try, as the combination of Nowell, Daly and a forward pass robbed him of three chances to score.
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7/15 9. Rhys Webb (Wales)
Unlucky not to score when his lunge for the line saw him ground the ball short, but he opened the space for Liam Williams to touch down with a smart line at the English defence. Could find himself in trouble for what looked to be a deliberate knee to Maro Itoje though.
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8/15 1. Cian Healy (Ireland)
Announced his return to the starting line-up in style as Ireland won all of their scrums and also one against the head, with the first ending in a penalty for the Irish to set the tone. His power will only strengthen an Irish pack that could match France at scrum time. England’s Joe Marler is unlucky to miss out after a very strong outing in defence.
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9/15 2. Niall Scannell (Ireland)
In at the last minute following Rory Best’s unavailability through illness, Scannell coped exceptionally well and helped run a 100 per cent lineout in Rome. Chipped in with seven carries for a 21m gain too to allow the back-row and back line to take the glory.
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10/15 3. Dan Cole (England)
Came up trumps for England when it mattered most as Wales chose to scrum a penalty that resulted in Cole turning in Rob Evans and relieving the pressure, proving the old dog still has some bite left in him.
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11/15 4. Joe Launchbury (England)
A brilliant display of determination with the ball and grit without it as he led the way with the most tackles a well as the second-most carries, and combined with Itoje to drive home England’s advantage in the scrum.
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12/15 5. Courtney Lawes (England)
One of his finest performances in an England shirt that proves he’s another benefitting from the Eddie Jones effect. One bone-shuddering hit on Biggar set the tone for England’s defensive display, and also contributed with an impressive 20 tackles.
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13/15 6. CJ Stander (Ireland)
Three tries will always go a long way to getting you in the team of the week for any flanker, but that only tells half of the story. The Munster man was unstoppable, making 73m and beating 11 defenders and helped put Italy out of the game before half time.
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14/15 7. Kevin Gourdon (France)
The standout French forward as they imposed themselves on the Scottish pack, both in the scrum and the loose. Scotland had no answer when it came to scrum time, but it was Gourdon’s running with the ball in hand that really stood out and he also put in some monster hits defensively as the opposition crumbled.
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15/15 8. Nathan Hughes (England)
Beats Jamie Heaslip to the shirt by the slimmest of margins, but it was his ability to break the gain line that wins him the shirt. Smashed his way through the line with 22 carries and his 75 metres contributed enormously, none more so than the smart break from the base of a ruck that led to three points.
Cuthbert’s failure to take down Elliot Daly in the corner at the end, taken with a spilled ball in the tackle, revealed an individual out of self-belief, though. To select him on the basis of what he delivered four years ago was an error of judgement. He should have been protected from an outcome such as this.
For Howley, there was blessing in the way that the side provided what they had not in Rome, nor for much of the autumn, though to hear in the aftermath Eddie Jones discussing England’s obsession with the closing minutes of Test matches was to appreciate the difference between experience and world class at elite level coaching.
Sam Warburton located another difference – between what the players and coaches had agreed was necessary and what transpired in the final outcome. “We just need to get better in the last 10 minutes. That was the message from the coaches, and all the players agree. The message came on that we had given away four penalties in a 12-minute period, and they got a lot of territory from that in the first half and scored a try.” Webb and Company delivered something epic and heroic but the nation would have sacrificed both for victory.
After the heroism, the devastation, and confidence in Rob Howley, is not flowing like a river in Wales have 1452 words, post on www.independent.co.uk at 2017-02-12 13:23:20. This is cached page on WBNews. If you want remove this page, please contact us.
