England edge Wales as Farrell sees red at Twickenham
MATCH REPORT: A late penalty made sure England edged Wales 19-17 at Twickenham on Saturday despite a red card to captain to Owen Farrell.
The red card could see Farrell missing the start of the World Cup should the three-week suspension be enforced.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!
Farrell was initially shown a yellow card but courtesy of the bunker system it was upgraded to red after the TMO ruled the tackle showed a high degree of danger.
England have two more warm-up games against Ireland and Fiji before taking on Argentina in their first World Cup match in France on September 9.
Aside from Farrell, England were also handed three yellow cards with Henry Arundell, replacement prop Ellis Genge and fullback Freddie Steward spending time in the bin, while Tommy Reffell and Adam Beard of Wales were also shown yellow cards.
The added concern for both teams is the injuries. England’s Jack van Poortvliet and Welsh duo Dewi Lake and Taine Plumtree were forced off the pitch, just a month away from the World Cup in France.
At the back of their 9-20 defeat, England started the match more composed, which was encouraging for Twickenham crowd.
They dominated possession but failed to break Wales’ defence and eventually had to settle for two successful Owen Farrell penalties for the 6-0 lead at the break.
Wales’ errors continued to haunt in the second stanza. Flank Tommy Reffell was sent to the bin within the first minute of the second half and Farrell kicked his third penalty, handing England a 9-0 lead.
Wales finally broke their duck in the 45th minute when flyhalf Owen Williams managed to slot over the kick after winning a penalty at the scrum.
England lost their way in the final 25 minutes. Ellis Genge and Freddie Steward were both handed yellow cards, with the latter conceding a penalty try after a dangerous tackle on Josh Adams.
Thirteen men became 12 when Owen Farrell was handed a yellow card for a shoulder charge, which was later turned into a red card.
And with the numeral advantage, Wales took control of proceedings. Instigated by Liam Williams, Wales launch an attack which was rounded off by Tomos Williams. Owen Williams added the conversion for the 17-9 lead.
Wales looked set to hand England their fourth consecutive defeat. However Maro Itoje’s converted try from a driving maul and a late penalty from replacement George Ford made sure Borthwick’s men record the victory.
Man of the match: Up until his yellow card in the 63rd minute, Owen Farrell put in a solid performance. He found some gaps inside Wales’ defence and dictated the match really well. However, his dangerous shoulder hit overshadowed all his effort. Joe Marchant made a few noteworthy breaks. Liam Williams was solid under high-ball. But sporting no number on his jersey our nod goes to England’s Ben Earl. The flank was the standout, making nine carries, eight tackles and boasting with two turnovers.
The scorers:
For England:
Try: Itoje
Con: Ford
Pens: Farrell 3, Ford
For Wales:
Tries: Penalty try, T. Williams
Cons: Biggar, Penalty try does not require a conversion
Pens: O. Williams
Yellow cards: Henry Arundell (England, 31 – cynical foul), Tommy Reffell, (Wales, 41 – hands in the ruck), Ellis Genge (England, 57 – cynical foul), Freddie Steward (England, 60 – dangerous tackle and preventing the try), Adam Beard (Wales, 74 – cynical foul)
Red card: Owen Farrell (England, 63 – dangerous shoulder tackle)
Teams:
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Henry Arundell, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell (captain), 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Jack Willis, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 George Ford, 23 Max Malins.
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Tom Rogers, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Dewi Lake (captain), 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Keiran Williams.
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
