Wales put down World Cup marker with second-half shut-out of England
REPORT: Wales ended a dour period under Warren Gatland and put down a #BIG World Cup marker with a 20-9 win over a hapless England in Cardiff on Saturday.
Trailing by six points early and still down 6-9 at half-time, the Welsh produced a second-half shut-out to win convincingly – 20-9.
Despite England dominating possession, for long periods, and territory – spending more than 60 percent of the time in Wales’ half – Wales managed to use their chances in an impressive performance after the half-time break.
In the end, they outscored the visitors by two tries to none and thoroughly deserved the win.
* To recap all the drama, CLICK HERE!
Two early Marcus Smith penalties gave England a 6-0 lead, before centurion Leigh Halfpenny kicked two of his own to draw Wales level at 6-all after 26 minutes.
Smith slotted his third penalty on the stroke of half-time to make it 9-6 to England at the break.
Wales produced the first score after the break – on a penalty advantage, a cross-field kick by Sam Costelow found No.8 Aaron Wainwright on the right wing, who offloaded to Jac Morgan. A weaving run eventually saw him offload to Gareth Davies for the try – which Halfpenny converted, 13-9.
Just short of the hour mark a series of forward raids stretched the England defence, with veteran George North finishing off a well-worked team try. Halfpenny made it 20-9, with momentum well-and-truly shifted.
A moment of individual brilliance by Louis Rees-Zammit – from a kick-and-chase – went to the TMO. While Joy Neville initially wanted to award the try, Nic Berry insisted she had another look. This time she found some separation – meaning the try was not scored.
However, that showed the difference in class between the two sides – one willing to play and excite, the other boring the capacity crowd with their one-dimensional and error-riddled performance.
It left the second-half score 14-0 in favour of a deserving winning team, Wales – who made a big World Cup statement with their 20-8 win.
Man of the match: There are many Welsh candidates, but not so many from England. Leigh Halfpenny and his trusty boot, Louis Rees-Zammit and his pace, George North as the rock in the backline, as well as Aaron Wainwright and his workrate. The best from the bench was Taine Plumtree. Our award goes to Wales captain Jac Morgan – 11 carries for 63 metres, to go with a match-high 24 tackles.
The scorers
For Wales
Tries: Davies, North
Cons: Halfpenny 2
Pens: Halfpenny 2
For England
Pens: Smith 3
Teams:
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 Christ Tshiunza, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Corey Domachowski.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Ben Carter, 20 Taine Plumtree, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Mason Grady.
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Max Malins, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Guy Porter, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 George Martin, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Ellis Genge (captain).
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Tom Willis, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 George Ford, 23 Henry Slade.
Referee: Nic Berry (Rugby Australia)
Assistant referees: Mike Adamson (Scotland); Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)
