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Ben James

'He's f***ing milking it!' The unheard England v Wales conversations as Dan Biggar tries not to lose it with ref

"Is there anything we can do to help you out at the minute?"

Interpret that from Wales captain Dan Biggar to referee Mike Adamson however you like, but it's fair to say the fly-half felt his side weren't getting all that much in return from the Scottish official throughout a Six Nations game that ultimately veered between dramatic and dull.

In fairness to the home side, there were likely more than a few decisions that England couldn't quite work out.

Read next: All the England v Wales headlines from Six Nations thriller

The scrum certainly went that way, with both sides feeling they were hard-done by in the lottery.

For 20-odd minutes, this match threatened to be defined by them.

The first scrum of the afternoon - and the countless resets that followed immediately after - were marked by a constant verbal battle between the two front-rows.

There might be brasher combinations than Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Kyle Sinckler, but, if so, they've yet to appear.

Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias and Tomas Francis gave as good as they got as both were left a little bamboozled by the decision-making of Adamson.

To begin with, English forwards were singling out Francis, with the Welsh prop's name being coupled with an alliterative expletive.

Quite what "f**king Francis" was being accused of was unclear, but on this occasion, Wales won the lottery - with Genge being told his angle was illegal.

The scrum roulette continued, with both packs relatively clueless to what was to happen next.

In one stoppage, Jones came up to Adamson with a complaint.

"He (Sinckler) is putting so much weight on," said the Scarlets prop.

"I know, that's what the penalty was for, but you have to make sure you're not stepping back," was the response he received.

"But he's putting on so much weight on!" exclaimed Jones again.

Whether Jones was satisfied is anyone's guess, but off Adamson walked, straight into the path of Genge.

"At the scrum, we're on their feet and their flat. Do you know what I mean?" queried the English prop.

Adamson didn't know what he meant.

"What do you mean?"

Once he did, he told Genge that England needed "that balance that I spoke about before the game".

"A consistent, controlled weight and it doesn't feel controlled at the minute."

Come the next scrum, England were told to hold their weight and Wales were told to not step back. It felt neither side were truly sure where they really stood.

The scrum wasn't the only area that frustrated Wales.

Wales will have felt they got little at the breakdown throughout, with Adamson's interpretation of that area of the game rarely rewarding Wayne Pivac's side.

There's many more problems with Wales' attacking game than just not getting quick ball, but it's a major part of whether they succeed or not.

Given the lack of big carriers in this side, the clearout becomes all the more important - making it a focus point for Biggar in his conversations with the officials.

Hence the opening line of this piece.

We heard the same sort of conversations between Biggar and Jaco Peyper in Dublin, when Wales again got nothing at the breakdown.

"Is it ok to keep an eye on guys not on their feet?" asked Biggar early on, sensing it was imperative Wales got some purchase at rucks.

It didn't exactly work like that though, with the conversations only becoming more pointed.

To Biggar's credit, he has yet to lose his rag as captain - despite the image some have in their mind - but the frustration was building up.

After Ross Moriarty was pinged for not rolling away, it was clear that Biggar felt there wasn't any consistency being applied.

"(Luke) Cowan-Dickie down there did exactly the same," he told Adamson. "Just so we're clear"

Shortly after, it was Basham who conceded a penalty advantage for not rolling away.

"Ref, he's f**king milking it," shouted a nearby Biggar.

On the brink of half-time, Moriarty was penalised again for a similar offence.

"He's on the wrong side, but he's not slowing that ball up," protested the Wales captain.

"If he choose not to play it, that's on him. The ball's available and the nine's not f**king playing it."

Adamson wasn't having any of it, simply telling BIggar: "He's slowing the clearout."

As the players made their way towards the sheds for the half-time break, it was clear Moriarty wasn't thrilled either with the decision.

Enquiring about the call, he was told that he needed to "roll away immediately".

"I can't get out, I'm being held in," was the incredulous response of the Wales flanker.

Biggar simply pushed him away, realising there was little to gain from shooting the breeze over a call that had already gone against them.

After the break came the big flash point.

From the moment Adam Beard failed to get off the ground at a lineout, leading to Alex Dombrandt's try, there was only ever going to be one response.

Alex Dombrandt of England scores his side's only try against Wales (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Beard immediately remonstrated with officials that Maro Itoje had barged him, being told to "go away". Liam Williams was similarly frustrated, chewing the ears off the two touch judges underneath the posts.

At the same time, Itoje was caught on camera smiling to his team-mates at what he'd just done.

Suddenly, 17-0 down, Welsh frustration was beginning to grow.

One failed attack was met by a lone cry of "f**k sake". When Biggar survived two huge hits to produce a try-scoring opportunity, only for prop Gareth Thomas to put his head down and run straight, the fly-half couldn't hide his frustration.

Arms thrown to the air out of reflex, he screamed to his team-mate.

"You've got to give that pass."

However, as frustration grew, Wales began to get some decisions.

"The ball is available," called Adamson after England looked for another not rolling away penalty. "Don't trap him."

Some of that Welsh frustration, coupled with a growing grip on the breakdown and ball speed, was channelled into a comeback of sorts.

The catalyst, Tomos Williams, was the first man back on halfway after each of the tries he helped set up.

In contrast, Liam Williams was beyond Josh Adams as the winger touched down, shhing the home crowd as Wales dared to dream.

England soon took the wind out of that comeback, even if Wales did threaten at the death.

Minutes out from the end, Biggar sounded like a beaten man.

"We know the game is almost over but we feel they're sealing off," he told the officials.

"Just keep an eye on the last few minutes so we have the chance of getting something."

To his credit, he nearly willed something out of the fire once the clock had gone red. When Kieran Hardy snuck over, he was the one slamming bodies in celebration, driving on his team-mates for one last shove.

When that final shove ended in failure, the impressive Alex Cuthbert dropped to his knees.

Adam Beard lay on the floor with his head in his hands. Nick Tompkins, after another impressive outing, looked around perplexed.

All Biggar could do was stand there, with nothing left to say.

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