Alun Wyn Jones speaks: “I dunno, hopefully there’s a few more ahead,” says Athe Wales captain when asked by the BBC if this is his best day in rugby. “The people we had and the people who came on today stood up. Credit to England - the exchanges we had in that second half, we knew it was going to be a turnover or a bad bounce of the ball that decided the game.” He modestly plays down the fact that Wales have made history by winning 12 consecutive Test matches.
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It’s huddle time: The Welsh team huddle for a post-match debrief, as do their English counterparts. There’s no prizes for guessing which group of players are happier. On the BBC, the commentary team and pundits are criticising England for their lack of ambition.
“We didn’t really get a foothold in the last 30 minutes of the game,” says Owen Farrell, in his post-match interview. “We didn’t lose our discipline. We made a few errors, myself included in that. We couldn’t really get out of our half. We made a few mistakes and had a few calls go against us. There’s a big chunk of the last part of that game where we didn’t do what we could.”
Wales go top! After three games they have 12 points and sit proudly on top of the table, two clear of England in second.
Full-time: Wales 21-13 England
It’s all over! Biggar misses the conversion but he won’t sweat too much over that. The game ends with Wales winning their 12th Test match in a row. Simon Gleave, head of analysis at Gracenote, had a gem of a stat earlier - this is the 11th time in 11 attempts that Wales have beaten England at home in the Five/Six Nations in a year ending in the number ‘9’.
TRY! Wales 21-13 England
A sensational try from Wales!!! With a penalty advantage, Dan Biggar kicks the ball cross-field to the far touchline. He’s aiming for Josh Adams, who out-jumps Henry Slade, next two grabs at the ball and goes to ground and wriggles over the line. Brilliant stuff from Wales.
76 min Wales 16-13 England: Ellis Genge and Brad Shields come on for England, as a Welsh player receives medical attention.
75 min Wales 16-13 England: Adam Beard does well to hold a pass from Dillon Lewis as Wales continue to dominate. Courtney Lawes is helped from the field, holding one foot off the ground and with his arms around the shoulders of two of England’s backroom staff. Play carries on, with Wales winning the put-in in a scrum inside the England 22. England’s game management has been dismal in this second half.
74 min Wales 16-13 England: Wales are in possession just inside the England half. Elsewhere on the pitch, Courtney Lawes is down injured and receiving treatment as play continues around him.
72 min Wales 16-13 England: A knock-on from England’s Mark Wilson gives Wales the put-in near the halfway line. Dan Biggar launches the ball high, but Jack Knowell catches beautifully and bravely.
70 min Wales 16-13 England: We’re set up for a thrilling final 10 minutes, as Adam Beard, who has never lost in 10 matches for Wales, takes to the field.
TRY! Wales 16-13 England
Wales take the lead after playing the ball out wide, with Cory Hill finding a great angle to crash over after taking a pass from Dan Biggar. That’s a great reward for Wales’s patience in the long, long build-up to that try. Dan Biggar makes no mistake with a difficult conversion.
67 min Wales 9-13 England: Thirty phases in and Jonathan Davies plays the ball out the backs. Tom Curry is there to tackle him. Penalty advantage to Wales who continue to ramp up the pressure on England.
65 min Wales 9-13 England: Manu Tuilagi gets back to make an important tackle as Hadleigh Parkes sprints deep into England territory. Wales recycle the ball and recycle it, they’re on Phase No23 and five metres from the England line.
63 min Wales 9-13 England: England win and score a penalty when Hadleigh Parkes is brought to ground in possession by Tom Curry and lies on the ball;. There’s an unseemly bout of face-patting, fist-bumping and celebratory handshakes between Curry and several of his team-mates, a sight I’m sure none of us want to see in the sport of rugby just because a wing forward does his job. In the England ranks, George Kruis is replaced by Joe Launchbury.
61 min Wales 9-10 England: There’s a break in play as Wales change their two props. Nicky Smith and Dillon Lewis jog into action. A lot of players out there are blowing very, very hard indeed and there’s still 20 minutes to go. Another substitution: Dan Biggar replaces Gareth Anscombe at out-half for Wales.
60 min Wales 9-10 England: Heart in mouth time for Wales fans as Tuilagi takes possession on halfway, breaks through two tackles and burst towards the Wales 22 before being brought down. England build patiently, going through 11 phases before Gareth Davies intercepts a pass.
58 min Wales 9-10 England: Sinckler is taken off before he’s sent off and replaced by Harry Williams.
57 min Wales 9-10 England: Wales advance upfield and Sinckler gives away another penalty, this time for holding Alun Wyn Jones in a choke-hold while in a rolling maul. Jones has the good sense to catch the referee’s attention and point to the arm around his neck, slowly strangling him. Sinckler is given a final warning, while Anscombe kicks Wales to within a point of England.
55 min min Wales 6-10 England: Wales win a penalty when the TMO grasses up Kyle Sinckler for a late shoulder charge on Gareth Anscombe after the Wales out-half had booted the ball upfield. He’s lucky to avoid a yellow card, in my humble opinion.
54 min Wales 6-10 England: Another great catch from Williams who darts through a thicket of bodies to leap and catch a Ben Youngs kick. He’s rewarded for his fine effort by a crunching tackle from Manu Tuilagi.
53 min Wales 6-10 England: A high cross-field kick from Farrell is caught well under pressure by Liam Williams.
52 min Wales 6-10 England: Anscombe curls the ball between the posts for the crucial first score of the second half. Just four points separate the sides.
51 min Wales 3-10 England: Jonny May is penalised for hanging on to the ball after a tackle and Wales have a penalty kick at goal a fair bit right of centre. Gareth Anscombe tees it up.
49 min Wales 3-10 England: Coimpared to the first half, during which the ball seemed to be constantly in play, the second has been very scrappy. Wales have the put-in, the scrum collapses and Peypar orders a reset. Wales advance to within a few yards of the England 22.
48 min Wales 3-10 England: More argy-bargy - finger-pointing, throat-grabbing and shoving - from both sets of players. Referee Jacob Peypar takes both captains to one side and tells them that if it happens again, whoever is responsible for starting the handbags will be penalised.
46 min Wales 3-10 England: More pressure on Wales deep in their own 22 as Jonny May kicks for touch. The Wales line-out has been struggling throughout this championship and England are trying to take advantage. They lose this one, but England concede a penalty for playing the arm rather than the ball. After a spot of pushing and shoving between assorted hulking bruisers, Gareth Anscombe kicks and takes play to the halfway line.
44 min Wales 3-10 England: England try to advance up the pitch, make little or no ground and quickly opt to kick rather than repeatedly go through phases without getting over the gain line. Owen Farrell sprints on to an offload from Elliot Daly, who’d just been tackled, and looks as if he might be home and hosed. He’s bundled into touch on the Wales 22.
41 min Wales 3-10 England: Not for the first time in this match, the England front row are moaning at referee Jacob Peypar over what they perceive to be “shenanigans” from their Welsh counterparts. The South African claims he’s seeing no foul play and says they’ll have to “trust us”.
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Second half: Wales 3-10 England
41 min: No changes in personnel on either side as Gareth Anscombe gets the second half under way. Elliot Daly leaps to take the catch for England.
From our man in the anorak: “It is six years since Wales were seven points or more behind at half-time in a Six Nations home match,” writes Simon Gleave, head of analysis at Gracenote. “Ireland led 23-3 at half-time in February 2013 but since then, Wales have never been as far behind as now at the break.”
Tight English defence has blunted their hosts' best efforts so far. Then again, the odds were against Wales winning at half-time in Paris as well... #WALENG
— robert kitson (@robkitson) February 23, 2019
Half-time: Wales 3-10 England
The players go off for a well-earned rest after an often brutal first half. England lead by seven points after Tom Curry pounced on a loose ball and took advantage of slack Welsh defending to go over for the only try of the game.
39 min Wales 3-10 England: Youngs boots long down the touchline, spotting May, who gives Tipuric a 10 yard head start in the chip-and-chase and still beats him to the ball. He’s bundled into touch and England have a line-out about five metres out from the Wales line. Mere seconds ago, they were defending for their lives under their own posts.
37 min Wales 3-10 England: Wales turn over the ball at the English scrum and gallop towards goal. England repel them and Ben Youngs kicks clear.
35 min Wales 3-10 England: Wales line-out, about 30 metres from the England line. They mess it up and England win possession and get a scrum.
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31 min Wales 3-10 England: Wales are in full flow, making metres into England territory, but almost come a cropper as they switch Owen Farrell almost getting away, only to be stopped by a last-ditch tackle.
29 min Wales 3-10 England: Owen Farrell has started slowly, missing a couple of tackles and misjudging a few kicks from hand, but he puts Wales under all sorts of pressure on this occasion with a kick from deep. Wales scrum just outside their own 22. They advance up the field after good interplay between George North and Jonathan Davies. Wales in possession on the halfway line now and making metres over the gain line.
TRY! Wales 3-10 England
Tom Curry goes over for England following a scrummage under the Wales posts. After a Courtney Lawes interception as Wales tried to clear the ball, Curry picked the ball off the ground, spotted a gap and went for it. “No guard there, no blocker in front of the ball,” declares Brian Moore in the BBC commentary box. “Justin Tipuric was out of position.” The conversion is put over and England lead by seven.
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23 min Wales 3-3 England: Advantage penalty for Wales as Gareth Anscombe kicks wide for Hadleigh Parkes to catch and try to go over, but there’s too much weight on his kick. Penalty for Wales 18m from the England posts, a little to the right. Gareth Anscombe slots the ball over and it’s all square.
20 min Wales 0-3 England: It’s been an extremely attritional opening quarter, during which the ball has spent an awful long time in play. Wales are rewarded for their efforts with a penalty just inside the England half. Tom Curry, I think, refusing to release the ball after the tackle. Wales kick for touch and get it, halfway inside the English 22 metre area.
17 min Wales 0-3 England: Wales are penalised for collapsing the scrum, with - to this non-front-rower’s untrained and uneducated eye - Rob Evans appearing to go down under pressure from Kyle Sinckler. Owen Farrell has a kick at goal straight in front of the posts and makes no mistake.
15 min Wales 0-0 England: Some industrial language from the scrummage, in a distinctly Welsh accent, as somebody roars: “No fucking freebies, come on let’s go!”. On the BBC commentary team, Brian Moore issues the obligatory apology to any snoflakes who might be offended, finishing up by saying: “I don’t know why I’m apologising, I didn’t do it.” I would also like to apologise to anyone offended by my reporting this effing and jeffing from the front line of Six Nations rugby.
12 min Wales 0-0 England: A top-spin kick for touch deep in Wales territory by Ben Youngs sees the ball go out of play for the first time in what seems like aeons. England get a free-kick for some infringement or other by Justin Tipuric in the line-out. England are seven metres out and in control of the ball. Their hard work comes to nothing as Henry Slade runs on to a forward pass when England try to put him through with a “crash-ball”.
10 min: A powerful tackle by Cory Hill on Billy Vunipola gets the crowd gasping, then there’s more excitement as an Owen Farrell kick is blocked down. The bounce isn’t kind for Wales and qwe find ourselves back at the halfway line, with Gareth Davies putting a high ball up, up in the air for his team-mates to chase.
9 min Wales 0-0 England: Ben Youngs hoofs clear from the scrummage and Wales full-back Liam Williams gathers before skipping through three tackles.
6 min Wales 0-0 England: Wales are forced backwards but win a line-out on the England 22. Cory Hill drives forward, then Rob Evans, before Ross Moriarty is driven backwards and England turn the ball over. They have the put-in, on their own 22.
4 min Wales 0-0 England: We’re in midfield with Wales in possession and the referee spots an offside, but plays advantage. Courtney Lawes the man not living up to his name in that instance. Wales have a penalty just inside the England half and Gareth Anscombe kicks for touch, deep in the England 22. Wales line-out, 10 metres from the England line.
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2 min Wales 0-0 England: A knock-on by Ben Moon in midfield and Wales get the put-in in the first scrum of the game. There’s a pause as England winger Jack Knowell gets treatment for an early injury. There’s a change of mind from the referee, Jacob Peypar from South Africa, who has decided - or been told - news of some non-existent no-arms tackle I failed to spot in the slow-motion replays. It’s a long, long way out and Elliot Daly sends his effort well wide. On the BBC’s coverage, the commentary team are bemused by the referee’s decision to award that penalty.
Wales v England is go!
1 min Wales 0-0 England: Owen Farrell gets the ball airborne and it’s gathered by Ross Moriarty, who goes on the charge from deep inside his own half. Wales send the ball skywards, and at full-back for England, Billy Vunipola makes his first catch of the day.
The teams are in the tunnel: Wales are first out of their dressing-room, led by Alun Wyn Jones. England follow soon after, with Owen Farrell leading the troops. The doors to the corridor leading down to the pitch are opened and out they march. A full houes, loud music blaring over the PA system and pyrotechnics greet their arrival and they line up for their respective anthems. Kick off is only a few minutes away.
Stat-attack: “France’s 17 point victory is their biggest in the Six Nations against anyone other than Italy since they won 28-9 against Wales eight years ago,” writes Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis, Gracenote.
Meanwhile in Wales, the Principality Stadium crowd are raising the roof with a stirring rendition of Delilah, a heartwarming Tom Jones ditty about the cheery subject of betrayal and a domestic assault that ends in the fatal stabbing of a woman.
Paris: France have snared a bonus-point win after pressing on for the necessary try for eight additional minutes:
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Wales beat England in Five/Six Nations matches played in Wales in 1899, 1909, 1949, 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999 & 2009
— Simon Gleave (@SimonGleave) February 23, 2019
In 1889 and 1919, no match between the two nations was played
In 1929 and 1939, England won but both matches were at Twickenham#WALvENG #GuinnessSixNations
Pre-match reading
In Paris: France lead Scotland 15-3 in a much-improved display (so far):
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The teams
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Six Nations: Wales v England
Wales meet England at the Principality Stadium, with both sides looking for their third straight win in this year’s Championship. Victory for Wales would make it their 12th straight Test win, but in beating France and Italy in their opening two matches in this Six Nations, they have only beaten the two worst sides in the competition. Today’s Test promises to be a lot more ... em, testing. Kick-off at the Principality Stadium is at 4.45pm (GMT), but stay tuned for team news and build-up.
