Grab your match report, hot off the press.
That was nerve-racking to say the least. Wales had the territory. They won the turnover count by a ratio of 10 to one. They didn’t just win the breakdown, they did a Virat-Kohli-against-English-bowlers-in-India on England at the breakdown. They had two kickable penalties in the first half they didn’t deign to take. They led 16-11 with nine minutes to go. And England’s winning run extends to 16 games.
If Ireland’s thrashing of Italy earlier was a poor advert for the Six Nations, that was the championship at its finest. On on one of the coldest February nights in recent years in Cardiff, it was never going to be free-flowing, offload-heavy rugby. It was utterly engrossing, with every player putting everything they had into it.
That’s all from me tonight. Stick around for the reaction, reports and all that. I’ll be back with you tomorrow for France v Scotland, which is looking pretty juicy itself. Cheers for reading and sorry if I didn’t get around to using your emails or tweets. Bye!
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Full-time: Wales 16-21 England
Farrell kicks it down the right to touch, on the Welsh 10 metre line. After a slow march up the field, Itoje secures the lineout and Care boots it off the pitch!
79 min Lawes does well to slow down legally but Wales, needing a try, still have it. Through the phases, they plug away but Sinckler wins the turnover and the penalty! Joe Launchbury is named man of the match.
78 min Ball wins the restart for Wales, who have it around 35 metres out. Cory Hill is on for Warb, Tom Wood for Nathan Hughes.
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Conversion (Farrell 77) Wales 16-21 England
A huge kick, from the left-hand touchline and Farrell puts England ahead by a try. Two and a half minutes remain.
Try! (Daly 76) Wales 16-19 England
Oh Jonathan Davies! He clears straight down the middle to Ford in space and he comes roaring back. A wide pass sends it to Daly on the left, he runs a flat line and sears past Cuthbert and into the corner!
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75 min Biggar goes long and Hughes is stopped in his tracks by another huge tackle from Warburton. Haskell makes a metre or so taking it from deep, then Te’o slaloms through a gap! Into the 22 down the inside left and he pops it to Care, who can’t quite get away. England recycle and it goes to May, but he then Sinckler are stopped a metre or so short ... and Liam Willams wins the turnover!
73 min Cuthbert looks to go down the right but is stopped by Daly. Wales plugging away; they’ve looked far more secure in possession than England, to borrow some football terminology. And as I say that, Cuthert loses it and Ford kicks in behind the defence. He just overcooks it though and Halfpenny dots it down for a 22 drop-out.
72 min Warburton takes the lineout and Gareth Davies looks to go round the corner. He’s stopped though.
71 min Marler is off, Mullan is on. May is on for Nowell. Dan Cole is off for Kyle Sinckler. Jamie Roberts is on for Scott Williams. And Danny Care has cleared to touch from the restart, finding it on the 10 metre line.
Penalty (Farrell 71) Wales 16-14 England
From 15 metres in on the right, Farrell pulls three points back.
70 min Farrell will go for the points.
69 min Ford goes right to Itoje, who gives it on to Nowell and the Exeter man has a look. Nothing doing so England go left to George. He’s stripped but Samson Lee is punished for the high tackle on Nowell I initially thought everyone had missed.
68 min Te’o takes it on the crash ball, as does Lawes and the latter proves effective in getting up to the 22. On to Launchbury but Smith drives him back with a strong tackle. Lawes makes ground again.
67 min Wales wheel the scrum illegally and it’s a penalty to England. Farrell kicks to touch down the left and finds it on Wales’s 10 metre line. Lawes takes and England form the driving maul.
66 min Now we’ve calmed down, we can have the Welsh lineout midway inside the English 22. It’s a bit of a shambles though, knocked back into touch and England opt for the scrum on their own 22.
Ch-ch-ch-chages. Webb off, Gareth Davies on. Youngs and Joseph off, Care and Te’o on.
65 min Right and Biggar intercepts! He screams up to halfway with Daly giving chase and kicks ahead into the 22! The chase is on and Daly goes back to slide it into touch, football style. What a game this is!
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64 min Haskell has been everywhere since he came on and he thrusts again, driving England to within five. Brown goes and loses it but backwards. George scuttles forward, Itoje has a go.
63 min England keep going and George is the unlikely man to burrow down the left flank and make ground. Back right they go and though the pass is behind Farrell he turns, picks up and offloads in one outstanding move. Nowell can’t get through though.
62 min Daly gets up to tap the restart back but it goes to Welsh hands and Webb box kicks clear for Launchbury to take then Hughes makes the break around the fringe! Wales scramble back effectively though, then George is driven back by Tipuric.
Penalty (Halfpenny 61) Wales 16-11 England
As Owens departs to be replaced by Baldwin, Halfpenny thumps it through from right in front to restore the five-point advantage.
60 min Penalty to Wales right under the sticks for Haskell not rolling away. Surely they’ll take the points now?
59 min Webb dummies to give it to Faletau but instead sends it wide via Biggar to Halfpenny on the left. Owens is then driven back but Webb makes the ground back up.
58 min Wales pick and go but Faletau is driven back by Haskell. They go wide now and Scott Williams is dragged down but stays in play. Wales are around eight metres out.
57 min Brown takes the restart and is tackled by Faletau, who immediately wins the turnover! This must be the end of the road for Brown? Wales go wide to Liam Williams then back inside. Jon Davies makes a break around the fringes and they go left to Liam Williams, who is dragged down short.
Penalty (Farrell 56) Wales 13-11 England
It’s actually even less than 40 metres, more like 36. And that’s simple enough, meaning England get the first points of a half they haven’t been in.
55 min The crowd think it’s a turnover. It isn’t as Warburton entered the ruck at the side. Farrell will have a pop from 40 metres, straight in front.
54 min Farrell kicks to touch down the left and, finally, puts England in the Welsh half. Launchbury takes the lineout and theu plug away in midfield, Warburton smothering Haskell.
53 min Webb pops it right to Jonathan Davies and Daly gets caught in two minds. Davies can’t collect it, which is lucky for England as Davies was in otherwise. Wales change their props and Taulupe Faletau makes his return in place of the magnificent Ross Moriarty. From the lineout England maul it forwards. They try and go wide until Joseph throws a poor pass over Nowell, but we’re going back for a penalty for side entry at that maul.
52 min Moriarty drives over the gainline in midfield then Webb tries to go through. No space there but Wales recycle right. It’s been one-way traffic in this half and now Liam Williams steps int the 22. Francis is driven back by Lawes though. The Northampton man has been England’s best player in both games.
51 min England go left off the scrum but then Brown puts a bloody awful kick miles out on the full from 10 metres outside his 22. I guess it was that or actually have to pass the ball, which Brown is singularly unable to do.
50 min Liam Williams looks to step but can’t see a gap. Back inside, then AWJ knocks on with things getting a bit rushed there. Haskell replaced Clifford, by the way.
49 min As Biggar finds touch on the 22, on the left, James Haskell comes on.
Nice bit of nostalgia here from Gary Naylor.
World Cup Quarter Final 1987 and England play Wales in a Brisbane municipal park - https://t.co/XFxlHUGz3W @DanLucas86
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) February 11, 2017
48 min Moriarty monsters Hughes backwards and Youngs kicks to Webb. He ducks past Ford who catches him high just inside the Welsh half. Just a penalty as Webb had gone very low.
47 min England’s scrum on their own 22 is solid. Youngs back to Ford and he completes the exit from deep, finding touch near halfway. Jamie George is on for cap’n Hartley. Tipuric wins the lineout and Webb has to be reminded by his No7 to come in and pick the ball up. High he goes and Nowell collects outside his 22.
45 min Oh what a tackle from Moriarty on Itoje, who does well to offload but then England are turned over at the next breakdown! Davies surges forward and gives to Halfpenny to carry on into the 22! He’s tackled but offloads to Webb, who then sends Biggar under the posts albeit with an enormous forward pass. That all came from Moriarty’s hit on Itoje.
44 min Joseph, perhaps not the natural choice, takes it on the crash ball and England go wide, with Lawes sending a nice basketball style pass out to Nowell on the right wing. Back left and Joseph stabs one through, then Halfpenny can only clear to Ford.
43 min Lawes takes the throw on his own 22 and England maul it 10 metres or so upfield. Youngs goes high and long and Biggar, charging forward, can’t reach it on the full 12 metres or so inside his own half. Taken into contact and, under pressure from Itoje, Webb knocks it forwards.
42 min Brown steps but is well tackled then Youngs chips ahead to Biggar. The No10 finds touch with an excellent chip down the right; England are unhappy with a late tackle by Moriarty on Farrell who, unlike Webb, doesn’t request a referral to the TMO. He should have done.
41 min Here we go again, Ford kicks left to Cuthbert. He’s driven back by Itoje but, after a phase, Biggar clears to Hughes on halfway. England have missed Billy Vunipola, as you would expect. Ford knocks on in midfield and Scott Williams clears.
Half-time correspondence catch-up
“Didn’t know what a ‘live feed’ was until today but discovered you as I travel from Wales to London by train. Your reporting almost as good as the TV.....Come on Wales - crush ‘em! Thanks Dan” writes
Brian Moore
Ceri Humm.
Sup @DanLucas86 Am off the grid in Arg and relying on your feed. How's Clifford getting on?
— Hugh Taylor (@HughTaylor48) February 11, 2017
Err, I think he’s playing but he’s been nearly invisible.
This is an outstanding game for the neutral fan @DanLucas86 but jesus it's torture for us English. Breathless, brutal, frantic rugby.
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) February 11, 2017
Try writing the MBM. The benches will be crucial. Who’s your money on: Sam Davies or James Haskell?
Wales deserve the lead on territory alone really, and they might wish they had been more efficient. They’ve been fearsome in the tight, where England are struggling. Ben Youngs has been poor again.
Gary Lucas writes: “Thought I’d found rugby on TV but they seem to be throwing the ball a long way forward. Either American football or a rerun of All Black’s v France 2007. Cocktails on me in the Dominican Republic (with apologies to Simon McMahon)”.
Half-time: Wales 13-8 England
Webb goes high from the restart, Brown takes and S Williams takes him down just inside the Welsh half. Recycled but Clifford is stripped, only for the ball to bounce back on the England side. They go through the phases around halfway, then Ford goes high and shallow. Liam Williams knocks it on but the clock has by that time gone red.
Try! (L Williams 38 + Halfpenny con) Wales 13-8 England
Now the Welsh pressure pays off! Moriarty off the back of the scrum, Webb steps off and takes the pass. In comes Scott Williams on the dummy straight line and Liam Williams has come looping around behind him to dart under the sticks!
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37 min Hughes comes off the base of the scrum, making five metres. Youngs’ kick is far too slow and charged down by Webb. It deflects to Marler but it’s a horrible bobbling ball and now he knocks on! Youngs undid all of Hughes’ good work there.
36 min Wales get the shunt on, five metres from the English line but on the visitors’ ball. Garces resets as both sides unceremoniously flop over.
35 min Scott Williams goes on the angle and thinks there’s a gap, but England drift and Farrell makes the tackle. Webb tries to get quick ball out but throws it far too hard to Alun Wyn Jones, who knocks it on at close quarters! Pundit Jonathan Davies whinges, wrongly, about Ben Youngs being offside. He has spent his entire career whinging wrongly, in fairness.
34 min Left now through the hands, then back inside and Evans busts through a tackle! They go right, inside the 22 and Jones is tackled very well by every Welshman’s favourite, Joe Marler, low around the knees. Slow ball but Wales still have it and drive on...
33 min That’s a much better scrum from Wales and Hughes carries it under pressure. After a long time with the ball in the ruck, Jones wins the turnover and sends it out right! Wales’ turn to batter away at England again.
32 min Hughes charges off the back of the scrum and carries it into contact in midfield. The ball goes dead in the ruck and England will have a second scrum in quick succession, about eight metres upfield from the last.
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31 min Warburton takes and Wales immediately knock it on. OK this time it’s funny.
30 min From the lineout midway inside England’s half, Youngs box kicks high. Daly chases but he was in front of the kicker. Penalty Wales about 12 metres inside the England half, wide on the right. Still no shot at goal though, as Biggar pops it down the right into touch, inside the 22.
29 min Cole gets the better of Evans, who collapses under pressure. Penalty England, which isn’t funny in the slightest.
Blimey, Wales have opted for the five metre scrum rather than a straightforward shot at the lead.
28 min Jones darts, stopped a metre short. Then Webb thinks he’s scored with a snipe of his own. He’s short, says Jerome Garces, but we’re going to the TMO at, er, Webb’s insistence – “It was on the line” says the lying so-and-so. “He’s short” says the touch judge but we’re still checking. Yes, well short. Back for a penalty to Wales for offside.
27 min Wales lineout, 15 metres out and Warburton pops it to Webb, who gives it inside to Scott Williams on the crash. England are looking to hold Jones up in the tackle but Wales are able to recycle and England are under heavy pressure again. Right now through the hands and Scott Williams, then Biggar look to use their strength to go over.
26 min Now Webb kicks and it bounces kindly, allowing Biggar to hack ahead to the line! Nowell gets back and does very well under pressure but Youngs is forced to clear to touch from his own try-line. He does, but tight to touch he doesn’t have room to get it out of the 22.
25 min Wales struggle there but Moriarty comes away with it. Up it goes from Webb and Joseph’s pass to Brown is unkind, allowing Jon Davies time to smash the No15 five metres inside the England half. The visitors to well to retain it and clear to Halfpenny in his 22.
24 min Ford kicks it wide for Daly but the Wasps man can only tip it into touch. Wales have the option of a scrum where Daly touched it or a lineout and opt for the former. 24 minutes in and we have the first scrum.
Penalty (Halfpenny 23) Wales 6-8 England
From 15 metres, the full-back chips his side to back within a couple.
@guardian_sport @DanLucas86
— paul moody (@brasil196333) February 11, 2017
Am in Cambodia .game not on so depending on you for intensity of game and as always humour too, cheers
21 min Halfpenny on to Liam Williams and he soars down the left into the 22! Awful camera work and by the time the match comes back into focus Wales have flung it right, England’s defence stretched. Tipuric picks it up 10 metres away from the posts and drives; he can’t break the gain-line but Launchbury is off his feet and this should be three easy points.
20 min From the restart Rob Evans is forced to cover for Cuthbert’s missed tackle from Brown. Ford clears down the left, finding touch on his own 10 metre line where Wales take it quickly and get it left through the hands.
19 min Farrell curls his conversion wide of the left-hand post. England have made their fast start though.
Try! (Youngs 18) Wales 3-8 England
Itoje and Hughes go but the latter is driven back a couple of metres. England keep it and go to the backs: Daly cuts back inside and gives it to Brown. The full back is dragged down a metre short, but Wales have no one around the fringes and Youngs dives over the ruck to score!
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17 min Back right and now Launchbury ignores the man outside him! Taken on by Itoje out wide and Halfpenny saves the try with a tackle just a few metres out! Wales are slowing it down but England are camped on their line...
16 min Left now and Joseph steps to get to within 10 of the line before they go back inside to Nowell, in off his wing and in midfield. Lawes carries it on, retaining it despite the pressure from Tipuric in the tackle. Left again and Farrell sends it wide to Daly with a long pass, but the Wasps man is tackled by Cuthbert.
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15 min Long to Youngs from Biggar and Hughes carries it up. Left they go and Farrell gives it nicely to Brown but after making ground the full-back ignores the overlap outside him and takes the tackle from S Williams. Back into midfield and England go through the phases just outside the 22.
14 min With the angle it’s 58 metres, they reckon on TV. I’m not so sure about that but it's a long way out. He smashes it, but hooks it left and misses for England for the first time.
12 min High again from Biggar and again Itoje takes it well. In come the Welsh tacklers to form the maul and they promptly drag it down. England penalty, which Farrell kicks to touch a metre inside his own half. Launchbury takes and Farrell goes through a gap with a lovely little drift inside. Offside go Wales and we’re in Daly territory, a couple of metres inside the Welsh half.
Penalty (Farrell 11) Wales 3-3 England
Just outside the 22 but off to the right. Farrell gets it.
@DanLucas86 This neutral wants a cracking, bruising match that somehow kills both teams' 6N ambitions with a Hartley red card for the crack.
— John Rogers (@JohnRogersShow) February 11, 2017
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9 min And Brown takes it up to midway inside the Welsh half. Right they go and Nowell steps, looking to make space. He’s tackled high and England have the advantage; Youngs chips and Jones, knowing the penalty is coming anyway, obstructs him. Clever, but cynical stuff from the Wales captain.
8 min England get a lineout deep in Welsh territory and go quick off the top. They carry it into the 22 and move it left, but Farrell is wrapped up and turns it over with a big overlap outside him! Biggar clears to Brown.
7 min From the lineout Scott Williams makes a line break through the middle, but his offload is dropped by Moriarty. Someone plays it on the floor and England have a penalty.
6 min Lawes takes the throw from his club-mate and England maul it up to their own 22 before Youngs box clears well, finding touch on the England right somewhere near his own 10 metre line.
Elliott Watson writes: “I’m in Mumbai where the only bar I can find showing the rugby has a Welsh language feed. It’s an education, though not a very good one.” We can’t get BBC Wales in Guardian Towers I’m afraid.
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5 min Now right and Nowell takes it up into the 22 but Cole is promptly shoved back out of it. Now a nice loop around and Joseph makes ground on the left but Biggar strips Hartley of the ball and Webb can clear! England come back but have to do so from deep and Hughes spills it into the tackle from Jones. Halfpenny picks it up and kicks quite brilliantly down the left, the ball bobbling into touch midway inside England’s 22!
4 min Farrell restarts and Cuthbert is smothered by Daly. It’s slow ball for Wales and Webb’s box kick is charged down by Itoje! England swing it into midfield where Clifford and Launchbury make carries.
Penalty (Halfpenny 3) Wales 3-0 England
It’s on the 10 metre line, a nudge to the left of the sticks. Straight through it goes.
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2 min Now Wales go wide where Tipuric spots half a gap and carries into it. Back left and Lawes cuts down Moriarty with a good low tackle, but then he fails to roll away. Rhy Webb points that out to Garces, who awards Wales a penalty.
PEEEEEEEEPPPPPP!
1 min Kicking left-to-right as I look at it, Not-Sam-Davies kicks off, sending it high to Itoje on the 22. Hughes carries, then Youngs clears to Biggar down the Welsh right. Scott Wiliams takes it back up over halfway, then AWJ does likewise.
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The players are out, which means pointless flamethrower time! We’ll have the anthems, then a minute’s silence for Joost, then Jerome Garces will get this thing going.
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An email! “Think it would be good to have Care and Haskell on early to help get in front,” writes
Henry
Pat Paul. “Hope we have good game.”
Troll.
Not sure who I want to win.. 🤥#ENGvWAL #6nations2017 pic.twitter.com/sf091RX0St
— Matt Giteau (@giteau_rugby) February 11, 2017
Rob Howley speaks. “When George [North] woke up this morning he saw the medical team and it was pretty obvious he wasn’t going to play with a six-day turnaround.” Quick off the mark, that medical team.
That last post reminds me: two years ago Wales made the ill-advised decision to bring in pre-match entertainment from DJ Spoony. DJ Spoony’s real name? Johnathan Joseph. And speaking of music, let’s do battle with some pre-match songs.
Calling that one a draw.
It’s the battle of the centres, at least in terms of pre-match reading. In the all-Welsh corner, Paul Rees meets Scott Williams:
And for the visitors, it’s Kitson and Joseph.
Yes, that’s right.
Wales wing George North is OUT of this afternoon's #SixNations game v England after failing to recover from leg injury. Alex Cuthbert starts pic.twitter.com/ZWwjV1nmht
— BBC Wales Sport (@BBCWalesSport) February 11, 2017
Preamble
Afternoon, folks. Welcome, then, to a match that some would have you think is all about a roof. It will, after a long discussion, a few mind games and far too much speculation, be open but good god what a sideshow. You don’t need me to tell you what history these two teams have and in recent times Wales v England has been a fixture with as much spark as at any time since the English first crossed the Severn for a game in 1882.
After slumping for several years, England improved in 2009 and 2011. In the former year, Joe Worsley inspired them to a narrow defeat when those of us who went as England fans expected a hammering, before Toby Flood inspired the men in white to a narrow win in 2011. Then in 2013, England went to the then Millennium Stadium chasing the title and a grand slam and ... well, that hardly went to plan: Sam Warburton inspired Wales to a crushing 30-3 win that did for England’s title hopes on points difference and was surely a key factor in the Welsh No7 taking the Lions captaincy from Chris Robshaw, who didn’t even make it into the squad after being ground into the dirt.
Two years later, Jonathan Joseph ghosted past a clearly concussed George North to set up a win for England that surely exorcised those dragon-shaped demons and would stand Stuart Lancaster’s men in good stead for the next time they met in the World C- ah.
Now England are on a roll and Wales, despite recent results being decent, don’t seem to have impressed many people. The bookies have Eddie Jones’s men down as heavy favourites to seal a 16th win on the bounce, despite the unimpressive showing against France last Saturday. The thing is, they were hammered at the breakdown then and Jack Clifford, Maro Itoje and Nathan Hughes have all of four starts in the back row between them. Justin Tipuric, Warburton and Ross Moriarty are very quiet but surely confident of running riot and giving Leigh Halfpenny a host of chances. In England’s favour is the pair of James Haskell and Tom Wood on the bench, meaning that if they are within a score in the last 20 then they can be confident of finishing stronger even though Taulupe Faletau is back among the Welsh replacements after injury.
There are three changes for the Welsh. George North is ruled out with Alex Cuthbert his replacement, while Rob Evans and Tomas Francis come in from the bench, switching places with Nicky Evans and Samson Lee – the same switch that proved so pivotal in the win over Italy last Sunday. Aside from Clifford for Wood, England’s other change is bringing in Jack Nowell for Jonny May, who was poor last week.
Kick-off for this one is 4.50pm for some reason. Here are your teams.
Wales 15-Leigh Halfpenny, 14-Alex Cuthbert, 13-Jonathan Davies, 12-Scott Williams, 11-Liam Williams, 10-Dan Biggar, 9-Rhys Webb; 1-Rob Evans, 2-Ken Owens, 3-Tomas Francis, 4-Jake Ball, 5-Alun Wyn Jones, 6-Sam Warburton, 7-Justin Tipuric; 8-Ross Moriarty.
Replacements: 16-Scott Baldwin, 17-Nicky Smith, 18-Samson Lee, 19-Cory Hill, 20-Taulupe Faletau, 21-Gareth Davies, 22-Sam Davies, 23-Jamie Roberts.
England 15-Mike Brown, 14-Jack Nowell, 13-Jonathan Joseph, 12-Owen Farrell, 11-Elliot Daly, 10-George Ford, 9-Ben Youngs; 1-Joe Marler, 2-Dylan Hartley (captain), 3-Dan Cole, 4-Joe Launchbury, 5-Courtney Lawes, 6-Maro Itoje, 7-Jack Clifford, 8-Nathan Hughes.
Replacements: 16-Jamie George, 17-Matt Mullan, 18-Kyle Sinckler, 19-Tom Wood, 20-James Haskell, 21-Danny Care, 22-Ben Te’o, 23-Jonny May.
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