England 30 v  17 Wales 

RBS Six Nations 2010 Centenary Match Review

The match started promisingly for England as they regained the kick-off and chose to run rather than kick, eventually a penalty was given, but the idea was there from the off, England were there to run the ball.

 England entered on Twickenham's 100th birthday in a retro style kit. In a tight nit affair, England seemed to be dominating, with captain Borthwick stealing a few line outs and the scrum holding firm with the ever criticized Payne up against Adam Jones and doing well. Few opportunities came, although Hook did slice two penalty opportunities from just under 50 metres, Wilkinson made no mistake from slightly closer in. 

England's James Haskell hands off Wales Andy Powell - All pictures by Empics

England's Dylan Hartley celebrates James Haskell's first try

The second half started very much as the first had ended, with England England scored again only 4 minutes after the restart when Borthwick ripped the ball out of Welsh hands, Easter surged on and Care's pace took him through the remaining cover, Wilkinson adding the extras. An overlap then allowed Adam Jones to barrel his way over the line to make the score 20-10 after a S Jones conversion. With 10 points in it you could have been forgiven for thinking England could keep a tidy lead for the remainder of the game, but with 15 minutes remaining a superb James Hook effort brought the visitors to within 3 points as we entered the final 10 minutes. Luckily for England , Delon Armitage popped up with a bright interception when it seemed Wales had an overlap, Armitage offloaded to Tait, then Tait drew S Williams and gave the ball the Haskell, to cap off a fine England move. Wilkinson added another late penalty to the scoreline to take his haul to 15 points. Finally a game to enjoy. A few standout performers were definitely Lewis Moody once again, Haskell was industrious as ever, but my man of the match goes to Steve Borthwick. To put so much criticism behind you and put in a performance like that was outstanding, well done Steve.

England's Danny Care dives in for England's second try

England's Danny Care (centre) is congratulated by team mates Delon Armitage (left) & Mark Cueto

 Something for England Fans to Celebrate ..... at last!

There were plenty of positives for England, with Borthwick finally showing the kind of form that got him the job of England captain, Riki Flutey is expected to be fit for next week when we travel to Italy and in Matthew Tait it finally looks as if England have got a number 13 with both the skills and talent required to perform at this level. Italy better watch out, if Flutey and Tait perform in midfield it wont be an easy afternoon for the Azzuri.

England's Matthew Tait (right) breaks through the Wales

England: 15-Delon Armitage, 14-Mark Cueto, 13-Mathew Tait, 12-Toby Flood, 11-Ugo Monye, 10-Jonny Wilkinson, 9-Danny Care; 1-Tim Payne, 2-Dylan Hartley, 3-David Wilson, 4-Simon Shaw, 5-Steve Borthwick (captain), 6-James Haskell, 7-Lewis Moody, 8-Nick Easter.
Replacements: Dan Cole for Wilson (60), Steve Thompson for Hartley (60), Louis Deacon for Shaw (70), Steffon Armitage for Moody (76), Paul Hodgson for Care (76), Dan Hipkiss for Flood (77). Not used: Ben Foden.

Wales: 15-Lee Byrne, 14-Tom James, 13-James Hook, 12-Jamie Roberts, 11-Shane Williams, 10-Stephen Jones, 9-Gareth Cooper; 1-Paul James, 2-Gareth Williams, 3-Adam Rhys Jones, 4-Alun-Wyn Jones, 5-Luke Charteris, 6-Andy Powell, 7-Martyn Williams, 8-Ryan Jones (captain).
Replacements: Huw Bennett (for G Williams, 54), Bradley Davies (for Charteris, 54), Leigh Halfpenny (for James, 65), Jonathan Thomas (for Powell, 68), Richie Rees (for Cooper, 68).  Not used: Rhys Gill, Andrew Bishop.

Attendance: 81,406

Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

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