England vs Wales  Match Review  4-2-06

by Lewis Godfrey

picture copyright of David Coldrey

Let’s not beat about the bush. Wales were very poor today. Messrs Thomas and Peel tried there hardest to get their team going, but they couldn’t manage it. Wales were missing some great players, Shanklin, Jones, and that one who shaves his legs and wears fake tan, so maybe the scoreline was a little bit harsh, but England in 2003 showed that to win a world cup, you need massive strength in depth. Wales won’t win the world cup.

And on this performance, neither will England. Yes, it was a big score line. Yes, it was a massive effort from the pack. Yes, we scored six tries. But Wales aren’t New Zealand. Surprisingly, I thought our defence was a little weak, and the AB’s would definitely exploit that area on top form.

The first example of this came at the start of the match. Mark Jones, the Scarlets winger spotted Steve Borthwick on the wing. What he was doing their I don’t know, but Jones saw him and out sprinted him. Had he looked up and passed inside to Hal Luscombe with the try line begging, Wales would have got the first score.

The chance was missed, and England began to dominate up front. Despite all the critics, England has arguably the greatest pack in the world. Stevens and Sheridan were awesome. Grewcock and Borthwick were fantastic. The back rows, on the whole were very good. They set up a platform for Charlie Hodgson to give a miss pass to Jamie Noon (who Eddie Butler, the BBC commentator, insisted was Mike Tindall). He stepped inside of Watkins tackle, and ran straight and fast, before beautifully offloading to Mark Cueto, who inevitably outpaced Shane Williams to reach the line.

It was the pack too that drove over from a lineout for England's second score. Wales couldn’t compete with the strength of Andy Sheridan, and he drove Lewis Moody over for the try.

Wales solitary try also came from a lineout. Martin Corry went to lift the back jumper leaving the gap for Dwayne Peel to drift through. He offloaded to Martyn Williams, who crossed the line. Stephen Jones converted. At half time it was Wales 10, England 15, with the game still up for grabs.

After the break, Mike Tindall crossed after a big overlap. In my opinion, Tindall looked average at best today. For me his hands aren’t good enough at the moment. On form, he’s a great player, but on grass, he’s poor. Ollie Barkley, and Stuart Abbot provide alternatives, which I suggest Andy Robinson should use. But I don’t think he will.

The next score sealed the game. On his return to international rugby, Lawrence Dallaglio had enough energy to spring from the scrum and score. Personally, I doubted Dallaglio. I thought he was too old, and that Ben Skirving would have been a better option. But he certainly proved me wrong. If he’s as good at 35 as he is at 33, I for one would be very happy for him to start at the world cup, although not as captain. Either way, he’s in good form at the moment, and adds leadership and experience to the team, as well as a big mouth. He certainly reffed the game very well today.

The next try came from another old head, Matt Dawson. After more considerable pressure on a welsh scrum, the ball seemed to come out too fast, and Dawson poached the 5 points. Scrum half is a problem area for England at the moment, with no contenders looking world class, but Harry Ellis’s work rate and defence was strong, and Dawson made an impact when he came on. Maybe its time to blood 27-year-old Shaun Perry against Italy, and see how he does.

Tom Voyce rounded things off after he took a great angle off a fine move. If Josh Lewsey fails to regain fitness in time for Italy, presumably he will start. All the back 3 showed their class today, Voyce’s whole game was fantastic, Cueto’s try was awesome, Cohen’s tackle to save a try was impressive, and Josh Lewsey is Josh Lewsey. Behind this quartet, Tom Varndell scored 4 tries for England A, and Mark Van Gisbergen has been consistent for Wasps over however many years he’s been there.

So a final thought. The pack was great. The back 3 were great. Hodgson was great. But we still have things to work on, and we can start against Italy. Lets see Abbot come in for Tindall, and lets blood some youngsters in a game we should win. 2005 grand slam winners? It’s not too remote a possibility… 

Final Score England 47 - Wales 13

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