(^) Daily Mail, Monday, August 12, 2019
74 RUGBY WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN
CHRIS FOY
Rugby Correspondent
at Twickenham
33
ENGLAND
Tries: B Vunipola,
Cokanasiga,
Cowan-Dickie.
Cons: Ford 3.
Pens: Ford 3.
Drop goal: Daly.
19
WALE S
Tries: G Davies, North,
W Jones.
Cons: Anscombe,
Biggar.
@FoyChris
F
ROM the national
anthem to the final
whistle, England
delivered a perform-
ance awash with
passion and power at
Twickenham yesterday to
haul Wales down from their
pedestal.
When the home side’s debutant
flanker, Lewis Ludlam, belted out
God Save the Queen with eyes-
bulging gusto, it provided a hint
about the raw emotion in the Red
Rose ranks. They had been cast as
outsiders in their own stadium
and they had no interest in adher-
ing to that script.
England’s experimental line-up
brought Wales’ best side back to
earth with an almighty bump. War-
ren Gatland had spoken about his
men spoiling an English party on
the eve of their World Cup squad
announcement, but in the event
that prediction worked out in
reverse. It was actually supposed
to be a Welsh party. They had
to both players being ejected from
the England squad. If Tom Curry’s
early departure yesterday with a
shoulder injury turns out to have
been a false alarm, as Jones sug-
gested, this was truly a red-letter
day for England. But if Gareth
Anscombe’s knee injury turns out
to be serious, then Welsh prospects
of World Cup success will have suf-
fered a major jolt in more ways
than one.
The rookies in the home team
stepped up with the intensity of
men playing for a seat on the flight
to Tokyo. Once Ludlam had sung
the anthem with utter commit-
ment, he set about playing in much
the same way. He wasn’t the only
one. England took a dominant grip
on proceedings early on and their
fringe figures led the charge.
Ludlam’s first tackle in senior
international rugby forced Ross
Moriarty — no easy target — to
spill the ball, to earn his side a
scrum. Another debutant, scrum-
half Willi Heinz, showed his quality
as a distributor with several fizz-
ing passes to send team-mates
into space. In midfield, Piers Fran-
cis scarcely put a foot wrong and
may have forced his way into Eng-
land’s tournament plans as the
ultimate left-field inclusion.
Gatland spoke afterwards about
how his team had been undone by
England’s trademark trump cards:
a dominant set-piece and effective
driving game. He had a point.
The home scrum caused all man-
ner of problems for the Welsh pack,
while the visitors’ lineout also
unravelled all too often — notably
when a Ken Owens overthrow pre-
sented Luke Cowan-Dickie with a
gift-wrapped try just before
half-time.
England were armed with several
ball-carriers who made their pres-
ence felt, led by man of the match
Billy Vunipola. The Saracens No 8
scored his team’s first try and
helped create the second, as Eng-
land’s early initiative saw them
surge 14 points clear in as many
minutes.
Yet Wales didn’t just roll over.
Gareth Davies broke down the
blindside and slalomed through
the home defence for a memorable
solo try in the first half. Then, after
the break, streetwise Wales and
their canny captain, Alun Wyn
Jones, pressured England into giv-
ing away a series of penalties.
Gatland’s men capitalised, with
George North and replacement
prop Wyn Jones going over from
close range to narrow the gap to
five points. But this time, unlike in
Cardiff earlier this year, England
recovered their composure and
found a way out of the hole they
were digging.
A midfield break by George Ford,
influential captain for the day, led
to a penalty which he slotted to
earn more breathing space for his
team. Seven minutes from time he
added another, before Elliot Daly’s
audacious drop-goal put the result
beyond doubt.
The word from both camps in
the build-up to this fixture was
that it would have no bearing on
what awaits down the line — a
potential World Cup quarter-final
between these teams. That is true
to a degree, but it will have done
England no harm to inflict this
wound on their neighbours.
THAT’S ONEUP
England’s passion and
power ends Wales’ bid
to top world rankings
LOOKS LIKE EDDIE’S
ON THE RED BUTTON
The England coach was wired
for sound at Twickenham,
with help from the world’s
biggest on/off switch...
come to London fully loaded and
confident that they could beat
their cross-border rivals again, to
confirm their rise to No 1 in the
World Rugby rankings, above the
mighty All Blacks.
A record-breaking 15th straight
Test win appeared to be there for
the taking, but England had other
ideas.
This was an upset, even at Twick-
enham. This Wales team won a
Grand Slam and have visions of
global glory this year. But they
were blasted into submission by a
team bearing no resemblance to
the one England will send out for
key games in Japan.
Eddie Jones had prioritised for-
ward planning, only to achieve the
result he wanted anyway.
It was also a timely means of
sweeping away the recent swirl of
negativity, caused by injuries, and
reports of a fight between Ben
Te’o and Mike Brown during the
‘heat camp’ in Italy, which had led
BEN TE’O was last night still in
contention for a place in
England’s World Cup squad, as
Eddie Jones and his assistants
finalised their selection plans at
a west London hotel.
Shortly after their impressive
33-19 victory over a full-strength
Wales side, England made the
short journey to Chiswick,
where the coaches were due to
hold an 11th-hour meeting.
Those who are being left out of
the final 31 for the tournament
in Japan were left in the dark
last night — before being
informed this morning.
Jones won’t contact those being
picked, he will only arrange to
see those being omitted. For
some fringe contenders, the first
they will know about making the
cut is when they are told to
board a coach to Bristol this
morning, rather than returning
to their club. Jones will
announce his squad at 1pm today.
Sportsmail understands that
Te’o was still a prime contender,
despite being banished last
week after reportedly becoming
embroiled in a fight with Mike
Brown. Piers Francis acquitted
himself well in the No 12 shirt
against Wales, but Te’o may still
be selected, as England lack
proven candidates in his position.
Willi Heinz played well on his Test
debut at scrum-half yesterday,
and has emerged as a shoo-in to
go to Japan. But sources have
indicated to Sportsmail that
England are likely to include
three scrum-halves, in which
case Ben Spencer of Saracens is
also set to claim a place in the
BRAWL BOY TE’0 STILL IN
«SIR CLIVE WOODWARD PAGES 72-73
lily
(lily)
#1