The Guardian - 12.07.2019

Section:GDN 1N PaGe:41 Edition Date:190812 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 11/8/2019 20:19 cYanmaGentaYellowb

Monday 12 Aug ust 2019 The Guardian •

41

England

Daly; Cokanasiga ,

Joseph (Marchant 79),

Fr ancis (Tuilagi 73),

Watson; Ford (capt),

Heinz (Youngs 49);

Genge, Cowan-Dickie,

Cole (H Williams 53),

Launchbury (Singleton

79), Ewels, Ludlam

(Kruis 67), Curry

(Lawes 29), B Vunipola

Tries Vunipola,

Cokanasiga, Cowan-

Dickie Cons Ford 3

Pens Ford 3

Drop goal Daly

Wales

L Williams; North, J

Davies, Parkes (Watkin

67), Adams; Anscombe

(Biggar 34), G Davies

(A Davies 53); Smith

(W Jones 49), Owens

(Dee 52), Francis (Lewis

49), Beard (Ball 67),

A W Jones (capt),

Wainwright, Tipuric

(Shingler 62), Moriarty

Tries G Davies, North,

W Jones

Cons Anscombe, Biggar

Referee M Raynal (Fr) Attendance 80,944

skipping down the M4 to Bristol where
the fi nal 31-man squad is due to be
confi rmed at lunchtime today. Warren
Gatland’s Wales will head westward in
more contemplative mood, having lost
for the fi rst time in 15 Tests and missed
the opportunity, for now, to overhaul
the All Blacks.
The reality is that neither of these
two sides is yet in a position to make
grandiose claims on the subject of
world domination but England’s
directness, scrum supremacy and
power out wide were conspicuous
enough to send an equally blunt mes-
sage to the southern hemisphere. They
will be big, fi t and strong in Japan and
a potential threat to anyone if they can
bring the decision-making and con-
sistent execution to match.
When Joe Cokanasiga, Billy Vuni-
pola, Manu Tuilagi and a revved-up
Ellis Genge are in full cry there is cer-
tainly no shortage of front-foot muscle

and Northampton’s Lewis Ludlam,

who played almost as hard as he sang

the national anthem, could not have

done much more to press for a seat on

the plane.

Had the all-action Tom Curry not

departed prematurely with a sore

acromioclavicular joint, Wales might

have found it harder to launch the

second-half comeback which dragged

them back from 21-7 down. Without

the class and defensive valour of Jona-

than Davies and Liam Williams it could

have become a long afternoon.

It will be interesting to see how they

respond this coming Saturday in the

reverse fi xture in Cardiff , when Gat-

land plans to employ largely the same

starting XV. As Alun Wyn Jones wryly

noted afterwards, they also started

this year’s Six Nations slowly but “did

pretty well in the end”. Either way the

result of a scan on Gareth Anscombe’s

injured knee will be keenly awaited,

the Welsh fl y-half having ended the

day on crutches.

Rather more pivotal encounters

await in Japan but there was an edge to

this supposed warm-up from the out-

set, England’s impressive early close-

range power earning them a 14-0 lead

through converted tries from Vunipola

and Cokanasiga.

Wales needed a spark and were duly

blessed with an outstanding individ-

ual try from their scrum-half, Gareth

Davies, who spotted space down the

blindside off a scrum and swerved past

Elliot Daly for a wonderful 40-metre

solo score. It was Davies who scored

the crucial try in their 2015 World Cup

pool win over England on this ground

and his highlights reel grows ever more

eye-catching.

At no stage, however, were Wales

able to relax in the set pieces and Eng-

land’s third try was a gift. Ken Owens’s

decision to opt for a long throw close

to his own line with half-time loom-

ing was an interesting gambit which

backfi red spectacularly when the ball

soared over Alun Wyn Jones and Luke

Cowan-Dickie hurtled over for his fi rst

England try.

A 21-7 interval lead was due reward

for England’s extra urgency and attack-

ing intensity but Wales were not fi n-

ished, surging back into contention

with tries from George North and the

replacement prop Wyn Jones after

the hosts had replaced their debu-

tant scrum-half Willi Heinz. While the

Gloucester man is a smart tactician,

which England clearly like, there have

been quicker 9s at the highest level.

Three George Ford penalties and

a late opportunist Daly drop goal,

however, clinched a morale-boosting

win for Jones’s side, who had four

locks on the fi eld at one stage in the

second half.

Vunipola was a purposeful pres-

ence, Cokanasiga was a consistent

handful on the left wing and, along

with Ludlum and Heinz, both Jack Sin-

gleton and Joe Marchant earned pre-

cious fi rst caps off the bench. It brings

to 70 the number of players capped by

Jones since early 2016, with no fewer

than 129 having been called up to train

with the squad.

The trick now is to distil those vari-

ous hunches down to the optimum

31-man blend, capable of mixing it

with anyone in Japan. Knowing Jones

there may yet be a selectorial sting in

the tale but, style-wise, it is already

clear his 31 chosen men will not be a

shy, retiring bunch.

▲ England’s Luke Cowan-Dickie

following his try from an interception

▲ An Alun Wyn

Jones missed

catch leads to

an England try

TOM JENKINS/

THE GUARDIAN

Tuilagi on

a charge

in enemy

territory

The England

centre Manu

Tuilagi, who

came off the

bench in the

73rd minute,

made an

immediate

impact

TOM JENKINS/

THE GUARDIAN

The number of players capped

by Eddie Jones since his fi rst game

in charge in February 2016

70

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