Wales were minutes away from mass rejoicing in Cardiff but they must now address the gap that has opened up between them and Eddie Jones’s EnglandWhen Wales were at their pomp in the 1970s the sound of the crowd in Cardiff singing Bread of Heaven as the visiting team were about to run on to the field put a wobble in the step of even the most hardened player in opposition colours. It was not enough on Saturday as England, who have fast become a team in the mould of their head coach Eddie Jones, art and soul, looked through the open roof to the heavens and received their Daly bread.Elliot Daly’s match-winning try four minutes from the end summed...
Wales threw everything at England in Cardiff but were undone by a side showing grit and glimpses of greatness in a Six Nations Test to savourIt was perishingly cold in Cardiff, but there was enough heat in the match to warm the blood of everyone in the stadium. Even with the roof open. It was, everyone agreed, a magnificent game, one that belied Eddie Jones’ attempts to downplay the occasion. Jones was only trying to draw the sting from it, to make sure the hype did not weigh too heavily on his players. But much as he insisted otherwise, there are few events in European rugby quite like England v Wales in Cardiff, when the whole city seems to be...
A ferocious match in Cardiff goes England’s way in the final moments with a try that would grace any TestAnother extraordinary episode in the ongoing saga between these two, it was ferocious in its commitment but decided by a stroke of precision, breadth of imagination and sheer pace, the smoking ruins of the collisions bypassed for a crucial, divine second that clinched the game for England. Wales had been superb, by far their best performance since the World Cup, their reliably stroppy distaste for visiting Englishmen inspiring them to heights reminiscent of their proudest moments against this lot in this stadium. That it was in vain will hurt horrifically, that the killer blow was delivered by stealth rather than any...
On the surface, a trip across the Severn should be no different to any other away day for Eddie Jones’s team but the scars of past battles have not yet fully healedThere is a tongue-in-cheek line in Evelyn Waugh’s 1928 novel Decline and Fall – “We can trace almost all the disasters of English history to the influence of Wales” – that resonates on weekends like this. England have played international rugby across the Severn since 1882 yet there is never a year, even now, when they approach the bridge toll booths whistling the carefree tune of the entirely relaxed. Related: Six Nations: seven things to look out for this weekend | Gerard Meagher Related: England’s Eddie Jones begins mind...
Leigh Halfpenny looks in the mood to give England a kicking, Italy’s discipline will be tested by Ireland and France know they must not lose to ScotlandThere were times during the autumn when one could not help but feel for Leigh Halfpenny. It used to be the case that anything in the opposition half was within his kicking range but it seemed his lengthy troubles might have changed that for good. And as an attacking threat he was a fair way below the level he showed with the Lions four years ago; all the while Liam Williams was continuing to shine. Against Italy, however, Halfpenny was one of Wales’s brightest players and his kicking was also on the money. Shaun...