Owen Farrell’s kicking game was not enough in Cardiff and Eddie Jones missed a trick in ignoring the Leicester fly-halfEngland had a plan B against Wales – the problem was it stayed on the bench. Owen Farrell is one of the best fly-halves in the world, if not the best, but everyone has off days and he just did not seem to have a feel for the game. We did not see adaptability from England – if one thing is not working, then try something else – and George Ford could have made all the difference.Do not get me wrong, England have a very strong game-plan. It is based around kicking, it suits the way they play, it suits their...
Gatland’s team show their mettle and may yet head to the World Cup as Europe’s team to beat after exposing big weaknesses in the visitors’ gameplanSome rugby days are hard to beat. Saturday was one of them, particularly for those with Welsh blood pulsing through their veins.In terms of gladiatorial combat, passion, fellowship and emotion, it is hard to imagine a more vivid piece of Six Nations theatre. The Welsh Rugby Union’s pre-match entertainment would impress even PT Barnum nowadays. Related: Wales 21-13 England: talking points from the Six Nations match Twitter: follow us at @guardian_sport Related: Eddie Jones will not rule out title as Warren Gatland chases grand slam Continue reading...
The coach will savour a victory over Eddie Jones’s England that puts his side on course for another Six Nations grand slamWarren Gatland’s final Six Nations joust with England was always going to be memorable. Two unbeaten sides, a perfect sunny day and the kind of stage even a leading West End impresario would covet. Gatland relishes a big occasion – the bigger the better – and there is no better location on earth to watch a meaningful game of rugby.It duly produced one of the finest results in the New Zealander’s long and increasingly distinguished career. No Welsh side have ever won 12 Tests on the spin but, frankly, this victory topped the lot. Now it is Wales, not...
England’s coach talked up his opponents endlessly in the run-up to their Cardiff showdown. They duly deliveredIf you ask the locals around Cardiff, there are a lot of words they might use to describe the English. Humble is not one. In fact if you are waiting for one of them to say that, you will never catch that last train out of town. The same goes for Eddie Jones. “Arrogance,” Jones once said, “is only bad when you lose. If you’re winning and you’re arrogant, it’s just self-belief.”Of course England were winning, until now – six of their last seven coming into this match, the odd loss that one-point defeat by New Zealand and the last two victories among the...
With his 132nd Test on Saturday the captain will move within 16 caps of Richie McCaw – and England should expect to be hit by an elemental forceSome statistics in rugby are barely worth collating. The “most carries” column, for example, does not necessarily reveal whether a player had a good or even a moderate all-round game. “Metres made” does not show the speed or subtle angles at which they were covered. The number of passes a team makes matters less than their accuracy, their timing and how often they split the opposing defence.One list, however, never lies. It remains the original and the truest measure of a player’s ultimate worth: how often was he or she deemed good enough...