England began their Six Nations campaign in fine style against Wales in Cardiff on Friday night, with try’s from Anthony Watson and Jonathan Joseph, as well as three penalties from George Ford, ensuring an unlikely 21-16 success for Stuart Lancaster’s side.
Wales had started the match much the stronger, and caught England off guard in a frantic first 10 minutes. A barrage of early pressure eventually saw scrum-half Rhys Webb put in to score for the hosts, and a penalty meant they lead 10-0 after only 8 minutes.
Back came England though, with a neat kick from Luther Burrell leading to a poachers try from Anthony Watson. An exchange of penalties meant the half time score was 16-8 to the Welsh, but England had shown enough to know they were in with a chance.
A brilliant opening to the 2nd half from Lancaster’s men was capped with a deserved try from Jonathan Joseph, who showed brilliant hands and skill to evade 2 Welsh tackles and dive over after a period of sustained England pressure.
Wales’ cause was not helped by a sin bin for Alex Cuthbert, and this gave England the breathing space they needed to take control of the possession and territory. 2 more penalties from Ford put England in the lead, and they eventually saw the game out relatively comfortably, with the home side offering little in the way of a late onslaught.
In the weekend’s other games, Ireland beat Italy 26-3 in Rome, courtesy of tries from Conor Murray and Tommy O’Donnell. Despite an, at times, sluggish performance, Joe Schmidt’s men will be well pleased with both the margin of victory and the manner in which they quietened the usually raucous Italian home crowd.
Lastly, France beat Scotland 15-8 at the Stade de France. In a somewhat dull affair, the home side relied on fly-half Camille Lopez for all their points as he kicked 5 penalties. The Scots did manage a try, from Dougie Fife in the first half, but couldn’t build on this score and were consigned to defeat by some stout French defending in the 2nd half.
Image courtesy of dailymail.co.uk
Euan Cunningham