Scorer: Manu Tuilagi
England got their Rugby World Cup warm-up schedule off to a steady start on Saturday, with a 23-19 win picked up against Wales at Twickenham.
Wales did outscore their hosts by three tries to two but a couple of drops from Jonny Wilkinson saw England win the first of this two-legged affair.
England's tries came via number eight James Haskell and debut centre Manu Tuilagi while visiting wing duo George North (2) and Shane Williams crossed for Warren Gatland's outfit.
These two will meet again in a week's time at the Millennium Stadium and Wales will want to start that game how they finished this one in London. Trailing by 20 points to 7 on 45 minutes, Wales then finally clicked into gear, with captain Sam Warburton leading by example on the openside.
However, England and Wales will be sweating over the fitness of Lewis Moody and Morgan Stoddart respectively, who were both helped off.
Wales were also forced to make a late change to their line-up after fly-half Stephen Jones, who was set to become his country's most-capped player, withdrew due to a calf injury. Rhys Priestland moved to 10 as Stoddart was given a promotion from bench duty.
England showed they wanted a victory first and then the performance early on as Wilkinson was told by captain Moody to knock over a long-range penalty, which he successfully did.
But despite being under pressure early on, Wales managed to claw their way back and in fact scored when North was on hand to finish. Priestland added the extras from wide out.
Then came a long period of English pressure at Twickenham as full-back Delon Armitage enjoyed a good run before a strong scrummage allowed Haskell to power his way over.
Wilkinson's conversion moved England into a 10-7 lead before he was wise enough to take points when on offer, with a smart drop-goal on 38 minutes extending the lead to six points.
It looked as though the Welsh were the ones needing the ten-minute rest to gather their thoughts. Yet that didn't help their cause upon the turnaround as Tigers centre Tuilagi hit a good line to power over on 44 minutes. England were 20-7 in the lead and looked clinical.
Wales number nine Mike Phillips almost caught England napping with a burst towards the line that saw him held up short but the ball was worked out to Williams who scored. Priestland missed the extras to leave England two scores in front at 20-12.
Wilkinson then landed his second drop-goal before Wales captain Warburton was denied a try by the video referee. North was not to be denied soon after but it was all too little too late.
Man-of-the-match: Simon Shaw was impressive early on and seems to have booked his spot on the plane (hopefully with extra leg room), but Sam Warburton was too good to overlook despite being on the losing team. He was a rock for Wales and is still only 22.
The scorers:
For England:
Tries: Haskell, Tuilagi
Con: Wilkinson 2
Pen: Wilkinson
Drop: Wilkinson 2
For Wales:
Tries: North 2, Williams
Con: Priestland 2
England: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Danny Care, 8 James Haskell, 7 Lewis Moody (capt), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Lee Mears, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mouritz Botha, 19 Tom Wood, 20 Richard Wigglesworth, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Charlie Sharples.
Wales: 15 Rhys Priestland, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (capt), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Brad Davies, 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Luke Charteris, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Tavis Knoyle, 21 Scott Williams, 22 Morgan Stoddart.
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: tbc, Dave Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Comments
7ton says...
Rugby rockstar
Neither side fielded full strength teams and the score was close and I don't see any need to make any excuses for the last game or the next. So why do you appear to be making one with the "kitchen sink" and "stick to the plan win or lose" business?
Posted 13:31 09th August 2011
rugby_rockstar says...
Just listen to the excuses coming for the welsh side. They out out a strong team and our 2nd string side beat them. If Wales had won then Gatland would feel relaxed enough to experiment with his side in cardif, they didn't win and it now looks like Gatland is going to throw the kitchen sink at England in a desparate attempt to save face. Johnno probably already knows exactly who is going to play in Cardiff and probably who'll play in Dublin a week later. He'll stick to the plan win or lose. Wales seem to be reacting to the loss and forgetting what the point of these games are in the first place.
Posted 11:23 09th August 2011
APV1 says...
Yadda-yadda-yadda...
We can't do anything about the black strip, so leave it well alone now. It's a marketing ploy by Nike et al and, as such, needs to be appreciated as such. I cannot understand how people still harp on about lack of respect and insults. It would be laughable if it weren't so boring.
Similarly the old comments about the "international" England team. Whilst I appreciate that the 3N Teams have had similar critisism levelled at them, I've grown out of tit-for-tat and realised that 2 wrongs don'e make a right. Go for your lives saddos, but when you grow up and want to discuss the rugby, you'll be welcome back.
So, the rugby.
England didn't play to their potential but, like Wales, had a below-strength team. And that's exactly what these warm-up games are about. No-one is doubting the value of the caps awarded, or the passion played, but neither team had their best 15 on the field.
I agree with most people's analysis, but I was also surprised how well I though Flutey played. I've never really rated him, but he did ok. Bearing in mind Ashton and Foden are nailed on, it's good to see Armitage and Bananaman putting their hands up too. Sharples is quick, but needs more game time to make a proper impact. Tuilagi looked very raw, but very powerful and talented. Maybe they've done enough to keep Tindall out of the side - I hope so. Such a good player and a real servant, but a bit passed it now.
I'm glad Wales gave us a fright and they still have some awesome players to come back too... Should be a cracking rematch in Cardiff!!
I'm still to watch the Ireland : Scotland game, but the scoreline tells a story in itself...
Is anyone else really starting to get butterflies just in anticipation of the RWC, or is it just me feeling like an excitable schoolboy!?
Posted 10:16 08th August 2011
montyRN says...
Was at HQ for the game, and as expected, it was an ok match, some good points for both teams but nothing to trouble the ABs or Wallabies (taking out the fact that England seem to be Australia's "bogey" team). Certainly after watching the 3N game, the ABs were rather good, and the strength in depth still amazes me...
Good points for England - Wilkinson remains, even without pace or quick feet, 1 of, if not the best 10s for knock out rugby in the world, which is how I saw England play the game. Hasn't got all round game of Carter (but then again no one comes close) or attacking nous of Cooper but kept the board ticking over with drop goals, reliable kicking, and just about getting the back line to fire was a plus. He's never going to set the world alight but when we won in 03 we were outscored (tries wise) in most of the games apart from the final (1 each)
Stevens had a good game, as did Shawsy until his 100 year old legs got tired. Tuilagi looked raw, as he is, nice to see him score a try (would Tindall have made it past the 3 half tackles?) and although a good debut, his defence isn't as disciplined to keep Nonu/Smith/SBW at bay. Definitely one foot on the plane tho.
Concerns: Corbisiero looked average, think 2011 RWC one too soon. Haskell should be a bench player, his lack of skills was shown up. Very physical, but compared to class 8s like Read, Parisse and Harinordoquy, and he looks like a 1 dimensional gym monkey. Moody looked very rusty, and injury is a big issue. Wood seems to be a much better option in the Warburton mould (agree on the potential Lions Captain chat about him). Care too slow getting the ball out, losing a lot of go forward - thought Wigglesworth looked good. Still want to see Simpson get a game as think his speed would trouble anyone.
Black jerseys? Nike/RFU money making, they look RUBBISH up close on fans, & they are EXPENSIVE!!!
Posted 08:19 08th August 2011
rugbylover says...
lots of honest endeavour (from both teams) but the SH teams will not be quaking.............
sigh
Posted 07:48 08th August 2011
JayStarr says...
@ dolgun: ha ha ha... I'm loving you right now. I for one appreciate the effort you have put into writing that post under such difficult circumstances... It needed to be said!
@ kentaff & rugbyfun & all other people still defending the all black rip-off kit:
First of all, I'll cary on screaming about this joke of a kit as long as "England" wears it...
Secondly, how can you even still come with the "NZ has a white away kit" argument? They are not copying the traditional England look AT ALL... the rest of their kit is still very much black - you don't look at them and say "hey look, it's England!" Wales and Canada (and Saracens and the Sharks) also have black kits - but they have white or red detail in their kits and don't look like the All Blacks at all. "England" are making fools of themselves by shamelessly copying the ALL-black look of the ALL-Blacks! It is absolutely no different to copying the exact outfit of any other team - like running out in the Irish colours next week with a rose on the chest!
Thridly, if all it is is what you say it is - their WC "away kit"... paying respect to New Zealand and all that - then why the hell are they wearing it at Twickenham, in a test match, against Wales!?
The more you all blindly defend this farce, the more you look like Basil Fawlty... And I'm Cybil giving you a hard slap to make you snap out of it! It's a bloody farce - end of.
There is nothing anyone can do about it now - it's been decided... But the very least every self-respecting England fan can do is to NOT buy it. Because fooling all of you to get your hard earned money is all this publicity stunt has really been about - and you shouldn't let some greedy corporate suits play with your once proud rugby symbols and traditions like that!
But if you're ok with it, at least leave OTHER people's proud rugby symbols and traditions alone!
Posted 19:29 07th August 2011
TigersRoar says...
If you look at the sides England had an experimental backline and didn't do too badly at all! I can see MJ making 8 or 9 changes when he names his first 15, Wales only 4 or 5. Remember the WC hasn't started yet and the winning mentality is all important . . . . . unfortunately the AB's are looking awesome at the minute (don't see the Aussies as a problem though, especially the way that guy was flying in the scrums at one point!!!!).
Posted 14:36 07th August 2011
makemehappy says...
Three things struck me about the game
1) England must be thoroughly depressed after that performance against a welsh team missing 7 British Lions from their starting 15.
2) The failure to spot a 15 yard knock on by England was one of the most astonishing decisions ever!
3) Why do all the press comment considerably on Moody, but hardly give a mention about poor old Stoddart. Of course it must be that Moody had a great game and is Welsh - or should that be the other way around lol - well done the biased English press!
Posted 14:08 07th August 2011
dolgun says...
Sunday morning, raining, hungover - wouldn't normally bother but....
@rugbyfun.....
Didn't England look great in their new black strip - you must be so proud!!!
I wonder if the All Blacks would ever consider changing their away strip to a green jersey and socks with white shorts. I'm sure the Springboks wouldn't mind and their fans would probably see it as a sign of respect.
I knew that NZ's away strip consisted of a white jersey (nothing new here) but had no idea that their shorts and socks were also white making it a total rip off of the England strip. Oh hang on, the AB's actually wear black shorts and socks with their white jersey - doesn't really look like the English kit at all.
Oh well, I guess black will hide the hershey squirts on the seat of their shorts when they come up against a real side.
By all means wear a black jersey but try and keep the strip unique and avoid copying a nations kit colour for colour. With so many lovely pastel tones about why not mix it up with apricot shorts and lemon socks. That way you can get a clean break away from your traditional strips which obviously mean very little to the English and have the chance to wear some lovely soft pastel shades which are probably quite well suited to the way you play the game.
@crunchfit
I can remember a few years ago playing a similar drinking game while watching the English play. We had to take a shot every time the English backs took a pass at pace. Needless to say we were all very sober after 80 mins.STATIC!!!
Posted 13:43 07th August 2011
AussieRumble says...
I reckon England's last game against Australia they played some unbeleivable footy (tho even typing this makes me wanna punch my own face). Don't mind the dark strip either.
Posted 12:53 07th August 2011
Daibok says...
I thought Wales came out better than England and have more strength to add. They certainly have more flair. A controlled game against Samoa and Wales could top the group. I say this as a disillusioned Bok supporter with zero faith in Divvy.
Posted 12:28 07th August 2011
pog_mahone says...
Very few comments about Tuilagi, the guy was a breath of fresh air and a shot in the arm for the English midfield (aside from the near decapitation of Shane Williams). His try was simple and well taken, a hard run onto the ball from a few metres out, why can't we see a bit more of that.
Posted 12:09 07th August 2011
kenttaff says...
@rugbylocos spot on butt
@jaystarr your rants about the same old rhetoric are boring. this is about the game not the kit colouring or foreign contingent, thats been done to death on every other thread
for the game. wilkinson was spot on. when its a struggle he will land the cheeky drop goals to pull you out of trouble. may be old and ugly but in a knock out comp only wins count. for wales, we need a creative player between the 2 wingers who are our first choice for definite. phillips got to go and we got a scorching backline.
matt stevens was immense at scrummaging worth his weight in gold. england backrow to big and heavy for my liking
Posted 12:09 07th August 2011
pog_mahone says...
I'm with benc, having watched the Oz-NZ and Eng-Wales matches yesterday there is a gulf in class between the hemispheres.I couldn't find the Ireland-Scotland match, having seen the scoreline I'm just as happy I couldn't. Life's too short for Kidney failure. I thought the refereeing in both matches was poor, Joubert missed a lot of forward passes, knock-ons, offsides. Walsh did nothing to keep England or Wales from going off their feet and sealing off the ball at the breakdown. Flopping down on your friends is going off your feet. As a result, the speed of the ball was glacial in comparison to the Oz-NZ match (you can't ruck prone bodies so there was no competition). PS can everybody forget the black strip argument, it's old, tired and boring at this stage.
Posted 12:05 07th August 2011
rugbyfun says...
Only the first warm up game lads, good to get a win to start off. Look on the bright side if England get worse they 'll still probably beat the Aussies in the RWC. As for Black kit? no better looking than wales, Canada's or Japan's, the only good thing is all the furuore of kiwis ranting even though they have a white alternative jersey..
Posted 10:32 07th August 2011
mike104 says...
Considering the players missing from wales on the day i thought we played as well as could be expected.Warburton showed his real class.Shane and North are first choices...Now...How Gatland and his crew can envisage a back line (besides the 2 wingers) without a real playmaker like Hook or Henson I will never know.Lets forget the c--p and the politics and get the only 2 players that can break up the defending backlines with their passing and running skills out on the field. Let the Henson bashers have their say and then hope they want to progress in this world cup or dip out before the quarters again. We missed gethin and adam ....and ryan jones starting in the back row...Hey like him or loathe him Wilkinson can still show most No. 10's how ro close a team out and put them back a notch.And if Johnson and HQ can forgive Stevens and D.Armitage their SINS lets leave GAV alone to play some rugby.
Posted 10:06 07th August 2011
ruggaluva says...
Hmmmm.... i was singing the praises of the athleticism and promise of the England squad before the game BUT if they lose their shape like they did in the 2nd half.... they will get trounced by better teams.
NZ looking imperious before the first whistle has blown for WC (again) any chance of choke ?? A Springbok sucker punch perhaps in the knockout stages ?? you betcha !!
Posted 09:13 07th August 2011
therod says...
after watching the tri-nation game you realise not even wearing black is going to save us against the all blacks .we are screwed !
Posted 08:25 07th August 2011
colvin says...
Didn't it look weird seeing Enland in an all black strip rather than their century old traditional white colours. What were they trying to do, go incognito? Certainly, this match proved that that it takes more than copying the All Blacks strip to play like the All Blacks. Apart fron Jonny they'all looked like imposters. At least they had the decency to look embarrassed.
Posted 08:22 07th August 2011
Roathmanc says...
We can't be too disappointed - we've always struggled against a full commonwealth team
Posted 07:08 07th August 2011