England collapsed spectacularly in the second half on a cold and cheerless Twickenham afternoon, giving a performance that finished little short of total disintegration. All the hopes raised during a first half when they played not devastatingly, but at least brightly, were shattered, and it was noticeable long before the end that Johnny Wilkinson found his game in tatters along with the rest. Wales therefore won at Twickenham for the first time in 20 years, and amazingly, after being blasted out of proceedings for a long period, they eventually held on with almost contemptuous ease.
It was all wonderfully compelling, bizarre and from the medical point of view, grim. England's problems did not end with the defeat itself, shattering though it was. They lost five players with fresh injuries during an afternoon of carnage, and it could be that all of Lewis Moody, David Strettle, Mike Tindall, and Tom Rees and Mark Regan may miss the match in Rome next Sunday, while Mark Regan's aggravation of an old injury may also rule him out. Wales also lost Johnathan Thomas and Alun Wyn Jones.
No doubt the injuries seriously disrupted England, but Brian Ashton was quite correct afterwards in not using them as an excuse. He had a perfect right to expect that other members of his match squad of 22 would have come on to play with conviction and composure. There was no excuse whatsoever for a disintegration on this scale.
It could be even worse because the injury to Thomas was sustained in what appeared to be an illegal tackle from Wilkinson, who threw his shoulder at the charging Thomas, making no effort to wrap his arms around the player as the law requires him to do. It will be amazing if Wilkinson is not cited and he could clearly miss at least one match - Thomas was taken away concussed and bleeding from the face.
Wales will take the win, and they thoroughly deserved it. They were beasted in the first half, when the likes of Phil Vickery and Andrew Sheridan made hard yards, when Mike Tindall gave England a presence in the middle and when they clearly could have scored three tries instead of one. But not only did Wales defend well, not only did their morale survive the periods when they were being battered, but they had the resilience and the footballing excellence to come back with deadly attacking precision in one of the most thrilling fightbacks in their history.
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Whereas at one stage of the afternoon, Mike Phillips and James Hook at half-back were composed if utterly anonymous, suddenly, with Welsh replacements adding extra value, the Welsh half-backs were transformed into maestro conductors - and England's defence to a bunch of fumblers. And it seems clear now that Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards, again in harness on the national scene, are indeed coaching magicians. How else inside a period of two weeks could they exhume Welsh aspirations buried so embarrassingly by Fiji in the World Cup? Now, with Scotland and Italy to play at home, they can surge forward with momentum and new belief (albeit also with the millstone that their public will now deem them unbeatable) and achieve, at the very least, the comfort of mid-table respectability as Gatland and his men weave even more magic.
As Wales ran down the clock with massive assurance at the end - though they were brainless in not dropping the goal which would have settled it - it seemed a different decade to the first half of English superiority.
Wilkinson had England in front after only two minutes and although Hook replied in kind, another penalty and a drop goal by Wilkinson made it 9-3.
The opening try came after 23 minutes. England took a quick throw-in and James Haskell and Rees, both splendidly lively, drove the ball on. Wilkinson chipped high to the left and Lesley Vainikolo, who had made a heralded and completely bizarre entry in place of Strettle, timed his leap to perfection to seize the ball in mid-air. As he fell to earth, he rolled an inside pass to Flood and the Newcastle centre scored at the posts.
England could easily have scored again towards the end of the first half. This time, the inconsistent Iain Balshaw made space by coming in off his left foot and carving up the middle. Shaw, Rees and the splendid Haskell popped up again and Haskellthe flanker sent Paul Sackey barrelling through the last tackles to the line. After long deliberation, the video official ruled that the touchdown was unproven, with the arm of hooker Huw Bennett insinuating itself underneath the ball. The Welsh defence, crucially, stopped the next English drive from a lineout and so it was only 16-6 to England at half-time. At that stage, it did not seem to be disastrous that England had not stretched clean away.
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Even when Wales managed to steady the ship in the third quarter, by now with Ben Kay on as flanker for the unfortunate Rees, there was no sense of alarm. But from small beginnings, that sense of alarm just grew and grew. Both Tom Shanklin and Gethin Jenkins should have started for Wales but they came on in the third quarter and provoked a reaction. Gavin Henson, like a big cat waking from slumber, burst past Wilkinson with a startling break. The comeback was on.
Hook kicked a penalty to make it 19-9 and then, after a dizzyingly appalling England move had duly fallen to bits, Lee Byrne hacked on and Balshaw conceded a penalty near the England line. The kick made it 19-12. MikeTindall had by now joined the casualty listy list in the preceding play, and as he was was carried off, with him went any semblance of England authority.
Wales drew level in the most dramatic fashion. They drove the ball up the middle, and when Phillips fed Hook, the young Welsh fly-half checked to avoid the in-rushing Sackey, changed direction again to fool two more defenders and put Byrne over for the try. Hook then kicked a magnificent touchline conversion to bring it level.
Two minutes later, Wales took the lead in even more dramatic fashion. Wilkinson had compounded England's panic with a horrendous long pass to nobody in particular and Phillips, by now in steaming form, charged down Balshaw. Jenkins regathered the ball and he and Martyn Williams sent Phillips charging to the line. The TV match official ruled that the scrum-half had grounded the ball correctly in the tackle and another epic conversion by Hook made it 26-19.
By this stage, there was no onebody asserting any sort of control in England ranks. There was no plan or policy and no strategy whatsoever to claw the game back. Wales ran down the clock by battering down the fringes, at one stages playing within inches of another try. They should have dropped for goal, but given England's shambolic state at this time, there was absolutely no way that Wales were going to be caught on the break.
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A remarkable afternoon, chilling for those in white, warming for those in red. And sadly, not the worst news either for the medical profession.
England: I Balshaw; P Sackey, M Tindall (D Cipriani 64min), T Flood, D Strettle (L Vainkolo 13min); J Wilkinson, A Gomarsall; A Sheridan, M Regan (L Mears 58min), P Vickery (capt), S Shaw, S Borthwick, J Haskell, L Narraway, L Moody (T Rees 14min, B Kay h-t).
Wales: L Byrne; S Williams, S Parker (T Shanklin 46min), G Henson, M Jones; J Hook, M Phillips; D Jones, H Bennett, (M Rees 58min), A Jones (G Jenkins 46min), I Gough, A-W Jones, J Thomas, (A Popham 13min), R Jones (capt), M Williams.
England's injury toll
- David Strettle: The England wing is having a foot injury assessed by the medical team with worries that he may have suffered another broken bone, similar to the blow that kept him out of the World Cup
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- Lewis Moody: Was left on crutches with a calf injury sustained when taking an early restart ball. He insists it is an old problem that will not keep him out for long
- Tom Rees: Sustained a knee injury which is being assessed by the medical team with a possibility of ligament damage
- Mike Tindall: Carried off with serious rib injury pain with fears that he may be out for an extended period
- Mark Regan: The hooker is struggling to finish a game nowadays and had to go off after aggravating an old injury. Doubtful for Rome