Slow burn smothers Welsh fire
4 Feb 2006
Like a toy soldier wilting under the focused glare of a magnifying glass, initial Welsh resistance melted into complete disintegration as England ran in four second half tries to emerge 47-13 victors at Twickenham.
The power of England’s tight five has been hyped following the pulping of Matt Dunning late last year, but today the shock and awe promised in the British press was reflected by on-field performance.
The Welsh are defending Six Nations champions, but appeared no more than second-tier scrappers in a day in which the customary fire and brimstone kept them competitive for 40 minutes, but never looked like delivering the victory.
After flanker Martyn Williams’ dismissal in the 54th minute, the resistance upfront to England’s forward onslaught that crumbled gradually from the opening minutes onwards suffered the mortal blow, and the four tries conceded in the final quarter reflected a side whose quality is simply not of the standard to trouble England and France in this year’s competition.
Power was the watchword, both in the incisiveness of the much-maligned midfield of Jamie Noon and Mike Tindall, and in the efficient manner in which English assumed dominance in contact and in set pieces.
Noon’s half-break and offload to winger Mark Cueto in the 14th minute ensured momentum remained with the home side from early on, and despite a trademark try from a lineout maul being cancelled out by Williams after a clever break from scrumhalf Dwayne Peel, England appeared comfortable at halftime – even if that dominace was not reflected on the scoreboard.
Early penalty exchanges in the second half were the precursor to the demolition that followed. The 64th minute effort by Mike Tindall rounded off the finest move of the game, in which the decision making of centre partner Noon in particular was impressive.
Old guard substitutes Lawrence Dallaglio (in the 72nd) and Matt Dawson (in the 75th) profited from immense scrums to dart from close range and ensure there would be no late Welsh spark.
Replacement wing Tom Voyce applied the finishing touches on full time.
SCORERS
England
Tries: Mark Cueto, Lewis Moody, Mike Tindall, Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson and Tom Voyce
Cons: Charlie Hodgson 3 and Andy Goode
Pens: Hodgson 3
Wales
Try: Martyn Williams
Con: Stephen Jones
Pens: Jones 2
** Sinbin: Williams (54th minute)
42 Comments
4 Feb 2006, 17:27 pm
The Dragons dont stand a chance!
4 Feb 2006, 18:04 pm
Where does Hal Lascombe come from?
Did he ever play currie cup ? if so who for?
4 Feb 2006, 19:12 pm
Mike Ruddock can kiss his *** goodbye.His contarct hesnt been renewed yet and wont after this ****** display.
4 Feb 2006, 19:17 pm
the good thing for the rest of us is that Andy Robinson will keep his job as England coach.
4 Feb 2006, 19:29 pm
Who cares anyway?As long as the World Cup comes back to the Southern Hemisphere.Be it the All Blacks , Wobblies or SA!
4 Feb 2006, 19:39 pm
A false dawn in England…
I hope they keep this team, they are not nearly as good as the result!
Awesome pack, only if Moody is there, otherwise there is not speed. The front 5 are awesome & the reserves even more so.
Why I am I bigging up the pack, because that is where the skill begins & ends! The backs are useless! Italy showed more skill in backs than the Poms. Tindal is a flyhalf that is clearly too slow to wear the 10, all he does is kick (add badly).
It will be great to see them against the French & the rest of the world, they will learn a lesson or two.
P.S. Is Matt Dawson really that scummy? How, as a professional player, can you deliverately knock the ball on (a penalty) & then celebrate the try like that? Scum!
4 Feb 2006, 19:43 pm
Unfortunately south african rugby players use too much brawn and not enough grey matter when it comes to those moments. Until we learn how to be ‘clever cheats’ we will not beat the all blacks or france or england regularly. That said we will struggle to beat Australia if they ever find two props who can keep them steady in the scrums
4 Feb 2006, 19:51 pm
The Ozzies should just poach the South Africans!
Stevens was incredible today & is a laaitie we could have done with! When O when are quoatas / politics going to leave sport alone?
Keo, when you read this on Monday, why don’t you make this your next mission, get the SA government, SARFU & everyone else to tell us all when they intend to achieve the intergration, or whatever they are trying to to, so that there will come a time in SA, when people (mostly white) can feel that they will achieve on merit. Not have to leave SA to pursue a career elsewhere.
A date or a plan is all we are looking for.
4 Feb 2006, 19:51 pm
England will always have a big and strong pack due to the style of play in their premiership.
4 Feb 2006, 19:53 pm
And politics will always play a role in South Africa because of the historical imbalances
4 Feb 2006, 19:57 pm
The Bill … would you pick Stevens ahead of CJ van der Linde and Os du Randt (SA’s first choice props)? One is white, early 20s, one is white, mid 30s … how did quotas keep Matt Stevens out of SA Rugby?
He was the SA under 19 prop, he went to england the next year and qualified to play for England through having a passport, and took up that option.
His playing for England has nothing to do with quotas, but with a 19 year-old two years ago wanting to stay in England.
keo
4 Feb 2006, 20:03 pm
Keo
Glad to see you are online – now here are two ideas for you to take forward:
1) When the Boks tour Aus / NZ in this years Tri Nations, lets get Jake to take a squad of 30 players and arrange week day matches (say on a Tuesday) so that it becomes a mini tour – thsi would enable the guys who are not involved on Saturday matches to keep sharp …
2) With the whole BvR situation and supposing he wins, why don’t the major unions (including the Spears) break away and have their own league … it would definitely break the existing stranglehold that is exerted over the larger unions by the smaller unions. Additionally they have most of the players in the bok, under 19 and 21 sides …
4 Feb 2006, 20:05 pm
Keo, glad to see you at work, thought you would be out in CT shmoozing with the Stormers.
Your arguments about White…
Why did he leave, not perhaps the same reason, Rathbone, Pieterson et al left? I don’t know his reasons, but it is becoming quite popular to go shack up in other coutries where there is no political interference.
Lets face it, Os is not going to be around much longer! As for CJ, I am no front row expert, but would say that there is not too much between them. I don’t remember the Boks doing THAT to the Ozzies.
Plus, the one awesome thing about the Poms, is that there is no weakness when they bring on reserves, in fact today, bringing on White made them stronger scrummagers.
Re: politics, I am actualy in favour of quotas, while they are needed to redress the past. 100%, all I am asking is when is the plan that the politicians have (assumption) going to come to fruition, ie, when will the black players making it to the top level of rugby be self sustaining? Surely when that day comes, the politicians can step away from such close control & everyone will have an equal chance to fight for their place in the side.
4 Feb 2006, 20:11 pm
Rugby will become self sustaining when there are coaches don’t have to choose two wings and a scrum half to make up the ‘quota / transformation’ requirements. Think about Sephake – he first played for the boks under Rudolf … now that is not saying much buit last year after he annialated the French he was not given another look in … if he had been given game time for the past 3 years he would be an institution in the bok front row.
4 Feb 2006, 20:55 pm
Blue Blood / Jondood
I REALLLLLLYYYY hope you guys read this post.
You must be nervous. Two matches played this week. In one the team in Blue lost and in the other the team in White won……
I hope you are not superstitious
AND
Next weekend there are two matches involving blue vs white. (Eng v Ita and Cattle vs Cheetahs)
White to win both.
4 Feb 2006, 20:55 pm
Let’s assume Rathbone and Pietersen (cricket) left because of quotas and then lets consider who is playing in their positions.
In rugby, Jean de Villier (white and in the same under 21 side as Rathbone), Jaque Fourie (white and in the under 19 side when Rathbone was the under 21 captain) and Marius Joubert (white). Then there’s the senior statesman De Wet Barry (white). If Rathbone had stayed and backed himself to make the side on merit, he would have to have taken the place of one of those four white centres! Qutas certainlty did not keep him out of the BOk team.
In cricket … Boeta Dippenaar, Jacques Rudolf and a host of other white players, including Neil McKenzie, Martin van Jaarsveldt, have all been tried in positions 4-6 (where Pietersen bats). Had he stayed and shown the form he did in the UK, he would be in the team!
These guys left because they did not want to stay in SAFrica, as a country, not because of quotas in the national teams.
4 Feb 2006, 21:17 pm
Bill – Stevens left SA to study (law I think) at Bath university. Only stopped his studies last year to concentrate on rugby.
4 Feb 2006, 21:51 pm
Keo, like I said I am not against quotas if they are necessary (& they are in SA), but I do think that that is a simplistic way of looking at it.
Rathbone was a winger at the time & (I cannot recollect who our wingers were at the time), he obviously felt that our side could not accomodate him.
However you dress it up or duck from the issue at large, the quota system (or is it something else) is chasing talented people away from SA. S14 will be an e.g. we may lose more players due to the rules.
Like I said, if SA has to pay the price, then so be it, but how long is all I want to know? Is there a time frame on transfirmation?
5 Feb 2006, 00:00 am
Rathbone played centre for SA under-21s
5 Feb 2006, 00:40 am
Somebody asked about Hal Luscombe. OK.
He is one of the indicators of how Wales are the true poachers of modern rugby. You can forget the fairytales of Joe Rockokoko, he moved from Fiji when he was 5 years old.
Wales recruited Shane Howarth because he said his grandparent was Welsh. That was subsequently shown to be false.
Haldane Luscombe was plucked from schoolboy rugby at Bishops with the promise of a professional contract in Wales, and qualification for Wales after 3 years of residence. Graham Henry was the master planner of this talent identification, and the South African agent was Jake White.
Celtic league salaries are not the highest in the world, but they are enough to tempt an 18 yr old with uncertain prospects of a professional career in South Africa.
http://www.news24.com/News24/Sport/Rugby/0,,2-9-838_1546575,00.html
(By the way, there is no such thing as Welsh citizenship, and the IRB makes no mention of citizenship in it’s eligiblity criteria. 3 years residence is all that is needed to convert a player.)
5 Feb 2006, 00:43 am
Another version of the Luscombe story:
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0500rugbyunion/0200news/tm_objectid=14357584%26method=full%26siteid=50082%26headline=luscombe%2dso%2dproud%2dto%2dbe%2dplaying%2dfor%2dwales-name_page.html#story_continue
5 Feb 2006, 01:38 am
The English pack is good…Hope JW watched this game…we got to play these guys 3 times this year..and it would be nice to make a statement and whip them at Twickenham.
5 Feb 2006, 03:27 am
Wasn’t one of the reasons why Rathbone left is that they refused to cover his medical bills (as he was injured when he came to Oz). He got a top deal from the Brumbies who helped with his rehab and his family has now moved to Canberra.
5 Feb 2006, 06:06 am
I’d pay just to go and watch the Welsh ball handling skills.The score really does flatter the Poms.The ref had a bit of a sinker as well.Two English tries where very poor decisions and the yellow card was debatable.
The Welsh wingers were very good and I was very impressed with the flyhalf.He knows when to kick, when to run and when to pass……nothing flash but gets the job done, he did miss touch from a penalty but better him than some of our players masquerading as flyhalfs.
One thing is undeniable….Dawson is the biggest arsehole ever to play the game.
5 Feb 2006, 07:13 am
like a toy soldier under the focused glare of a magnifying glass.Chris are you on drugs?I know you guys are crappy writers but this is the pits.**** writing.
5 Feb 2006, 09:13 am
The Welsh skills coach Scott Johnson will most likely be on John Connolly’s staff at the wallabies. He was one of the reasons for their success in last year’s 6Ns.
5 Feb 2006, 09:33 am
South Africans like St Petersburg live in denial whenever England win, and fail to give England due credit.
OK England may not be the most exciting side in the world but they are pretty formidable and on current form probably would beat SA comfortably at Twickers, although if they played in SA I’d probably put my money on the Boks.
I’m often told by Saffers that “Pommies are arrogant”, but I lived in London for three years and hardly came across an arrogant person, in fact most people I met were reserved but friendly, once you made the effort to communicate. I played social rugby for three seasons and found the “poms” to be bloody good blokes.
Yet I find many Saffers have A WEIRD INFERIORITY COMPLEX when they go to the UK and come back convinced that “Poms are arrogant”. Personally I don’t see it. Or perhaps someone like St Peters could explain??
5 Feb 2006, 09:57 am
Calm own Delek you submissive arse bandit.
3 years eh???
Well done…as for me, 4 years in Scotland and 5 in London.
Make no mistake pal…..I have absolutely no inferiority complex with regards to the Poms.In fact, I quite happily abuse their passport at every opportunity and never hide where my real loyalties lie.
As for rugby, yesterday, apart from the midfield,yes,they have a good side.However,are you denying that the Welsh had England on the rack for long periods, only to throw it away in the final 20 minutes.Possibly the quality of substitutes and strengh in depth was the difference?
If there was a genuine concern, although England weren’t breathtaking in way….they’ve still put up more than 40 points against a Welsh side that turned in a pretty decent performance.
And that is the real worry concerning England at Twickenham and I’ll say “England at Twickenham” because Like the “Boks at Ellis” or the “Bulls at Loftus” they are a completely different side away from home.
If the Boks want to win at Tickers sometime in the next 100 years, we have to arrive with a pack that will give us some frontfoot ball and a squad of 22 who will all be of equal quality and ability.Or, and I do think this is a very realistic way of playing, do what the Welsh tried to do…..play the ball in spaces and keep it away from their heavy tight 5.
Furthermore, are you denying some of the very poor decisions by the referee?
Matt Dawson being the worlds biggest arsehole is undisputible.
Yes, I have some very good English mates……we tend to rip the piss out of each other at every occassion, that’s the way it works…….get with the ******* programm!!!!
Listen, quite honestly…I can’t be bothered explaining anymore, you are obviously a few years behind the gameplan.
Roll over and give your boyfriend a peck on the cheek for us all.
cheers
FU
5 Feb 2006, 10:14 am
And Keo, while it is a nice try……your argument that Rathbone is being kept out by 4 white players, it’s completely pish as well.
If JW wanted to drop Habana or Paulse, he would not be able to, and then to put Rathbone on to the wing…..like the Ozzies have done, he wouldn’t be able to.
So, let’s not try and molly coddle ourselves into believing that youngsters are leaving because they don’t want to live in SA.
Quotas are needed, losing talented white youngsters is the (seemingly)acceptible loss from the situation.
Bill’s question is a very valid one…….when,how long,how many,etc…?
5 Feb 2006, 10:37 am
We should have B side games during the Tri Nations and during the end of year tour. these games should be on a Tuesday and we would give our players better exposure and experience in overseas conditions. It would also ensure that the players on the fringes of the bok team could be involved during the week to the build up to the test matches.
5 Feb 2006, 11:42 am
Delek i lived in Pomey land for 8 years, and i found them very arrogant and full of ****.
Credit due for England they came out and did the job, but i get no bigger pleasure in my life then seeing them fail.
Perhaps the reason you dont find them arrogant is because you are one
5 Feb 2006, 12:30 pm
delek,
i disagree, they are an incredibly arrogant nation and StP’s opinion is by no means a lone one. I watched the game this weekend in an irish pub in Strasbourg, a cosmopolitan mix of englishman, irishman, welshman, yanks, italians, germans and frenchman, and guess what only the odd pom supported England. I cant put my finger on it, maybe its when they shout “gooo orrnn” or when they look so reverent that gets everyone’s back up. I felt so bad i almost cheered for them, i say almost, because then i saw Dawson and Dalaglio.
Onto more serious matters, the english scrum and lineout is superb at present. Sheridan and White are arguably the best scrummagers in the game (tho the kiwis would probably argue for woodcock and hayman). The pommie locks also had a very good game. Moody is a very good player, but IMO remains a poor man’s Schalk Burger. Its a pack of grafters, nothing exceptional but they do the basics and the hard yards well. Likewise the backs are solid though nothing exceptional (Noon did make a very good break and offload to release Cueto).
As for the welsh, their backline looked good, but the sinbinning of Martyn Williams (great player) was a shocking decision, and was the nail in the coffin in a pack that was always going to struggle. Luscombe played well as did the entire welsh backline, need some more grunt in their pack tho.
5 Feb 2006, 12:37 pm
I reckon that the sinbinning was fair especially since williams, looked and checked before jumping and on top of that he was in front of the ref … I mean it was almost like watching butch james tackling high or schalk burger having hands in the ruck and then they shake their heads when he gets carded!
5 Feb 2006, 12:48 pm
Cubi,
surely you’ve got to do something pretty bad to be sinbinned, it often destroys the contest and in the process the game, which is what happened yesterday.
the sheer exhaustive effort of trying to cover for the missing player drains the rest of the team and effects them well after the 10-minute period.
5 Feb 2006, 12:53 pm
Well then you should be ‘cleverer’ about how you go about committing fouls – rather hold onto the ball at the botton of a ruck where the ref can’t see than do it in the open – the all blacks are masters of this.
5 Feb 2006, 12:55 pm
Also the welsh had been warned twice in the first half about professional fouls when England were on the attack (and eventually scored their second try).
5 Feb 2006, 13:09 pm
Come on Italy! The english are going to have their hands full next weekend.
5 Feb 2006, 14:23 pm
Am I the only one thinking we are going to struggle up front against the poms later this year.Not sure Os is up to lasting a full game against the pom front row and with Eddie Andrews probably going to be the next choice we could be in for another rough end of year tour.
5 Feb 2006, 15:05 pm
It’s not really a case of if we are gonna struggle up front, its more a case of the guys who pitch up to play on the day actually doing just that – they must play. Last time we played at Twickenham our supposed pack had 8 players on the field but I think only 1 or 2 of them actually played to win, the others were just making up the numbers.
5 Feb 2006, 19:16 pm
DubShark,
ya, agree we need some quality scrummaging backup. The scrum remains a central aspect in both the SA and pom psyche especially at twickenham, whoever gets pushed backward is going to lose.
Os-Smit-CJ are not going to be a pushover for anyone (especially with the right studs), agree that the squad would defnitely be strengthened with a specialist TH scrummer. None of the incumbents backups are going to hack that sort of game; i’d say BJ Botha would be invaluable both for Twickers and the World Cup.
6 Feb 2006, 04:09 am
Jeeeezz St Peters
I didn’t realise what a SENSITIVE LITTLE LAMB you are. You try to talk tough but are as tough as a fairy underneath the swagger.
6 Feb 2006, 09:11 am
Awww mate, I’m just trying to show you that I don’t have an inferiority complex. Jeeesssh, how’s a bloke supposed to win?
Now I’m sensitive as well?
Lucky for me,I think you talk ****.
FU somemore.
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