Jones praises young England side as Six Nations race goes on
It was a match of three or four moments, moments that could prove defining in this year’s Six Nations. But in England’s 23-19 win over Wales at Twickenham on Saturday, it was so nearly a disaster for the home side.
Up by 17 points early in the second half, England let their opposition back in, first through a close-range Josh Adams score and then a powerful try from Nick Tompkins.
As the clock struck red, Dan Biggar converted Wales’s third try of the evening – a sublime tap and go from replacement scrum half Kieran Hardy – to leave the Test match, England’s first at Twickenham this year, hanging in the balance from the restart.
In a contest where the momentum shifted in swathes throughout, a controversial knock-on penalty decision by referee Mike Adamson against England captain Courtney Lawes at 23-19 handed Wales a chance of snatching the victory.
Alas, they were unable to make the most of their last opportunity and England snuck home to keep their championship hopes alive.
“For a young team with a young spine they showed an amazing amount of resilience and composure,” said England head coach Eddie Jones.
“We didn’t get flustered by the referee and didn’t get flustered by what Wales were doing. That’s a really pleasing sign for us.”
England came into the game viewing it as a quarter-final. A win on Saturday would have set up a semi against Ireland a week on Saturday and then a potential final in Paris the following week.
Pivotal to the momentum shift for England was Alex Dombrandt’s try early in the second half. The score came from an overthrown Welsh line out in which England had bumped their opposition prior to the throw.
Those small moments of dark arts on the pitch, so often missed by officials, make games and earn wins – rightly or wrongly.
“I think the attack is developing really well,” Jones added. “Matt Gleeson is doing an outstanding job.
“We’re much more aggressive in the way we attack and that’s our focus at the moment. There’s this obsession with game plans, plan A and plan B, but we look at the game.
“But we believe we’ve got an organisation in our attack that allows us to take opportunities for those chances.”
Youngs at heart
Away from the result, though, there was a personal milestone for England to celebrate. Ben Youngs became his side’s outright most capped player.
His 115 caps took him beyond Jason Leonard in the men’s leaderboards and his performance in the south west London twilight showed his class once again.
“I’ve never seen a guy so hungry, and never seen a guy that helps younger players as much as he [Youngs] does,” Jones said.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with him, and if he keeps on doing that he’ll be starting or finishing, or possibly the third half-back.”
It was a tricky encounter for Jones’s men but their win means they’re still in the hunt, and that’s what matters heading into the final fallow week.
Elsewhere
Ireland and France are still in with a shout, too, with the continental side looking like the frontrunners.
Unbeaten in three – following a brilliant 36-17 demolition of Scotland on Saturday – they’re the favourites and remain the only potential Grand Slam winners.
Their star players seem to be performing at a high level and on a consistent basis while their set plays are coming off with ease. They’re a quality outfit.
As for the match in Ireland, many expect the home side to be dominant against Italy but the Azzurri weren’t helped by an early red card and a clause in the rules that, when combined with previous injuries, meant the away side had to compete for 60 minutes with 13 men, rather than 14 – and lost 57-6.
The law is of course there for a reason – to stop poor scrummaging sides from finding a way out of competing – but something needs to change to stop already hampered sides from failing further. It could completely skew this competition.