Wales vs England LIVE: Rugby World Cup warm-up result and reaction from Cardiff
Wales 20-9 England: Steve Borthwick’s England conceded a mammoth 22 turnovers in a sloppy defeat to Warren Gatland’s men
England began their final phase of Rugby World Cup preparation in horribly underwhelming fashion as Wales sent them spinning to a 20-9 defeat in Cardiff.
Second-half tries from Gareth Davies and George North staved off a fifth successive home loss for Wales as England boss Steve Borthwick was given plenty to ponder less than 48 hours before he names his World Cup squad. Few players left lasting impressions, although there were some impressive moments from fly-half Marcus Smith and No 8 Alex Dombrandt, with Wales responding superbly to a three-point interval deficit.
England were abysmal with their ball retention, conceding a colossal 22 turnovers, and Wales did not require a second invitation to capitalise. Full-back Leigh Halfpenny marked his 100th cap by converting both tries and kicking two penalties, with Smith kicking England’s points through three first-half penalties.
England’s opening World Cup game against Argentina is just five weeks away, yet Borthwick will not be reaching for any panic button with three warm-up fixtures still to come on the August schedule. For Wales, it was a significant confidence-booster following a fifth-placed finish in last season’s Six Nations as they recorded just a third win from the last 11 Tests.
Relive the clash below:
Wales vs England
Former Wales back row Josh Navidi is in charge of the pre-match entertainment, spinning away on the DJ decks and getting the crowd jumping as the two teams head back to the dressing rooms.
Wales vs England
So what progress have these two made over this summer of sweat? There’s every chacne that both teams are a little scratchy this evening, with neither particularly close to full strength and this a first hit-out of the summer, but the slightly lower stakes of these pre-World Cup fixtures can sometimes imbue sides with a bit more ambition.
Wales vs England
The choir are warbling away as the teams go about their warm-ups, noise bouncing back down off the Principality Stadium roof, very much shut with Storm Antoni beginning to intensify.
Warren Gatland hails Leigh Halfpenny’s professionalism ahead of 100th Wales cap
Wales boss Warren Gatland has hailed Leigh Halfpenny as “the ultimate professional” ahead of him joining rugby union’s 100-cap club.
Halfpenny will reach three figures for Wales in Saturday’s opening World Cup warm-up game against England at the Principality Stadium.
Only eight other Wales players have clocked up a century of caps, with Halfpenny just the fifth back after Stephen Jones, Gareth Thomas, George North and Dan Biggar.
He made his Wales debut as a teenager against South Africa 15 years ago, while he has had to overcome a number of injury setbacks that meant lengthy absences from the game.
“If you are talking about role models as a professional, you could not get a harder worker than Leigh Halfpenny in terms of how he prepares,” Gatland said.
Warren Gatland hails Leigh Halfpenny’s professionalism ahead of 100th Wales cap
Halfpenny will reach a century of caps for Wales in the World Cup warm-up clash against England.
A mighty midfield
This World Cup might just come too soon for Wales fly-half Sam Costelow, making his first start this afternoon and potentially the man to guide Gatland’s side through the next World Cup cycle. Costelow has been highly touted since his time as a Tiger cub in Leicester’s academy, helping the club to back-to-back Under-18 titles in a side that also contained three of today’s England squad members – Freddie Steward, Jack van Poortvliet and Geeorge Martin. Handy.
Costelow isn’t the biggest, which probably makes having a couple of sizeable centres alongside him sensible. Max Llewellyn obviously catches the eye as a pure physical specimen but is a better footballer than you might assume, and should enjoy learning under Mark Atkinson at Gloucester for the next couple of years. George North should be a useful foil for him on debut, too - England have two natural thirteens combining in the centres today and Wales might well try to prey on Guy Porter and Joe Marchant defensively.
Back row battle royale
It feels a particularly important evening for Alex Dombrandt, thought to perhaps be on the outside looking in as things stand in a highly competitive battle for the final couple of back row spots in Steve Borthwick’s squad. Provided Tom Curry’s ankle twist is only minor, he joins Jack Willis and a fit-again Billy Vunipola as selection locks, with vice captain Courtney Lawes also a certainty.
If Lawes is viewed as a blindside only – as, it is thought, the player himself would prefer – that means Borthwick pretty much has to take four locks, which likely leaves only two back row places left to be won. Lewis Ludlam might have the inside track on one of them: the Northampton man is well liked for his ability to cover both flanks and number eight, and could be a candidate to captain a rotated England side in the third pool game against Chile.
Which would then leave all of Tom Pearson, Ben Earl, Alex Dombrandt and Tom Willis vying for a single place. Vunipola’s recent fitness issues perhaps suggests that taking a specialist number eight as back-up might be wise, which will count in Dombrandt and Willis’s favour.
There is a sense that we haven’t yet seen the best of Dombrandt in an England shirt, and he might need to find his best performance yet to force his way in. There is plenty to like about Willis, who will make an England debut after half-a-season punching holes for Bordeaux after the demise of Wasps. He probably profiles most similarly to Vunipola in terms of close-in carrying efficiency.
Can England’s Harlequins translate club to country?
This looks a bit of a hodge-podge England side, plenty in there still pressing for a place in the squad and a handful already inked in. Until Thursday, it appeared that Marcus Smith might fall more in the former camp than the latter, but Steve Borthwick’s suggestion that he feels he needs three specialist tens in France has all but secured Smith a spot.
Still, with Owen Farrell cemented in the starting side as skipper and George Ford a Borthwick favourite at Leicester, Smith probably needs to shine today to have a hope of climbing the fly-half pecking order. His last outing in an England shirt was the record defeat to France, of course, an overrun pack in front of him providing the playmaker little clean ball to work with.
Things look better set up for Smith today, with a few friendly faces around him to help him along. Harlequins’ success over the last few seasons has been built on the intuitive attacking understanding Smith has with Alex Dombrandt, Danny Care and Joe Marchant and co., and while the greater defensive intensity of international rugby is likely to test their decision making, I’m intrigued to see if the quartet can transplant their interplay onto this mix-and-match England side.
Captain Morgan
Warren Gatland has suggested that he might well try out two more captains before he names his World Cup side on Monday 21 August, the head coach wanting to assess his options before he chooses a replacement for Ken Owens. But the installation of Jac Morgan as skipper for this first game hints at his standing within the Welsh squad, and this feels like the sort of occasion where a big showing from the flanker could earn him a place in the leadership mix moving forward.
First things first for Morgan, though, will be securing a spot on the openside: I think it is unlikely that Gatland opts for both him and Tommy Reffell in the same starting side come the World Cup, with the relative lack of punch power in the Welsh tight five likely leaving the head coach needing to favour a bigger back row. Reffell, you would assume, is a likely starter next week at Twickenham – as a pure fetcher, there are few better than the Leicester man but in terms of overall output, Morgan might just have the edge.
Team News – England
A handful of fresh faces in the English side, too, with this their final audition before Steve Borthwick names his World Cup squad on Monday. Tom Pearson gets a start on debut after tearing up trees last season with London Irish, while fellow back row debutant Tom Willis should get an opportunity to press for inclusion off the bench.
Theo Dan completes the list of first cappers, the hooker a lively carrier and well liked by the England coaches, while George Martin has had to bide his time for a second appearance after a debut in Dublin two years ago – the Leicester thumper could offer a real point of difference with his physicality.
Borthwick this week suggested that Marcus Smith was a likely traveller, placing more of the backline focus on the performances of Guy Porter, Joe Marchant and Joe Cokanasiga – as things stand, it’s possible that none of the trio make the World Cup cut but could change the head coach’s mind with a standout showing.
England XV: Ellis Genge (capt.), Jamie Blamire, Will Stuart; David Ribbans, George Martin; Lewis Ludlam, Tom Pearson, Alex Dombrandt; Danny Care, Marcus Smith; Joe Cokanasiga, Guy Porter, Joe Marchant, Max Malins; Freddie Steward.
Replacements: Theo Dan, Bevan Rodd, Kyle Sinckler, Jonny Hill, Tom Willis; Jack van Poortvliet, George Ford, Henry Slade.
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