Wales 19 - 9 England
A terrific defensive performance from Wales saw them win triumphantly at the Millennium Stadium 19-9 after England failed to convert mountains of possession.
Warren Gatland only made three changes to the side that lost last week at Twickenham as he gave Gavin Henson a chance to impress at centre alongside Jamie Roberts. James Hook was drafted in at full back in place
of the desperately unlucky Morgan Stoddart, who broke his leg last time out meaning he will miss out on the World Cup. Newport Gwent Dragons hooker Lloyd Burns was handed his first test start with club teammate Luke Charteris at
second row. Warburton retained the captaincy.
In comparison, Martin Johnson had made no fewer than 12 changes with Mike Tindall captaining the side as Lewis Moody was sidelined due to a knee injury. Northampton's Ben Foden joins Mark Cueto and Matt Banahan at
the back while Shontayne Hape partners Tindall in midfield. Toby Flood returns at fly half while Richard Wigglesworth is given a chance to impress at scrum half. Hendrie Fourie makes only his second test start at open side flanker, his
performance will be monitored closely. Courtney Lawes has recovered from a neck injury to start at lock alongside Louis Deacon with Tom Wood and Nick Easter completing the back row in the forward pack.
Ist Half
The game wasn't 30 seconds old when a great kick off from Rhys Priestland was recovered by the Welsh backs which resulted in an early penalty for the home side after Matt Banahan did not move away from the tackle. Priestland managed to convert the penalty and give Wales an early lead. Wales 3-0 England. England responded immediately from the restart as Nick Easter claimed the ball from the kick and managed to win a penalty for the visitors. Flood capitalised on the error in the ruck and brought the scores level. Wales 3-3 England. The home side looked the more composed on the ball during the first 10
minutes and bad discipline from the England pack in the scrum rewarded Wales another penalty. Priestland took the opportunity awarded to him putting the
home side back in front. Wales 6-3 England.
The visitors were then gifted a glorious chance as a smart pass crossfield from Mike Tindall saw Matt Banahan within touching distance of
the game's opening try but poor movement saw Shane Williams manage to tackle well and prevent England from retaking the lead. The visitors attacks were
being centred around the scrum and the slow break downs as there backs weren't able to break through the Welsh defensive line. Flood then continued his
consistent kicking as his up and under kick was caught by James Hook, but a tackle off the feet from Wales got the visitors a possibility of bringing the
scores level on 21minutes. Flood scored the penalty. Wales 6-6 England.
Gavin Henson's return to the Wales 15 was cut short as he was taken off after only half an hour and replaced by young Scott
Williams. Also, England's scrum half Richard Wigglesworth picked up a knock and wasn't able to shake it off which saw him replaced by Danny Care . The game remained even as the teams went into the break. Wales 6-6 England.
2nd Half
England hit the ground running as Tindall recovered the ball from the kick off which resulted in Jamie Roberts being sin binned for not
releasing from the tackle and a penalty right under the posts. Flood took his chance and put the visitors back in the lead. Wales 6-9 England. Throughout the 10 minutes where England had the extra man, they still lacked that bit of flair and creativity in their attacks
and they created nothing other than the penalty. Once Roberts returned to the field, the tide started to turn in favour of the home side as they ventured
into the visitors 22 for the first time in the half.
Unlike Wales, England weren't defending for their lives and were punished as the home side scored the game's first try on 57 minutes as
James Hook dived over next to the posts. The ball was played out from the ruck on the near side and Hook evaded a challenge from Dan Cole and two others to
score. Hook also put through the conversion. Wales 13-9 England.
The try had given Wales a massive morale boost and a new lease of life as they had been on the back foot for so long in the game. 10
minutes had seen a dramatic change in terms of possession as the Millennium Stadium crowd were really getting behind the Welsh side. Wales then continued their dominance as Hook then added to the scoreboard with his first penalty of the
game. Wales 16-9 England.
But a big decision then saw Mike Phillips put in the bin for the remainder of the match with 10 minutes to go. This proved to be an incentive for England as they saw the chance to possibly get a draw from a game that they had dominated in huge parts.
However, the Welsh defence remained resilient against the English onslaught and they were rewarded a penalty on half way to end the game. Hook superbly kicked which saw Wales incredibly win the game 19-9. Wales 19-9 England.
Full Time
A fantastic performance from the Wales defence won them the game as they defended with heart, passion and pride from such relentless pressure by England throughout the first half and parts of the second half. Players like Sam Warburton and Mike Phillips who were getting stuck into the
rucks and were proving key in the attacking phases. The showing Wales gave today is a good sign for things to come and a good morale boost compared to
last week's defeat. Gatland explained before kickoff how if they lost today that they wouldn't have any chance of winning the Webb Ellis Trophy, however
all the players including Henson responded brilliantly to the pressure put on them by the manager.
For England, a game where they huffed and puffed but did not manage to score a single try even with the amount of pressure they had in the
whole of the first half and some of the second. It seemed as if England's attacks were lacking spark as they weren't offering anything else in terms of
decoy runners and width with their play. Throughout the game, they were solely relying on the power of their scrum and the set pieces to open up the Welsh
defence however, they were able to read England's game really well. Has this performance by England opened up the door for fringe players to stake a claim
for places in the starting 15?
Man of the Match
Sam Warburton: He was
a key player throughout and showed tenacity in the valiant defending by Wales.
Wales
Tries: Hook
Conversions: Hook
Penalties: Priestland (2),
Hook (2)
England
Penalties: Flood (3)
