England Deliver in Cardiff

Cardiff and The Millennium Stadium is a notoriously difficult place to travel to, especially when you are English because the Welsh reserve their best rugby and hospitality for us, their friendly neighbours. Yesterday, England travelled to the Welsh Capital with the majority of odds against them; their players were less experienced, their key partnerships were less established and they were away from home playing against 15 Welshmen on the pitch and thousands of passionate Welsh supporters in the crowd. England had memories from two years ago to banish and a solid base to set for the upcoming year… the word daunting doesn’t quite do it justice it does it!? However on the 6th February 2015 Stuart Lancaster's side delivered one of their most significant wins ever and that is why hours later and for many days to come England fans everywhere will be in a state of elation. 

Sometimes victories deliver slightly hollow happiness, when the performance doesn’t quite match the result however that wasn’t the case last night for England’s clawed back a 16 points to 8 half time deficit in empathic fashion. Two areas of critical strength caught my eye, first, the intensity of England's delivery and second, their steely mentality. Let’s focus on the intensity first. 

England were not the larger or more physically imposing team, that honour went to the Welsh, particularly in the back line with North, Cuthbert and Roberts however they took it to Wales with rapid line speed and courageous defence. George Ford epitomised this fearlessness as he coped with the Roberts Express down his channel throughout the eighty minutes and never once took a backward step. Chris Rosbhaw delivered a Captain’s performance, in the first half in particular, when things weren’t quite going England’s way. Chris was absolutely everywhere, he covered every blade of grass and implored his men to follow his lead. From 1 to 15, regardless of the name on the shirt England took their game to another level, to the type of level that they will need to win a World Cup. Last night’s physicality and intensity has set the bar for 2015, nothing less than that should now be accepted. 

As impenetrable as England aimed to be in defence they also did things their way when it came to the psychological task at hand. Chris Robshaw shared after the game how he and his team remained in the tunnel for longer than Wales intended them to instead of being exposed to the 10 minutes of intimidation and the light show. Chris told referee Jérôme Garcès that he would not take his players to the field until Wales were also ready, it was a simple but defiant act that highlighted that England and Robshaw will not be told what to do by anyone, they set their own standards. A show of defiance also manifested itself in the way in which England clawed their way back into the game, England didn’t crumble or panic in the face of adversity and a less than ideal first forty. Instead they rose to the challenge, they trusted themselves and their systems and took it to Wales, would the England of two years ago done that? In a word ‘No’. No matter what anyone, anyone says, England gained a psychological advantage over Wales prior to the group stages, they turned up on their turf and delivered and I now expect them to do the same at home in 7 months time. 

From a personnel perspective there were revelations left, right and centre, James Haskell in spite of noticeable missed tackle prior to Rhys Webb’s try had a phenomenal day as he relished the opportunity to wear the red rose and added a colossal physical presence and leadership to the group. Man of the Match George Ford delivered assurance well beyond his 21 years in the most exposed position on the pitch and his humble post match interview said it all about the man himself as he described the final penalty as 'the least I could do for the boys’. Ford’s Bath team mates Anthony Watson and Jonathan Joseph empathically took their chances as did Luther Burrell. Dave Attwood was inspired, Billy Twelvetrees a man on a mission off the bench and finally the pack, oh what a pack we have as a country; brutal force mixed with technical brilliance at the set piece, simply world class. 

In Cardiff England answered their doubters, put to bed their demons and attacked the fixture with a force that is hugely exciting. Wales will rue their inability to press on from what they described as a ‘comfortable’ opening forty minutes. The manner in which George North was treated must be questioned for player welfare remains the most important thing in our sport and personally I believe that, that wasn’t adequately adhered to last night. From the Welsh public questions will naturally be asked of Warren Gatland, as they always are following a loss, however in my eyes Wales didn’t lose because they played bad rugby. Instead Wales lost because England took themselves to a higher place that was out of the reach of the home side. Next stop... Twickenham Stadium and Italy. 

See all of the Out On The Full photos from the Millennium Stadium here