Wales Edged out in Twickenham Thriller

By Lestyn 21/03/04
March 22 2004

Wales went down fighting as another major scalp slipped away from their grasp. Steve Hansens' penultimate game in charge saw the Welsh set peice fall apart once again, but also a return to the expansive game witnessed in the World cup.

Last years display in the World cup against the eventual champions was perceived as a one off by many, however on Saturday during the second half up until Joe Worsley's last minute effort, only murmurs of Sweet Chariot could be heard at a twitchy Twickenham.

To get a true feeling of the match, you only have to look at the statistics. England made 72 tackles, only half of Wales's whopping 140. Not surprisingly the hosts dominated possession with 64 percent of it. Although starvation of ball eventually proved to be the men in red's downfall, it showed just how well they defended against a constant stream of English attack, along with how effectively they used the little ball they did have.

The opening forty minutes indicated a similar outcome of recent visits to Twickenham, England were dominating the set piece, with little primary procession for Wales to cling to. Although there were still glimmers of hope. Tom Shanklin stood debutant Oly Barkley with the simplest of side steps, only for Rhys Williams to be penalised. A sweeping move on the right promised, but was spurned on the half an hour mark as Gareth Thomas ran out of space.

Ben Cohen proved simply too strong, in an ominous looking score after Barkley had crafted a gap in the centre. Winger Cohen was to go close again near the interval, only for Gareth Thomas to make a superb cover tackle. Barkley and Stephen Jones exchanged penalties for the remainder of the half.

 

A FULL REPORT WILL APPEAR HERE SOON.

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