Wales v England RBS 6N 2009 Match Preview

RBS Six Nations 2009

England v Wales Match Preview

A strange thing happened the other day – England won a rugby match! True, it was at Twickenham against perennial Wooden Spoon favourites Italy, but a win is a win is a win, as they say. Now, just the small matter of the reigning Grand Slam champions in their own back yard. Piece of cake! 

Well, not quite. Truth be told, England were pretty dire against the Italians. Slow ball, bad body angles, uninventive back play. In short, all the things we were so bad at in the autumn, and which Manager Martin Johnson vowed to address. Had Italy not picked one of the finest loose forwards in Europe at scrum half, things may have been very different. Wales, meanwhile, despatched the Scots with consummate ease at Murrayfield to leave their confidence sky high and their dreams of back-to-back Grand Slams on track. 

So how do England address their problems and come out firing against Europe’s finest? Simple. Stick with the limited Andy Goode at 10, replace their only genuine openside with a blindside to go scrapping against Martyn Williams, and batten down the hatches. Genius! 

The selection suggests Jonno fears a hiding, and is already thinking of damage limitation. Perhaps he has given up the breakdown, fearing Steffon Armitage would be taken to the cleaners by Williams, and has instead opted for Joe Worsley to hammer anything that moves on the gain line. All well and good, but if we are never going to win any ball, surely we cannot keep the Welsh out for 80 minutes through stout defending alone! And what about scoring some points of our own? 

Our front five, wobbly against Italy, will need to front up this weekend. The lineout went OK (it was always going to with Kennedy in the second row), but the scrum appeared underpowered. Any possession we do get cannot be negated by a scrum in retreat. The back row will have to tackle their hearts out, and Worsley’s inclusion places pressure on Haskell to get wide when Wales inevitably spin the ball to their speedsters. One area of potential joy for England, however, is the fact that our back row should be able to carry into the heart of the Welsh defence like no other. 

Harry Ellis against Italy - All pictures by Empics

Ellis and Goode continue their halfback partnership. A decent game from Ellis last time out (admittedly against a seriously out of his depth opposite number) should at least get the Welsh thinking. This may give Goode the extra time and space he needs to use his huge boot to good effect. Outside, Tindall recovers from injury to reclaim his place alongside Riki Flutey in a midfield that shall probably see very little ball. The reborn Mark Cueto, the curiously subdued Paul Sackey, and the reliable Delon Armitage are charged with stopping the Welsh fliers from capitalising on the endless stream of possession that shall surely be theirs. 

It is doubtful many England fans can remember a time when we were such overwhelming underdogs against Wales, but that’s what things have come to. With stalwart fans claiming they won’t even bother to watch, and others actually hoping for a Welsh victory in order to hasten a complete coaching overhaul, the outlook is bleak for the red rose. If ever we needed a little ‘Spirit of the Blitz’, a little bulldog spirit, a little passion and commitment, then this is that time. If we are to lose, let’s go down fighting. Let’s fly into tackles and rucks. Let’s run hard. Let’s knock the Welsh out of their stride. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little tired of being a laughing stock in the rugby world.

Wales: Lee Byrne (Ospreys); Leigh Halfpenny, Tom Shanklin, Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues), Shane Williams (Ospreys); Stephen Jones (Scarlets), Mike Phillips (Ospreys); Gethin Jenkins (Blues), Matthew Rees (Scarlets), Adam Jones, Ian Gough, Alun-Wyn Jones, Ryan Jones (Ospreys, captain), Martyn Williams, Andy Powell (Blues).
Replacements: Huw Bennett (Ospreys), John Yapp (Blues), Luke Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), Dafydd Jones (Scarlets), Dwayne Peel (Sale), James Hook, Andrew Bishop (Ospreys).

England: Delon Armitage (London Irish); Paul Sackey (Wasps), Mike Tindall (Gloucester), Riki Flutey (Wasps), Mark Cueto (Sale); Andy Goode (Brive), Harry Ellis (Leicester); Andrew Sheridan (Sale), Lee Mears (Bath), Phil Vickery (Wasps), Steve Borthwick (Saracens, capt), Nick Kennedy (London Irish), James Haskell (Wasps), Joe Worsley (Wasps), Nick Easter (Harlequins).
Replacements: Dylan Hartley (Northampton), Julian White (Leicester), Tom Croft (Leicester), Luke Narraway (Gloucester), Paul Hodgson (London Irish), Toby Flood (Leicester), Mathew Tait (Sale).

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)