3. Tommy Reffell and Sam Underhill – Back Rows Battle It Out
There was a battle within the war in this match at Twickenham, as two of the English and Welsh back-rows put in a flanking clinic in this test match. Safely amongst the conversation for Wales’ top player so far this Six Nations, Tommy Reffell had a stunning run-out on the openside flank with a brilliant display of crash ball carrying. Reffell’s key first half contribution came just before the break, as he split the England defensive line before sending the offload to Tomos Williams, who in turn found Alex Mann for the 37th minute try.
Opposing Reffell on the English flank, Sam Underhill was defensively relentless in this Six Nations clash. The Bath man made countless first half hits, including a couple of winding blows on Keiron Assiratti. The Welsh loose-head stayed down after Underhill’s second hit drove straight into his mid-rift, as Ioan Llyod sent a definitive ‘hospital pass’ to his prop. Underhill had to go it alone in the back row a period of the first half, as his flanking partner Ethan Roots spent 10 minutes in the sin bin after illegally halting Wales’ maul for the penalty try.
4. Ollie Chessum – Off again and On again
It was a definitive mixed bag for Ollie Chessum, as they lock ran on and off the Twickenham pitch a total of six times against Wales. Selected to start with his renowned locking partnership with Maro Itoje, Chessum was sin-binned after just 11 minutes after clattering into Kieron Assiratti. The Leicester man came out of the bunker review system unscathed, and returned to the pitch as their was a significant drop in the Welsh prop’s height as he approached contact.
Chessum struggled to build momentum, and was withdrawn from the pitch following a heavy coming together with wing Rio Dyer. Seconds after returning from the sin bin, Chessum gets sent for a HIA after colliding with the Welsh flyer. The lock is withdrawn and Alex Coles comes on, and the Leicester man returned to the fold for the remainder of the match. A bizzare fixture for the Leicester lock.
5. Mason Grady’s Costly Interference
Mason Grady was substituted on at the hour mark, with Wales looking for an injection of pace to see out a victory at Twickenham. However, the Cardiff man had a moment to forget, as he reached for to intercept the pass of George Ford, and in doing so sent the ball to the deck. The referee had no decision other than to send Grady to the bin for a deliberate knock-on, and ended his evening after just 10 minutes on the pitch.
George Ford stepped up to hammer the winning blow, and sent the ball sailing through the uprights from right in front of the posts. A moment of madness for Grady, with the England win wrapped up following the young wing’s blunder.
SCORE BREAKDOWN: ENGLAND 16 – 14 WALES – 2024 SIX NATIONS
ENGLAND: 16
TRIES: 2 (Earl 19′, Dingwall 63′)
CONVERSIONS: 0
PENALTIES: 2 (Ford 47′, 71)
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 2 (Chessum 11′, Roots 17′,
RED CARDS: 0
15. Freddie Steward 14. Tommy Freeman 13. Henry Slade 12. Fraser Dingwall 11. Elliot Daly 10. George Ford 9. Alex Mitchell 1. Joe Marler 2. Jamie George 3. Will Stuart 4. Maro Itoje 5. Ollie Chessum 6. Ethan Roots 7. Sam Underhill 8. Ben Earl
16. Theo Dan 17. Ellis Genge 18. Dan Cole 19. Alex Coles 20. Chandler Cunningham-South 21. Danny Care 22. Fin Smith 23. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
WALES: 14
TRIES: 2 (Penalty Try 17′, Mann 37′)
CONVERSIONS: 1 (Llyod 37′)
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Grady 70′)
RED CARDS: 0
15. Cameron Winnett 14. Josh Adams 13. George North 12. Nick Tompkins 11. Rio Dyer 10. Ioan Lloyd 9. Tomos Williams 1. Gareth Thomas 2. Elliot Dee 3. Keiron Assiratti 4. Dafydd Jenkins 5. Adam Beard 6. Alex Mann 7. Tommy Reffell 8. Aaron Wainwright
Replacements
16. Ryan Elias 17. Corey Domachowski 18. Archie Griffin 19. Will Rowlands 20. Taine Basham 21. Kieran Hardy 22. Cai Evans 23. Mason Grady