England claim Six Nations Triple Crown with hard-fought victory over Wales at Twickenham that sees six tries scored and a late red card
RUCK’S MAN OF THE MATCH – ANTHONY WATSON (ENGLAND)
He was different class on his return. Over his calf injury at last, he was a handful for the Wales defence from the moment he crossed for an early try with a lovely stutter step.
Watson immediately testing the Wales defence and immediately breaching it.
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) March 7, 2020
That’s what @anthonywatson_ brings to the party!#ITVRugby pic.twitter.com/GngmTYmUMI
BEST PLAYERS
Manu Tuilagi (England): Brings so much to England’s game. Carried well, solid in defence and scared Wales. Scored a deserved try in the second-half. Would have been man of the match if not for his dumb red card.
62′ | ENG 33 – 16 WAL
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) March 7, 2020
TRY | Slick handling from England’s backs sees @Manutuilagi the benefactor. An easy touch down for the Leicester Tiger. Con Farrell.#ENGvWAL Stats Centre: https://t.co/CcwWyZPCkh #CarryThemHome #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/DzgPUhQIHl
Tom Curry (England): 22 tackles, none missed. Simple as that. Looks more at home at no8 with every passing minute.
Justin Tipuric (Wales): Great support work to finish off two Wales tries. One of a kind. Superb attacking ball player who has been ultra-reliable defensively in this championship too.
Nick Tompkins (Wales): His best performance in a Wales shirt so far. Much better in defence and made 45m in attack.
Nick Tompkins looks back to his best today, distribution has been top notch.
— Talking Rugby Union (@TalkRugbyUnion) March 7, 2020
33-16#ENGvWAL
Mark Wilson (England): Looked as though he had never been away from the international fold. Mountains of unselfish graft around the tackle-area tied together England’s display.
UNDERPERFORMERS
Jamie George (England): Lost both of his boots in the opening minutes and saw his first throw stolen by Alun Wyn Jones. Settled thereafter, but not at his best.
Hadleigh Parkes (Wales): Usually reliable but not yesterday. Hands let him down with one fumble inside England’s 22 and coughed up a penalty for a high tackle on Tuilagi.
George North (Wales): The winger is a legend, but this was yet another below par performance. Lacklustre in attack and soft in defence, it might be time for a change as he is definitely not the player he once was.
England vs Wales player ratings
England: Elliot Daly 7; Anthony Watson 8.5,Manu Tuilagi 8, Owen Farrell (capt), Jonny May 6; George Ford 6, Ben Youngs 7; Joe Marler 6, Jamie George 6, Kyle Sinckler 7, Maro Itoje 7.5, George Kruis 7.5, Courtney Lawes 8, Mark Wilson 8, Tom Curry 8.5
Wales: Leigh Halfpenny 5; George North 4, Nick Tompkins 7.5, Hadleigh Parkes 6, Liam Williams 6; Dan Biggar 7, Tomos Williams 7; Rob Evans 6, Ken Owens 6, Dillon Lewis 6, Jake Ball 6, Alun Wyn Jones 6 (capt), Ross Moriarty 7, Justin Tipuric 7, Josh Navidi 8
Six Nations wives and girlfriends:
1. Alun Wyn Jones (Wales) – Dr Anwen Jones
Wife of Welsh stalwart Alun Wyn-Jones and mum to their beautiful daughter, Anwen is a lecturer at Cardiff’s Metropolitan University, where she’s a Welsh medium physiology and health lecturer. Clever and sporty, she is a former 400m hurdler and was Welsh champion from 2000-2007.
2. Tommaso Allan (Italy) – Benan Demir
The fly-half made the choice to represent Italy despite his uncle John earning nine caps for Scotland. He chose Italian for his girlfriend too with brunette bombshell Benan Demir. She is doing her PhD in Computer Science at the University of Padova. The pair recently got hitched.
3. Leigh Halfpenny (Wales) – Jess Tumely
The couple, who have been together six years, became a family last year when they welcomed their adorable daughter Lily, who is the apple of her father’s eye.