Wales have started off their 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up series with an impressive 20-9 win over England. Warren Gatland’s side take the bragging rights into next week’s re-match at Twickenham, and end their four game losing streak with the match turning around in the second half.
Leigh Halfpenny steered the ship on his 100th Wales test match, slotting the all-important points from the tee in a memorable day for the fullback. 23-year-old flanker Jac Morgan shone in a dream first run as Wales captain, getting the first victory under his belt in what could well be a long tenure with the armband.
The point scoring in the first half all came from the boot, with five penalties shared out three-to-two for an England advantage at the break. The visitors got the opening points on the board in Cardiff, as Marcus Smith capitalised on his opportunity to lead Borthwick’s side out at fly half. The Harlequin played a blinding first forty minutes, fizzing passes out to dangerous positions and slotting three penalties from the tee.
The debuting duo of Wales props Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti looked out of their depth, as they made the step up from Cardiff Arms Park to the Principality Stadium. An early injury to returning hooker Ryan Elias disrupted the leadership in the front row, and allowed England to impose their dominance on a weakened pack at scrum time.
The scrum penalties followed, allowing Marcus Smith to slot two unanswered penalties after seven and 13 minutes. Wales soon forged a comeback, and two well struck penalties from test match centurion Leigh Halfpenny brought the hosts back level at 6-6 after 25 minutes. The stalemate ensued until the final play of the first half, as another scrum penalty gifted Smith an easy three points from close range, and a 9-6 half-time lead.
Wales started the second half hottest, and presented their nation’s fabled fire in the pack and the backs. Keiron Assiratti redeemed himself up-front, as he won a scrum penalty which kick-started Wales’ go forward.
The opening try soon followed, as Aaron Wainwright collected a cross-field kick on the left wing, before a neat offload in the contact sent his captain Jac Morgan flying through a gap. Morgan exploded past a couple of defenders, before shipping the ball neatly to the supporting scrum half Gareth Davies. Halfpenny added to his tally on his 100th test match appearance, with a well taken conversion for a 13-9 Wales lead.
Wales started to pull away just before the hour mark, as they added a second try. Dan Biggar started off the move with an instant impact off the bench, his neat grubber split the England defence with Wales then able to build steady phase play. George North then got his hands on the ball, and spotted a gap to charge through from close range. Halfpenny’s conversion extended the lead to 20-9.
The Welsh dynamo Louis Rees-Zammit showcased his explosive pace along the right wing, with a brilliant piece of skill in the matches closing moments. Rees-Zammit punted the ball over the defenders, and chased into the dead-ball zone with Freddie Steward in chase. After a TMO review, the unbelievable try is awarded… before being harshly but correctly ruled out for the slightest of knock-ons.
WALES: 20
TRIES: 2 (Davies 47′, North 58′)
CONVERSIONS: 2 (Halfpenny 47′, 58′)
PENALTIES: 2 (Halfpenny 17′, 25′)
DROP GOALS: 0
STARTING XV: 15. Leigh Halfpenny 14. Louis Rees-Zammit 13. George North 12. Max Llewellyn 11. Rio Dyer 10. Sam Costelow 9. Gareth Davies 1. Corey Domachowski 2. Ryan Elias 3. Keiron Assiratti 4. Dafydd Jenkins 5. Will Rowlands 6. Christ Tshiunza 7. Jac Morgan 8. Aaron Wainwright
REPLACEMENTS: 16. Elliot Dee 17. Nicky Smith 18. Henry Thomas 19. Ben Carter 20. Taine Plumtree 21. Tomos Williams 22. Dan Biggar 23. Mason Grady
ENGLAND: 9
TRIES: 0
CONVERSIONS: 0
PENALTIES: 3 (Smith ‘7, ’13, 40’)
DROP GOALS: 0
STARTING XV: 15. Freddie Steward, 14. Max Malins, 13. Joe Marchant (dropped 2 early kicks) 12. Guy Porter, 11. Joe Cokanasiga, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Danny Care, 1. Ellis Genge (C), 2. Jamie Blamire, 3. Will Stuart, 4. David Ribbans, 5. George Martin, 6. Lewis Ludlam, 7. Tom Pearson, 8. Alex Dombrandt
REPLACEMENTS:
16. Theo Dan, 17. Bevan Rodd, 18. Kyle Sinckler, 19. Jonny Hill, 20. Tom Willis, 21. Jack van Poortvliet, 22. George Ford, 23. Henry Slade.
WALES PLAYER RATINGS
15. Leigh Halfpenny 8 – Battled well under the high ball, and marked his long awaited centurion appearance with a well-rounded showing at fullback. A class act under pressure, and as accurate as ever from the tee, Halfpenny shone in this one.
14. Louis Rees-Zammit 7 – The Gloucester winger had a quiet first 40 minutes for his standards, but kicked into top gear in the second half. His starring moment was harshly ruled out, with his chip and chase try initially awarded, but then ruled out after a subsequent review for the slightest knock-on. A phenomenon of pace, and kept England guessing late on.
13. George North 6.5 – The veteran centre showed his skillset by adding Wales’ second try. As powerful as ever up the centre channel, he will be a useful asset of experience in a fresher-faced Wales side.
12. Max Llewellyn 6 – Not the greatest debut, with nerves a potential factor for the Gloucester centre. He bit in on Marcus Smith on a handful of occasions, and showed some inexperience against international opposition. However he was able to ease into the game as it progressed, and was instrumental in the phase play as Wales took their control.
11. Rio Dyer 5.5 – Like Rees-Zammit, Rio Dyer had a slow first half but kicked into gear along with the rest of the Welsh backs in the second half. The first glimpse of his ability was showcased in 2nd half, but was contained by the England backs. A nasty collision with Cokanasiga could have knocked his confidence up-front.
10. Sam Costelow 6 – There was a lot of pressure on the young fly half, and he made a bad habit of dropping the high balls. However he stepped up on the occasion, and regathered his composure and kicked well from hand. Struggled against Smith’s spiralling kicks, but his own cross-field kick set-up the opening try. (Replaced by Dan Biggar 54th min)
9. Gareth Davies 7 – Confident on the boot and able to clear well under pressure with good box kicks. Offered the all-important supporting line for Jac Morgan, and drew first blood by crossing over to score the first try of the match.