Wales 19 – 33 England
On paper this looked to be a very simple affair for Wales, they were coming in to the game having won a Grand Slam and on a 14 game winning streak. Due to Australia beating New Zealand, Wales stood to become the #1 team in the world by winning this game. England on the other hand were fielding a team of outsiders, players who were not mainstays of the starting XV but who were getting a chance to create some selection headaches for Eddie Jones.
They managed to do exactly that. England piled on the pressure early on with some quick scores and never really let go of the advantage. The English forwards were dominant in the scrum and around the fringes.
The Welsh by comparison looked tired. They have been enduring a reportedly grueling fitness camp in Switzerland and it showed. There was no line speed in defense, no English player getting hammered backwards in contact and not a great deal happening at all. The lineout was horrendous, wasting an opportunity for one try and gifting an opportunity for an English try.
There is no where really to turn, Wales were thoroughly beaten, their only period of dominance came alongside a succession of English penalties.
Both teams will repeat this test this weekend, only this time doing so in Cardiff. Wales have lost Gareth Anscombe to injury for their World Cup campaign and now need to quickly find a backup for him.
Whatever the result, England looked to gain a lot more than Wales. Even if Wales won it wouldn’t have shown us much, yes the Grand Slam XV beat a second string England team, congratulations. England however, tested lots of players and some, like Tom Curry and Jonathan Joseph performed spectacularly.
It will be interesting to see selection for the game in Cardiff. Will Gatland try and prevent the 0-2 to England or will he risk it and try out some different players?
No one will remember these warm up games, they are more to get players match fit going in to the World Cup seeing as all the southern hemisphere sides will have just completed The Rugby Championship. It was depressing as a fan however to see such a lethargic and inaccurate Welsh performance.
CodexCaster's Contribution 