So ecstatic that England won, it's made my night.

True. Though he only went to the TMO for the disallowed try because Warbuton told him to.

Cracking stuff from England in that 2nd half. Feared for us a bit at 10-0 down after 10 minutes, but they hung in until half time and then stepped up a couple of gears afterwards and Wales had no answer. I'd have given MOTM to Youngs, but Kruis and Haskell were both excellent too.

By the way, what was all that nonsense at the start about?

It's an international rugby match, not a bloody One Direction concert!

Happy with that, well done England!

Wales fitness needs looking at, they looked dead on their feet coming out of the tunnel second half.
16-8 up and then giving that level of second half performance is not good enough
Decision not to sub a clearly concussed North and keep him off also needs addressing, Liam Williams should have been on.

Terrific performance, the England team looked one of the best in ages, albeit forced by injury, but the names Haskell, Easter, Croft, Youngs x2 being back gives so much presence and experience.

No idea how it has taken so long to get to a Burrell Joseph centre pairing but finally we have and no surprise they were outstanding and will get better, not every game will be as tough as that.

Ford was good, but nowhere near MOTM. Haskell was everywhere, Youngs run the game, Robshaw, Joseph, Watson excellent. I was concerned with 2Row, but they both played well.

Bit disappointed with Wales, a little one dimensional, must have been about 60% of the balls from halfbacks were kicked and mainly down the same channels.

England just beat up Wales on the field, Wales decision making was at times brutal and they were trying to score a magnificent try from their own 22 playing lateral passes minutes on end going absolutely nowhere... Ronan O'Gara on RTÉ here in Ireland was absolutely perplexed at their tactics - have they forgotten the ability to kick for touch deep in the opposing 22?? its like they only want that epic running try.

Wales lacked ideas and guile at the end of the day and England played them perfectly pressing them brilliantly at every opportunity.. Massive win for England and they fully deserved the win... still predicting them to go all the way - I think Dublin will be their biggest threat by far... you will certainly see Ireland taking on England in terms of tactics and playing to their strengths. All we can wish for is a repeat of last years classic... different result would be nice though

The bookies agree that the Six Nations is a two horse race between England and Ireland I'd nearly take second in the Six Nations though if it meant we could have a good RWC.....an appearance in a WC semi final or final is long overdue.

RTÉ's take on England result/Welsh Performance - http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/six-na...les-v-england/ (Available Worldwide)

Of course the French can never be discounted either - either unreal or pure tripe... all about their mentality.

Yes Youngs outstanding

Haskell had some great carries but his role in the Wales try and messing up a try down the other end has to rule him out

Joe Marler had a very solid game too


Fully agree


Apparently they've been hitting the weights very hard and doing less on the pitch, with one eye on the RWC

Could be paper/pub talk but it might explain it a bit


Yep, very worried about next weekend in Dublin

Beating France, England and Wales all in a row is too much an ask for ireland I have to say. Even Scotland at Murrayfield, last weekend, is one hell of a banana skin

England's to lose for me. Italy and Scotland at home is some advantage they'll really pile on the points which should mean they'll easily get the best points difference. They've often put big scores on France at home in recent times too

More so than if they had Italy and Scotland at home?? England have lost to Scotland at Murrayfield a few times they always hammer them at home

This is definitely the "better" year for England in terms of fixtures. 4 games left, 3 are essentially gimmes (2 definitely are) and the other against a team they haven't lost to in 4 years. Even if they do lose to Ireland (50/50 game) it should be enough, unless Ireland do a slam but can't see it.

On another note how good was Twelvetrees when he came on? He was literally everywhere, some impact

They've a tough schedule of course playing in Dublin and Twickenham : they're always hugely unpredictable though.

However the win has to be taken in context and an under-strength England beat a full-strength Wales team in Cardiff.

Yes England will have to improve if they want to win the RWC, but considering the Welsh team had something like 290 more caps there is plenty for Lancaster and England to be pleased about.

I certainly never saw that result!

Gatland has said that you cannot read anything into the result.

Really?

Losing to our our 'B' team?

To be fair I think if Wales only ever won one game a year, as long as that was against England - their supporters would be just as happy There is something quite special about this game.

I always think of Wales as the "bar" in the six nations. If England beat them we're doing well if we finish below them we're doing poorly. I don't mean to disparage Wales it's more the fact that they are pretty consistent in their performances whereas Ireland and France will have a glorious year, then fall away again


Heavily no I suppose not. I was however expecting Wales to win comfortably. It's a huge relief we've got this one under our belts.
Last edited by platelet : 07-02-2015 at 09:04

It's a cliche but this was much more than 2 points

A lot of "Non-regulars" putting their hands up hugely for selection, beating a full strength team with an under strength one and now staring into 4 matches, 3 of which are at home and very winnable. Not bad

An alternative xv (which isn't half bad either) , none of which featured on yesterday's 23

Goode; Ashton, Barritt, Eastmond, Manu; Faz, Care; Corbs, Webber, Wilson; Lawes Launch; Wood, Steffon, Morgan

Some options. Definitely my pick for RWC

You and many others.

I missed it as I was out but my colleague is from Leicester and she'd been saying that England didn't stand a chance with the amount of injuries.

Game day for ourselves today, just wondering which Ireland will turn up.

Thought so myself when I had simply heard the injury list but when I actually saw their team I changed my mind, still super quality in there

That's probably the most exciting back line England have fielded in years. I daresay some of the injuries to backs may well even be a blessing in disguise

What are more informed people's views on this George North injury situation?
Should he have played for as long as he did?

He should have been taken off. No chances should be taken with any head injury.

Which begs the question, why wasn't he?

Is he too big a name for them to do without??

Does his health come secondary to a teams needs?

I hope that the Welsh team are punished for this, a players health is far more important than anything the team does on the pitch, and I hope that it is more than just a mere fine, something that shows this cannot be done again, perhaps docking points (so starting on minus points seeing as how they lost the match).

RTÉ Sport going a bit over the top in their new promo for the 6 nations championship - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqxDjRkZzps ... nice montage!

Nothing will beat 2013 I don't think! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owP1J5cfRHE

Our C team surely?


He shouldn't have been allowed to stay on the pitch. Gatland in the post match interview on BBC seemed to only refer to the first concussion when mentioning that medical team though North was okay to go back on.

Either the Wales bench missed the second incident or they ignored it. Both are pretty scary if you think about it and North's safety should have been looked out for.