Well you didn't expect me not to mention it did you? Three years in succession is no bad thing and the crowd experience on its own was quite something. In past years more foreign fans have been able to get tickets but not yesterday. No welsh man or woman was selling and the stadium was a mass of red. In an attempt to reduce the impact of the crowd the English coach had refused to allow the stadium roof to be closed, but Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau was not reduced in consequence. The English team was selected for damage limitation and performed better than was expected, but at the cost of two sin binnings for spoiling the ball in situations that would have otherwise led to Welsh tries. Matches between Wales and England are always special, there is so much history that no player ever performs without awareness of that history or goes unaffected by the situation. However the stats show a match with few errors in stark contrast with appalling level in the preceding game between France and Scotland. They also show the Welsh dominance in the set piece, especially the line out; both historically areas of English strength. The match could have been lost, and would have been by Welsh teams lacking confidence during the rugby league induced dark days of the nineties but that is no longer the case and Wales led through the match and were never really in danger.
Rugby again shows the value of sport in respect of national identity without hatred. English and Welsh fans mixed in the stands and talked knowledgeably about the subject without the need for physical separation so often required in the so called beautiful game. At the end when those dressed in white were consoling themselves with two tries to one, it was pointed out several times that in the year of their World Cup Victory Wales outscored England by three tries to one in the quarter final, only defeated by forced penalties and the boot of Johnny WIlkinson. At the end of the day we progress to a triple crown match against the Irish in the last match of the season while England move on to a second hard away test against celtic competition at Croker Park in a fortnights time. If we can defeat the French in two weeks time the triple crown match might also be a Grand Slam decider. To cap it all, the Welsh Womens' team recorded a first ever win against English opposition. In many ways that was the greater achievement.
Comments (6)
I had to use Wikipedia to understand a few terms, so you can imagine my chagrin to discover that sin binning is not, as I had expected, a Welsh term.
Posted by Steve Holt | February 15, 2009 8:44 PM
Posted on February 15, 2009 20:44
Agree with the Synopsis... looking forward to the "Croker" match you referenced... and the potential Triple Crown / Grand Slam decider in Cardiff...
Tim
Posted by Tim Willoughby | February 15, 2009 11:14 PM
Posted on February 15, 2009 23:14
I have a massive soft spot for Welsh rugby. Here is a country with an area smaller than the Kruger National Park (a South African game reserve), and a population smaller than that of the city of Cape Town, most of whom tend to be fairly small in stature...
and yet...
They play their hearts out on the rugby field to an extent that makes them a force to be reckoned with on an international scale. Usually good, solid, running rugby, too.
Oh... and their supporters make by far the most harmonious sounds from the stands.
What's not to like?
As long as they aren't playing the 'boks, that is ;o)
Posted by Karyn Romeis | February 16, 2009 12:18 AM
Posted on February 16, 2009 00:18
this is an excellent match report, comparable to some of the best rugby writing in the world, you were also at the South Africa v Wales game late last year, where is the match report from that?
just a question.
Posted by Jonathan Carter | February 16, 2009 7:25 AM
Posted on February 16, 2009 07:25
Well if you are going to throw in the womens result as well then dont forget to mention how Englands Under 20 team were triumphant.
The future is bright!
:o)
Posted by Tim | February 16, 2009 6:07 PM
Posted on February 16, 2009 18:07
Thanks to all
Tim, I thought of mentioning the under 20s as we won the second half, but its less important since they got rid of under 21. It means teams go in two year cycles and we are at the start of one while England are at the end. At that age one year average age difference makes a massive difference in bulk
Posted by Dave Snowden | February 17, 2009 9:08 AM
Posted on February 17, 2009 09:08