England impress in the Twickenham sunshine 08-06-2007-12:56 Covers

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Author:	[Rugby] Topic: England impress in the Twickenham sunshine
Maguire44	View Space \| Friends \| Playbook
All-Star Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 13828 Location: Nova Scotia	#1 Posted: 8/6/2007 12:56:35 AM You could almost taste the optimism at a sun-baked Twickenham as England’s preparations for the defence of the William Webb Ellis Cup intensified with the visit of Wales in the first match of what will be a busy season of pre-World Cup tune-ups. England fans flocked to HQ, perhaps not in the numbers the RFU would have liked with large sections of the magnificent stadium empty, but many of them did their best to squeeze themselves into England’s recently unveiled new livery. Although it appeared to fit some physiques a little better than others the boost to the coffers may have allayed fears generated by the empty seats. The feel-good factor was evident throughout the day, despite some indifferent form from both sides so far this year, and those in charge of the PA attempted to add to the mood with the odd Beach Boys track to accompany the glorious blue skies. There also ppeared to be a relxed attitude amongst the players with Jonny Wilkinson and Wales coach Gareth Jenkins sharing a few words and Lawrence Dallaglio posing for photos ahead of the kick off. England’s HQ, with the clean roof of the new South Stand looking a little out of place alongside it's more weathered counterparts, nonetheless looked resplendent in the summer sunshine and so did it's tennants. You also couldn’t escape the promotion of various World Cup-themed products and services on the hi-tech Twickenham advertising boards but sadly lo-tech spelling urged readers to look forward to the ‘Sweet Charriot II’ DVD. With match itself nearing the ever-enthusiastic PA announcer did his best to rally the crowd into a frenzy with a far from inspiring cry of, ‘the players are warm…are you warm?’ followed by the old favourite of ‘England expects’. Thankfully this crowd needed little encouragement. As the players were introduced the biggest roar was saved for Wilkinson with the massed England fans all too aware that if the World Cup holders are to defend their crown they will need the man who won it for them to be on his game from here on in. With the game only a few minutes old, Wales’ Chris Horsman endeared himself to the crowd with a high challenge on England’s Shaun Perry that had the Twickenham crowd baying for blood, or at least a yellow card, but the Welshman escaped with a warning. England’s Jonny Wilkinson was soon striking a familiar pose but it appeared his half hour of kicking practice may not have been enough as he was off target with his first effort. Wales’ Colin Charvis also wasted no time in making an impression with another high tackle – the unlucky recipient? That man Perry again. As the temperatures rose, another of England’s World Cup heroes from four years ago, Jason Robinson, showed he’s still got pace to burn with a trademark chase before crunching into Wales’ Lee Byrne as he fielded the ball. England's forward dominance was underlined when Nick Easter barged his way over to score what would be the first of an amazing four tries. A fair bit of retribution was on the menu soon after as Charvis got a bit of the door mat treatment with England closing in on the Wales line again It was also good to see Steve Borthwick get his name on the sheet and the man who was unlucky to miss out four years ago should now be in line to fufil a World Cup dream. With temperatures in South West London heading towards 90 degrees, Wales' Aled Brew did his best to stoke the furnace yet further with a challenge on England debutant Dan Hipkiss that saw the winger sent to the sin-bin. Whilst Easter continued his one-man assault on the record books Wilkinson finally found his kicking range and the celebratory graphic heralding his 900 Test points achievement could finally be run over the giant screens at either end. Arguably the biggest roar of the day greeted Dallaglio’s entry into the fray and it appeared to overshadow the exit of Easter - whose four try tally (one of which was awarded to Perry by the stadium announcers) saw him afforded what seemed like polite applause in comparison. The Quins’ No.8 may have left wondering what he needs to do to win over the fans to the extent which veteran Dallaglio has – and he was passed over in favour of his scrum half Perry in the man of the match stakes. What has a man got to do? There was some joy for the travelling Welsh support when Dafydd James dotted down but it wasn’t long before England were on the front foot again. Dallaglio crashed over and celebrated as if he had a point to prove before chants of ‘Easy! Easy!’ began to ring around the ground. As Alun Wyn Jones trudged towards the sin-bin for another ruck offence, England continued to press and Perry was the next to score for the hosts. That blow appeared to be the last straw for some well lubricated supporters as first a leek was lobbed onto the field of play before the rarest of sights – two pitch invaders determined to discuss the side's shortcomings with the players themselves. England refused to let up and firstly Robinson conjured another try with a chip and chase before Matthew Tait rounded out the scoring by showing an equally impressive turn of speed to reach a kick through from Wilkinson. And so the seal was set on a record victory, or defeat, but what can really be taken from the result and the performances of both sides? For England there were positives all round, particularly in the performances of Perry, Easter and Farrell. For Wales, perhaps time is their best ally between now and the World Cup. Simply they were outplayed by England, and without the ball they could do little to stop the onslaught. The victory will have fuelled the hopes of England’s fans who are quite happy to forget what one colleague called the WAR years (Wasted Andy Robinson) and look forward with renewed hope. For Wales the diagnosis would not appear to be so rosy despite the fact that it was arguably a largely third-string line-up. No one will be getting carried away in the England camp whereas the phrase ‘damage limitation’ springs to mind when considering how Jenkins and co will be handling the questions and pressure that will come from the media and fans alike. Jenkins must mull over his squad selection whereas his counterpart Ashton has the clash with France next weekend to get one more look at his charges before both must submit their squads for this year’s global showpiece. Read as much as you would like into this clash, but if expected these two sides meet again in the latter stages of RWC'07, you can gurantee the result will not be as emphatic.
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Cataclysm	View Space \| Friends \| Playbook
Veteran Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 4421 Location: Canada	#2 Posted: 8/12/2007 8:40:56 AM Thanks for the update Maguire, enjoy your time in the penalty box.
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jadedview	View Space \| Friends \| Playbook
Veteran Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 1567 Location: Nevada	#3 Posted: 8/14/2007 1:00:58 AM
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DawgHollywood	RSI View Space \| Friends \| Playbook \| My Sportsbook: BetJamaica.com
Veteran Joined: Oct 2005 Posts: 1423 Location: Pennsylvania	#4 Posted: 2/29/2008 9:11:11 PM True
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