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It’s taken me a while to absorb that Welsh victory over the weekend. What a cracker of a game. It was a victory built on the top six inches.
Watching Gethin Jenkins waiting in the tunnel before the game, you could see the steely determination in his eyes.
From that moment I had a feeling Wales would win. But I didn’t think it would be the bloodbath George North had encouraged earlier in the week. The Red Dragons showed unbelievable passion, aggression and desire to claim the title deservedly.
A number of points stuck out for me in the game. I’ll start with the English. The first is that Tuilagi needs to broaden his skill set, ever so slightly.
He is a fine, aggressive footballer, which appeals to me, but he can be a bit one dimensional at times. There are a couple of aspects of his game that are lacking and, until he sorts them out, it will prevent him from becoming the complete centre.
One skill is distribution. He seems intent on running the ball straight up all the time, when there were a couple of times in the game when he needed to shift it wide a la Bruce Robertson, Jason Little or Phillpe Sella-style.
I’m not talking about the offload, which he is very good at, but the long floating pass that travels like a bullet, off the left or right hand, that is bang on target every time, and seemingly falls into the lap of a flying winger or fullback.
He also seems to lack that ability to nudge the cheeky kick through along the deck behind the defensive line, a la Conrad Smith, or O’Driscoll.
Alex Goode had a solid game, save for one howler he booted into the stands on the full. It was good to see the fullback stand up to Tipuric following a late charge.
If you’re not pumped up, you shouldn’t even be on the field, and unfortunately for England, Goode was the only one who was pumped up for most of the game. Brad Barritt gave an honest effort, but those were the only positives I could see for the men in white.
As for Wales, where do I start? Faletau was colossal on defence, and perhaps entering the best form he’s been in since the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
When Faletau is on fire, Wales is on fire. Biggar, Cuthbert, Halfpenny, Roberts, Jonathon Davies, Phillips, Warburton all made huge contributions.
But the highlight of the Welsh effort for me was the way in which Tipuric ran Cuthbert in beautifully for the latter’s second try. It was exquisite play by Tipuric, and showed the man can think clearly under pressure.
In terms of the Lions Tour, the match confirmed to me that Gatland’s squad will be built around this Welsh team.
After that game, you could forgive him for picking the whole team from Wales.
Ireland and Scotland couldn’t string a Lions player between them at the moment on form. Prior to this match I would’ve said that England would be providing the core of the squad, but it is quite clear that the fabled English renaissance is nothing more than a fable.
In an interview with the BBC after the game, coach Lancaster said his team were ‘out-muscled’, and he was dead right.
While their scrum was not destroyed, it was going backwards all day, and Wales showed a lot more urgency at the breakdown and collision area.
The English pack didn’t look interested at times and the defeat will come as a bitter disappointment to Lancaster who was just starting to fashion a decent looking record. But this record 30-3 defeat has derailed that for now.
Finally, a quick word about Italy’s victory over Ireland. It was a fitting way to end the career of the 103-Test veteran prop Andrea Lo Cicero.
He will go down as one of the greats of the game. The Italian team has improved considerably this year, and it was pleasing to see yet another 70,000 sell out at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.
Rugby union is certainly on a big growth spurt in Italy, and it’s only a matter of time before a Rugby World Cup will be held there.
I was hugely impressed with the way the Italian broadcasters filmed the match. The quality of the footage and camera work was excellent, and captured brilliantly the pride and passion that is the Six Nations championship.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.