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England’s hopes of advancing out of the ‘Group of Death’ have been dealt a blow, suffering an upset loss to Wales at Twickenham on Sunday.
MATCH REPORT: ENGLAND VS WALES
England were up 19-9 at one stage, and as the injuries started to pile up for Wales, the host nation looked set to claim victory.
However, some clutch kicking from Dan Biggar and a great try to Gareth Davies would see Wales grasp a match-winning lead with just minutes remaining.
Following the match, England coach Stuart Lancaster said he was “gutted” by the result.
“We were 19-9 up and going well but then there was ill discipline from us and Dan Biggar’s great goal kicking,” Lancaster said.
Wales now return to Cardiff to face Fiji on Friday, while England await a must-win clash with the Wallabies.
Final Score:
England 25
Wales 28
Wales will head to the home of England, Twickenham Stadium, in one of the defining matches for Pool A of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Join The Roar from 4.50am (AEST) for live scores and coverage.
England kicked off the tournament with an impressive bonus point win over Fiji 35-11 last week and will be looking to go 2-0 and come one step closer to progressing through to the next stage of the competition.
They struggled to get off the blocks last week but managed to cruise through after a strong second half led by Mike Brown. This week however, they will be wanting to start strong and stay that way for a full eighty minutes.
Stuart Lancaster will be somewhat disappointed with the way England played last week and will no doubt want to ensure that his team step up their game tenfold and prove themselves as a good chance as any at winning the Webb Ellis Cup.
After a stellar performance last week, Mike Brown remains the key man for England. The veteran fullback was deserving of his man of the match award after crossing for two tries against Fiji. He was able to beat 11 defenders while making five offloads and also 191 running metres.
If Brown is able to replicate his game from the tournament opener, England will dominate at the back and could possibly win by a convincing margin.
Wales started the tournament in the best possible fashion last week, racing off to a 45-point victory over Uruguay. This win now puts them in a great position to qualify for the quarter-finals not only with a bonus point in hand but also through high-morale after an impressive win.
Yes, they were always going to beat Uruguay but no-one expected their performance to be so clinical and near perfect. Fear not Australians, they still need to face England who will prove a tough challenge, however they have a great opportunity now to come away with a win.
How do they do it? They exploit their new-look midfield. Sam Burgess and Owen Farrell come into the side replacing Jonathan Joseph and George Ford respectively. Brad Barritt will join Burgess at centre. The former South Sydney Rabbitohs star has a huge match in store, likely to face off Wales man mountain Jamie Roberts.
England and Wales have played each other 126 times, England have won the most of these games with 58 wins while Wales have 56 to their name. 12 of the matches have been drawn.
Their most recent meeting came at the 2015 Six Nations when England edged out Wales 21-16 in Cardiff. Previous to that game England defeated Wales at Twickenham 29-18 during the 2014 Six Nations.
Prior were victories to Wales 30-3 in Cardiff during the 2013 Six Nations, 19-12 at Twickenham during the 2012 Six Nations and 19-9 in Cardiff during the 2011 Internationals.
Prediction
England by 6.
Join The Roar from 4.50am (AEST) for live score updates and debate in our live blog.
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