England vs Wales - minute-by-minute

[Puja]

No counter?

Thanks as always Puja

Partly because I'm (attempting) to do this quickly, but mostly cause there didn't seem to be anything interesting to count!

Puja

[Scrumhead]

Also forgot to say - thanks for doing this Puja. Always a very good read.

[Danno]

No counter?

Thanks as always Puja

Partly because I'm (attempting) to do this quickly, but mostly cause there didn't seem to be anything interesting to count!

Puja

No worries, Dors has sort of forced you into one anyway

[Oakboy]

I'm really invested in this now that Oakboy has decided Underhill was bad.

Not sure I said that to be fair. I admit my prejudice against him and was asking for factual evidence to confirm/reject my impression that he was not heavily involved. I also accept that the nature of the game might not have helped. Like him or not, one fact is that SB nearly always takes him off whereas Earl and Pepper have often done 80.

[Mikey Brown]

I'm really invested in this now that Oakboy has decided Underhill was bad.

Not sure I said that to be fair. I admit my prejudice against him and was asking for factual evidence to confirm/reject my impression that he was not heavily involved. I also accept that the nature of the game might not have helped. Like him or not, one fact is that SB nearly always takes him off whereas Earl and Pepper have often done 80.

Fair point. I hope that didn’t come off as bad spirited.

I’d love to know what the process is with picking who stays on or not, in-game stats, vibes or pre-planned decisions etc.

Much like Tom Curry I imagine his body is in a state where managing his minutes is very sensible at this point. Plus Pepper is our only decent lineout jumper in the backrow.

[Puja]

Minute 41: We rejoin the second half with the news that Genge has been put out of our misery and we will have Rodd for the last 40. Ford restarts the match for the very first time, and it's contestibleish - just outside the 22 and Arundell leaps to try and disrupt, but it's just beyond his range. Wales recycle and try to caterpillar-and-box, but Chessum is rewarded for his unrelenting charge-down attempts by either getting a hand to this one or putting off TWilliams enough that he fucks it. Either way it skews infield without going very far and should be England's ball, except that Coles blots his copybook for the first time by slapping at the descending ball despite having more than enough time to catch it. He makes solid enough contact to spike it like a volleyball, the bounce of a rugby ball always hates you, and it goes away from any of his teammates and flies neatly into Welsh arms. TWilliams gets another chance to kick it away, but this time Rodd is on him with the chargedown - he doesn't get to the ball, but does get a very satisfying piece of the scrum-half as he goes through (legally). Ping-pong is engaged.

Minute 42: Ping-pong lasts about half a minute, before Ford decides to find touch, accepting a Welsh lineout just inside our half. Wales finally get a bit of deception in their movement by feinting to the middle before a bullet throw to the front man on the ground - we do read it, but they're slick enough to get the ball away before we can spoil. There's some zip and direction about the Welsh attack, but it only lasts two phases before Adams spills an easy pass and it'll be an England scrum.

Minute 43: Good scrum - Rodd gets a drive on against Griffin and powers through for an England penalty. Entirely possible a different ref might've reset that one, as Heyes doesn't get anything out of NSmith and I'd say that went round 90 rather than any offence in the front row, but Mann has broken off from the backrow anyway so it's probably a penalty even if it's not necessarily the one that the ref gave.

Minute 44: Ford finds a good touch in the 22 and England take a quick jump at the front to set a maul. It's a good one, but Wales have cheated like absolute bastards, with McLeod coming straight in at the side and ending up swinging to the back to get in the way.

Minute 45: The ref hasn't seen it and Heyes does really well to find an angle to get it away to Mitchell, so it's play on. Earl is first receiver and it's lovely smooth hands to feed Dingwall at playmaker. Wales are coming up hard on the blitz and are very interested in trying to catch Dingwall man and ball, or Freeman if he offloads, but Dingers holds it until the last moment before pulling back to Ford who is looping around. Wales reckon they've got this and their inside man blitzes onto Ford, but it's George has the hands and the composure to get the ball away a milisecond before the tackle and Wales realise too late that they now have one defender and both Roebuck and Steward are running glorious lines off Ford. He, of course, has managed to read that the last defender is gambling for Steward and instead finds the short pass to Roebuck who accelerates through the gap.

I know I can be quite prolix about these things, but it's worth noting that I just used 137 words to describe a span of literally 2 seconds, in which we put in 3 quick accurate passes in close quarters, doing a precise move that took us from facing a hard blitz of a solidly-connected defensive line off set piece, into a clean break through the middle by our winger. Blackett is doing quite well, I'd say.

He will have a word or two to say to Roebuck though - he shows great pace and power to shrug off the scramble, but if he straightens his line and offloads, then Steward is walking under the posts for a 100% score. Instead Roebuck keeps running diagonally, in the hope that he'll beat the last man to get over the line himself, and LRZ puts in a superb tackle to haul him down 4 metres out. England pile over the ruck and stop Wales from killing the ball (although we do get pen advantage for their attempts). George makes a hard carry the same direction to panic the defence some more and, by the time Mitchell moves the ball back the other way towards where the lineout was, we've got an 8-on-2 overlap across half the pitch. Efficiently finished off as Ford draws one man, Dingwall catches and gives to draw the other, and Roebuck gets our fifth try just two phases later than it should've been.

[Puja]

I'm really invested in this now that Oakboy has decided Underhill was bad.

Not sure I said that to be fair. I admit my prejudice against him and was asking for factual evidence to confirm/reject my impression that he was not heavily involved. I also accept that the nature of the game might not have helped. Like him or not, one fact is that SB nearly always takes him off whereas Earl and Pepper have often done 80.

He has been quiet so far since I've started paying attention to him. Not bad and I'm sure he's been doing solid structural things in the rucks, but I haven't noticed anything blockbuster from him.

Puja

[Oakboy]

I'm really invested in this now that Oakboy has decided Underhill was bad.

Not sure I said that to be fair. I admit my prejudice against him and was asking for factual evidence to confirm/reject my impression that he was not heavily involved. I also accept that the nature of the game might not have helped. Like him or not, one fact is that SB nearly always takes him off whereas Earl and Pepper have often done 80.

He has been quiet so far since I've started paying attention to him. Not bad and I'm sure he's been doing solid structural things in the rucks, but I haven't noticed anything blockbuster from him.

Puja

Thanks, Puja.

[Mikey Brown]

Minute 41: We rejoin the second half with the news that Genge has been put out of our misery and we will have Rodd for the last 40. Ford restarts the match for the very first time, and it's contestibleish - just outside the 22 and Arundell leaps to try and disrupt, but it's just beyond his range. Wales recycle and try to caterpillar-and-box, but Chessum is rewarded for his unrelenting charge-down attempts by either getting a hand to this one or putting off TWilliams enough that he fucks it. Either way it skews infield without going very far and should be England's ball, except that Coles blots his copybook for the first time by slapping at the descending ball despite having more than enough time to catch it. He makes solid enough contact to spike it like a volleyball, the bounce of a rugby ball always hates you, and it goes away from any of his teammates and flies neatly into Welsh arms. TWilliams gets another chance to kick it away, but this time Rodd is on him with the chargedown - he doesn't get to the ball, but does get a very satisfying piece of the scrum-half as he goes through (legally). Ping-pong is engaged.

Minute 42: Ping-pong lasts about half a minute, before Ford decides to find touch, accepting a Welsh lineout just inside our half. Wales finally get a bit of deception in their movement by feinting to the middle before a bullet throw to the front man on the ground - we do read it, but they're slick enough to get the ball away before we can spoil. There's some zip and direction about the Welsh attack, but it only lasts two phases before Adams spills an easy pass and it'll be an England scrum.

Minute 43: Good scrum - Rodd gets a drive on against Griffin and powers through for an England penalty. Entirely possible a different ref might've reset that one, as Heyes doesn't get anything out of NSmith and I'd say that went round 90 rather than any offence in the front row, but Mann has broken off from the backrow anyway so it's probably a penalty even if it's not necessarily the one that the ref gave.

Minute 44: Ford finds a good touch in the 22 and England take a quick jump at the front to set a maul. It's a good one, but Wales have cheated like absolute bastards, with McLeod coming straight in at the side and ending up swinging to the back to get in the way.

Minute 45: The ref hasn't seen it and Heyes does really well to find an angle to get it away to Mitchell, so it's play on. Earl is first receiver and it's lovely smooth hands to feed Dingwall at playmaker. Wales are coming up hard on the blitz and are very interested in trying to catch Dingwall man and ball, or Freeman if he offloads, but Dingers holds it until the last moment before pulling back to Ford who is looping around. Wales reckon they've got this and their inside man blitzes onto Ford, but it's George has the hands and the composure to get the ball away a milisecond before the tackle and Wales realise too late that they now have one defender and both Roebuck and Steward are running glorious lines off Ford. He, of course, has managed to read that the last defender is gambling for Steward and instead finds the short pass to Roebuck who accelerates through the gap.

I know I can be quite prolix about these things, but it's worth noting that I just used 137 words to describe a span of literally 2 seconds, in which we put in 3 quick accurate passes in close quarters, doing a precise move that took us from facing a hard blitz of a solidly-connected defensive line off set piece, into a clean break through the middle by our winger. Blackett is doing quite well, I'd say.

He will have a word or two to say to Roebuck though - he shows great pace and power to shrug off the scramble, but if he straightens his line and offloads, then Steward is walking under the posts for a 100% score. Instead Roebuck keeps running diagonally, in the hope that he'll beat the last man to get over the line himself, and LRZ puts in a superb tackle to haul him down 4 metres out. England pile over the ruck and stop Wales from killing the ball (although we do get pen advantage for their attempts). George makes a hard carry the same direction to panic the defence some more and, by the time Mitchell moves the ball back the other way towards where the lineout was, we've got an 8-on-2 overlap across half the pitch. Efficiently finished off as Ford draws one man, Dingwall catches and gives to draw the other, and Roebuck gets our fifth try just two phases later than it should've been.

It’s maybe a small/basic thing, but Dingwall’s change of line and weight of the final pass for Roebuck are beautiful.

[pjm1]

Agreed - it's touches and nuance like that which (I think especially at this level) makes him such a wonderful player. And also why it takes 137 words to describe the niceties of what we're doing.

As I've said in the game thread, because of the way we're playing, I don't mind so much about the result tomorrow... obviously I do, but I can live with a loss if we know what to do next time to avoid it.

And a massive thank you, Puja, for yet another compelling MBM!

[Puja]

Minute 46: Replay from behind the posts says I'm possibly being a little harsh on Roebuck as it's much harder to see these things without a pause button and slow motion, but I'd still say optimal thing to do was straighten and give. Ford knocks over the easy conversion and it's 36-0.

Wales kick lo... wait, they don't! Obviously someone's had a word at half-time and they kick to compete. Our lifting post nearly overruns it (possibly out of shock at having to be involved) but Chessum does an excellent job to twist in the air and haul it in. We have a little drive and then c&b.

Weird to say from a kick receipt on halfway, but LRZ very nearly scores here, he comes running in from about 30m away and jumps at such high speed and angle that, if he catches it cleanly and hits the ground running, his landing zone puts him past nearly every England chaser. Thankfully, Arundell gets up and has enough contact with the ball that it spills forward for an England scrum advantage.

(Also, for Dors, Underhill reacts first to claim the loose ball for us).

Minute 47: We get quick ball which Ford kicks, but it's a poor effort. I think he's going for a cross-field wiper touchfinder, but it's not hit well enough and actually bounces on the 15m line. In addition, Adams has read it early and dropped back, so it's just giving possession away. Actually, there's our counter for this game: Things Ford will castigate himself for in the video-review: Aimless kicking x 2

The commentators are singing a paean to Ford's control and accuracy, while Wales take immediate advantage of his shit kick. Adams is in acres of space because Ford's kicked away from the rest of his team, draws Freeman and Roebuck, who really should do better, while James loops around and is set free down the wing. Steward however has been paying attention, rushes up to cover the exposed wing and tackles James with a good low sliding tackle that lassos the legs despite his attempt to step back inside. Great technique and worth noting considering the troubles Steward's had previously with that situation.

England get men to the breakdown and slow the ruck well, so Wales go through a couple of phases before trying to release the backs and it's... not good. Criticising this feels cruel - it's just inaccurate passes, leading to shit being shovelled, resulting in them going back 10m in the face of our aggressive press. They manage to just escape being caught man-and-ball and get to the outside, but England have it covered so Thomas has little choice but to kick it long.

Steward looks to have it covered, but the bounce of a rugby ball always hates you and it skips off the turf and rolls quickly towards going into touch 5m out. He decides it's better to pick it up and trust to his ability to hold it up - in his defence, it looks very much like a 50:22 given how far back Wales went before kicking and it's only with the benefit of the rewind button that I can see the ruck this phase came from started in our half. He does a decent job in the face of a lasso by Mee and a shoulder-barge from LRZ, but Rees-Zammit's on a mission here - he drives Ford away, bounces to his feet and then goes at Arundell who is facing Mee back on his feet as well. James joins them and the three of them drive Arundell off the ruck... leaving the ball completely exposed for Chessum to come around and secure. Full marks to Chessum for a) getting back there, b) having the presence of mind to make sure he comes around from the back foot, and c) bridging over the ruck properly without flopping off his feet. Pepper then completes the job by picking and going down the blind side and making a good 7-8 metres for the English back to get in behind him and secure.

Minute 48: Mitchell completes the clearance job with a good touch kick, but Wales throw it in quick and our only kick chaser is Arundell (unsurprising considering how far this passage of play has made people run). He attempts to rush up and catch Adams as he gets the ball, but he's a split second too late and just leaves himself open to be stepped and look stupid again.

It's go-forward ball and Wales make a nice offload to send Wainwright through a hole. Earl does well to recover and tap tackle, but Dingwall ruins it by diving on the grounded player and give away a penalty. It's a tired bit of decision-making and it's all coming back to that failed cross-field touch kick from Ford that's made all the England team run back and forth several times. Wales play the advantage and go wide and they get some joy this time before we bring them down 5m from the line.

Minute 49: Wales have a few rumbles for the line and we look the most disordered we've been all game. We're holding them out, but it's more decent individual skill, rather than the smoothly untroubled manoeuvrings of a well-oiled machine that we've had so far. Underhill puts in two boneshaking tackles, in alternate phases, and the second one knocks enough of the stuffing out of Wales's attack that the ref brings them back 20 metres for the penalty. They kick to the corner and go again.

Minute 50: Wales take the lineout and set a maul, but we defend it well and Underhill is clambering through the middle looking for the ball, so TWilliams plays it away. They crash it up over and over, but we are well set this time and they're getting no change out of our defence. It ends as a big Coles hit smashes the ball loose, but the ref comes back for what seems to be a very harsh offside call.

[Puja]

Minute 51: The ref gives Jamie George a talking to and they say that experience is vital in a captain, but the following exchange shows a very specific bit of experience that George was present for:
Brousset: "No more penalties, official warning now, the next penalty will be a card."
George: "Do I have time to speak to my team about it?"
Brousset: {Positive French agreement noises}
George: {starts to turn, turns back} "Before they go, I mean. Do I have time to talk to the team before they go?" {waits to get the official "Yes" before turning and calling the team in.

Lots of subs on - Wales change three and we bring on LCD, Davison, Itoje, and Curry.

Wales tap and go and we repel three phases of drives without trouble or giving Wales quick ball, but Maro spots a possible turnover opportunity and lunges at the ball, giving away the pen and a yellow card after just 21 seconds of in-play time. Wales go for an optimistic cross-field kick which Mitchell claims, so back for the penalty. Replays say it's a touch harsh - the ball was exposed, Maro goes for it, hands straight onto the ball first and he doesn't actually go off his feet (which is what he's pinged for), but he's not painted a great picture and frankly, it just wasn't a necessary action. Wales were going absolutely nowhere and it didn't need a 50:50 lunge at a ball when we could've waited and likely turned them over with a 100% one in a few phases' time.

Minute 52: Wales go through the phases and carry hard to the line - we're not knocking them backwards (dare I say we miss Underhill? ) and eventually we end up narrowed up enough that they can get the ball back for Edwards to complete a simple cross-kick for Adams to score. Annoying, but they did work for it.

Minute 53: Edwards knocks over a difficult conversion and it's 36-7. Ford gets his second and last kick-off of the game and goes long, but unlike the Welsh kicks, his has enough height on it that Wales are pinned deep in their 22.

Minute 54: TWilliams attempts to clear, but Chessum's pressure is such that he only manages to get it just outside the 22. We gather cleanly, but our maul is much messier with the replacements on (and one of them off, I suppose) and Wales get through the middle as we fail to get it to the back. LCD does very well to get into the middle himself and end up bursting out of the side with the ball, but it's still ugly, slow possession from what should've been a good attacking set-piece.

Minute 55: The next phase isn't a great deal better - Davison is slow to support Rodd and then rucks sideways - removing Wainwright, but also himself, leaving Mitchell to have to go in and secure the ruck himself. Dingwall has to go in and help secure the ball, Ford has to go in to play 9 - it's a mess. We recycle one phase to get people to where they're supposed to be and then Ford drops back into the pocket. If we weren't 36-7 up, this'd be a drop-goal, but as we are, it's a !!!SPIRAL BOMB!!! to the wing. Roebuck stops LRZ from catching cleanly but knocks on and Wales regather the possession. Another instance of Davison looking like a competition winner - he ambles to a tackle and thinks about sticking a hand in (with exceptionallyaverage technique - he's sideways!) when it's never really on, only to get blasted off to a ruck and taken out of accomplishing anything next phase, whilst also blocking any other player from attacking the ruck.

TWilliams box-kicks better this time and it's England's lineout on the 10m line.

[Puja]

Minute 56: We take the lineout, it goes into midfield and we've got another one on the counter: Things Ford will castigate himself for in the video-review: Aimless kicking x 3. He dabs it over the top down the centre of the pitch - I guess he does find grass in the 22, but it's so far in front of our nearest chaser that Wales have three players in a ring around it, all closer than Freeman, so it'd take a hell of a wicked bounce to make that cause problems. As it is, Rees-Zammit has time to gather it, step Freeman, step the next line of defence, and break away down the centre. Mitchell gets him lined up straight on, but LRZ just runs over him, which is somewhat embarrassing. We bring him down, but are now back behind where Ford kicked from and Wales still have quick ball.

We do get our defensive line sorted though and Thomas decides to kick long and look for territory, but Steward is positioned well and can take the mark.

Minute 57: Steward kicks down to make a lineout just inside our half. Wales win uncontested and swing it into midfield. We are a little bit narrow, but Wales are also deeply unthreatening, so we make our tackles with ease.

Minute 58: Just spotted Davison literally wandering around, out of synch with the rest of the defensive line, the only person fooled by a Welsh dummy runner, and finding himself in a completely useless position cause he's advanced forward when everyone else has retreated back to get behind the ball. I don't mean to be horrible, but he genuinely looks like a concussed player who's wandering around dazed, half a second slow to react to everything and only marginally sure where he's supposed to be.

Christ alight. Just as I finished typing that, Wales spill the ball in the tackle, Rodd reacts well to dive on it and flip it up to Davison and we have a massive chance for an attack as Curry and Ford are screaming for the ball. However, Davison has been literally walking into position and isn't where he should be, seems surprised by the ball, and takes so long to get a pass away that Wales get a hand in, and the advantage is lost. We are going for a scrum, where hopefully Davison knows where he should be standing.

Minute 59: Various fuckery goes on at the scrum and Wales are penalised by a free-kick. I'll be honest, that one's probably a guess by the ref and I back him on it cause I'm not sure either. It does allow for another !!!SPIRAL BOMB!!! which is absolutely filthy and moves away from LRZ last minute. He does spill it backwards and it goes to a Welshman, so that's a partial win for him. Wales kick it away and it's England lineout on the Welsh 10m line.

Minute 60: Good long throw to Chessum at the back and Wales give away a soft penalty for jumping through the lineout and then joining the maul from the wrong side. Tandy will be fuming at that. LCD makes a little break down the blind side and feeds Mitchell, but his speculative grubber through is covered and we go back for the penalty.

[Puja]

It is entirely possible that that may be all you get, as I am playing rugby tomorrow and will be heading off to Scotland immediately after the match (sadly not to Murrayfield; unrelated family holiday), so I will try and complete the last 20 minutes in the morning, but I can make you no promises.

Puja

[loudnconfident]

Thx again for your expertise and efforts!

(Some good reading for me on the coach to Verona - should be home for the match!)

[Which Tyler]

Thanks as ever Puja

[FKAS]

It is entirely possible that that may be all you get, as I am playing rugby tomorrow and will be heading off to Scotland immediately after the match (sadly not to Murrayfield; unrelated family holiday), so I will try and complete the last 20 minutes in the morning, but I can make you no promises.

Puja

Highly appreciated as always Puja.

Best of luck for your game.

[Mikey Brown]

Don’t worry about finishing it. It’s clear enough already Ford robbed Underhill of his MOTM award.

[Puja]

Minute 61: We take the lineout and maul, but Wales've defended well, so we get the ball out. Dingwall at first receiver feeding Freeman on the crash ball tip-on works well again - not as big of a dent as last time, but still very much go-forward ball. Unfortunately we send one-out runners into big Welsh tacklers and both Earl and Pepper are smashed on the gainline.

Minute 62: Ford sweeps round to the blindside with the rest of the backline and throws such a well-disguised dummy to Dingwall that it took me a couple of replays to realise it was deliberate rather than reacting to Dingwall overrunning. That pump suckers the Welsh front line and allows the ball to go behind to Steward. The 15 runs at the inside shoulder of the outside man, drawing him into committing while using his height to preemptively reach over the imminent tackle and one-handed basketball offload. That bit of skill sets Chessum free down the wing, as the scrambling cover were convinced that the ball was dying with Steward and committed there, and Chessum charges up to the 5m line before meeting the last defender and setting a ruck.

Wales try to kill the ball, but a decent ruck and determined work by Mitchell get it free and the ball gets out to Ford. He finds Rodd for a crash ball to keep the momentum going, we recycle quickly and go the same way, and then there's another example of Dingwall's skill on the gainline, shaping to straighten and go himself while shipping a disguised offload to put Freeman through a hole. James does superbly to somehow bring Freeman down short of the line, we get quick ball and...

Things Ford will castigate himself for in the video-review: Aimless kicking x 3, Clog hands x 1

It's not the most sympathetic of passes from Mitchell, as it is head-height, but it's one he'd catch in his sleep 99 times out of 100 and instead he fumbles it. It does go backwards and Earl picks up and runs against the dishevelled Welsh defence, nearly getting to the line again (Davison attempts to clear out the ruck, but is thwarted by a Welsh player choosing not to move when politely asked and the ball has to be rescued by Dingwall piling in behind him to actually add some vigour to the clearout).

Ford gets the ball at 10 - I'm not going to add this one to the counter cause it's mostly Roebuck's fault, but I think he'd want to make a different choice if he could do it again. Roebuck is coming on a hard line outside of Ford and is hoping to bosh his way to the line, but outside him Steward and Arundell have a 2-on-1, so if Roebuck catches and passes, or Ford pumps and passes behind to Steward, then we have a try. As it is, Roebuck catches and tucks the ball under his arm to run into three defenders, Steward was hoping for a try-scoring pass and so isn't there to clear out and it's a Wales penalty for Roebuck holding on on the floor.

Minute 63: We're back up to 15 as Maro's back on. Wales win the lineout and set up for a c&b.

Minute 64: Wales get a hand to slap back the kick and then double-up with a cross-field kick - it finds grass, but this time the bounce of a rugby ball hates Wales as it stays low and skips into touch rather than bouncing up for Adams. I think Roebuck had him covered mind.

Our lineout is a regulation take in the middle, feigned maul, with LCD peeling off to feed the backline, but this time Earl has picked a very nice line cutting back against the grain and attacks the space at the back of the lineout. A really nice sidestep sees him beat the tackle and he accelerates through the gap to make good ground before he's floored.

Minute 65: We run some muscular training ground moves, including one where Mitchell picks and goes then feeds a no-look pass to Freeman attacking the space at the fringe of the ruck. Wales haven't bought it at all and he's met by Carre and Wainwright, but somehow Freeman at pace bounces both of them?! He doesn't go forwards much, but he definitely doesn't go back and it takes another tackler to actually bring him down. More quick ball and TCurry takes it to the line - Edwards is worried about him pulling back to Ford on the loop and is looking to come up and pressure, but he actually tips it onto Chessum who nearly makes it through the hole before Edwards can recover. Ford straightens his loop and Chessum offloads out of the tackle to put Ford through a gaping hole.

He accelerates through and is hauled down just on the 5m line - Mitchell and Steward have to go in to secure the ruck which means there's no-one there to distribute, but don't worry, Trevor Davison is approaching the ruck, he'll know what to do! Just kidding, he literally slows to a jog as he approaches the ruck, then has to backpedal to get out of the way as a sprinting Dingwall runs in to get the job done. Unfortunately, said backpedal leaves him at first receiver and he catches the ball flat-footed. In fairness, he does then fire up the tractor engines and go for the line with a powerful carry and, for a moment, he has a Roy of the Rovers dream of reaching out one-handed to score. However, he's stripped of the ball and the move dies. The ref calls it as stripping the ball on the ground and yellow cards Ben Thomas - it does look harsh, as I think that was just that Davison lost that.

[Puja]

Minute 66: A replay shows that Thomas is wrapped around the ball in the tackle and, as they hit the ground, it just ends up in his arms. Very harsh call to have that as a cynical offence - just feels like poor ball security to me. The replay also shows that Davison needed to pass that to the overlap outside him, but I am now feeling bad about continuing to rag on him. Honest tryer, but really feels out of his depth.

Pollock is on for Roebuck with Earl into the centres, but we don't see anything of it as we lose the lineout. It's a poor call as Wales have read it and get a man up in front of Itoje to do enough to disrupt his catch. The ball spills free, Wales recover it and c&b. England have a lineout again, but this time on the 10m line, rather than 5m out.

Minute 67: Weird lineout that one - Chessum goes up, but the throw goes to his shoulder height, his lift looks unsteady, and he puts in a casual one-handed slap to knock it back rather than catching or properly tapping it. Thankfully Wales don't compete and Mitchell gathers the loose ball, but still weird. We have definitely gone down a notch since Coles went off.

Into midfield and we reset by sending Earl as a pretend Freeman off Dingwall's shoulder. We crash up same way with Pollock and then Mitchell is immediately looking to go back the way we just came, clearly setting himself to go back to the left and zig-zag rather than going same way and exploiting the tired Welsh not folding. "Why?" ask I. "Why's he doing that?"

Turns out I'm as easily suckered as the Welsh defence, as Mitchell very ostentatiously aims his pass towards Maro running a basic crash ball on his left and then twists last moment to feed Ford wrapping around to the right. It's a lovely move and gives us acres of space for Ford to fling a wide pass and put Freeman down the wing. The full-back brings him down, but we're up to the 22 with quick ball.

More crash Pollock, followed by Mitchell going back to the blindside. Wales have marked up, but some lovely hands from Rodd draws in the defence before pulling back late to Ford wrapping around. He's got a 3-on-2, makes the right choice to hit Freeman down the wing, who draws the last man and passes inside for Pollock to scor... nope, he doesn't. Pollock doesn't bloody dive for the line for some reason! Actually, I know full-well why he doesn't - he's hoping to run around, casually dot it down, and do a celebration. As it is, he's badly misread the situation as Plumtree is charging across to try and cut him off - if Pollock just dives and touches the ball down on the line then the tackle doesn't get made, but Pollock only realises he's in danger and starts to dive when his feet are actually over the line! By that point, Plumtree has hit him and his momentum drives Pollock's foot into touch before the ball is grounded.

Minute 68: However, just like in the autumn, Pollock is not faced with the consequences of thinking about celebrating instead of concentrating on getting the bloody ball down, as Plumtree's tackle is around his neck and it's as clear a penalty try as you will ever see.

Plumtree and Wales are so unlucky here. Anywhere else on the pitch, that's a penalty only - Pollock has changed height suddenly, it's not high force, and it's definitely not deliberate. If Pollock grounded the ball before his foot goes out, then it's 5 points and a quiet word to mind the tackling from the ref. However, because of Pollock's failed showboat, it's a penalty try, 7 points, and Wales get their 4th yellow and second period with 13 players.

Wales send the kick-off long and England kick it back long. Variety is the spice of life.

Minute 69: Wales throw a very readable lineout to the front, Chessum reads it and pinches the ball. It bounces poorly and we lose about 20 metres trying to get the ball under control, but when we do, it's thrown out to Pollock who redeems himself with an absolute ankle-breaker of a step, followed by an offload to give Ford a 5-on-1 overlap. I am rushing these cause I'm short on time and I'm aware that I have spent a lot of words castigating Pollock already, but I do want to emphasise that he has been superb since coming on.

We look tired and don't do as much with the overlap as I'd like - we make a good 40 metres before Dingwall attempts a very average grubber, but we get lucky as it ricochets off a Welsh heel and bounces back into the hands of MSmith. He picks it up, lifts his head and picks out a lovely pass to a glorious run from Bevan Rodd who charges into the 22. Offload to TCurry, offload to MSmith, who is tackled. Spencer goes alone and is isolated, but LCD just about secures the ball and Ford can play away. Gorgeous hands from the forwards - Itoje at first receiver offloads to TCurry, who dobs it onto Earl, who takes the tackle (as Davison overruns things and ends up useless) and swivels to offload to an onrushing Freeman who accelerates through the hole and slides over the line.

...godsdammit, the ref and TMO have both spotted a neck roll and the try's been chalked off. It's a lovely try and it won't count.

Replay shows that LCD was faced with two Welsh players trying to drive over that ruck where Spender was isolated and he managed to get one arm around each of their necks to headlock them both away from the ball. It's impressive - if you're going to cheat, do it properly. Can't really blame him, as I think the ball was lost if he didn't do it.

Minute 70: Wales throw to the back, for a perfectly judged lineout to Guy Pepper. It's like we called it. He has the time and space to aim his tapdown to LCD and we throw it into midfield for Earl to attack with. He throws a lovely wide pass to Ford who has a bit of a run and then offloads out of the tackle to Earl supporting on his inside.

We recycle and Ford thinks about passing to Davison, but instead goes behind to Dingwall. It's actually a bit of an error, as Wales have realised that Ford doesn't want to pass to Davison as well and just completely ignored him to press up on Dingwall, so it could've been a fun rumble. As it is Dingwall does very well to just about evade the blitzer and throws a dive pass as he's tap-tackled. Arundell thinks there's space outside and attempts to catch the low pass and ship it on immediately, but his skills aren't quite up to it and it rolls futilely into touch.

[Skalyba]

Always appreciated, Thanks Puja

[Oakboy]

Don’t worry about finishing it. It’s clear enough already Ford robbed Underhill of his MOTM award.