Wales pay the price for mistakes

“At this level you have to make sure you are accurate. Unfortunately, we weren’t."

Wales pay the price for mistakes

Wales boss Warren Gatland admitted his team’s accuracy let them down as their RBS 6 Nations campaign began in dismal fashion at the Millennium Stadium.

England fought back from 10 points down after just eight minutes to triumph 21-16 as Bath backs Anthony Watson and Jonathan Joseph scored tries, while fly-half George Ford kicked three penalties and a conversion.

Wales failed to trouble the scorers in the second-half, with England putting down a firm marker ahead of the countries’ next meeting – a crunch World Cup pool game at Twickenham on September 26.

“At this level you have to make sure you are accurate,” Gatland said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t as accurate as we should have been.

“I need to look back at some of the scrum penalties and what they were for. We seemed to be on the wrong side of that.”

England arrived in Cardiff without a number of injured players – the absentees included Manu Tuilagi, Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury, Tom Wood and Ben Morgan - but Stuart Lancaster’s side still avenged their 30-3 Six Nations drubbing at the Millennium Stadium two years ago.

Lancaster made eight changes from the side which beat Australia at the end of November as his selection problems made Wales firm favourites to win the 2015 tournament opener.

But England recovered from a 16-8 half-time deficit to power home on the back of a rampant display by their pack, in which flanker James Haskell proved the outstanding contributor.

The manner of England’s victory, and the fact they were missing so many front-line players, will make them clear favourites when the two sides meet again in just over seven months.

But Gatland added: “We are disappointed, but I can’t see where you would argue that England were massively depleted.

“They have strength in depth, and the players who came in did a fantastic job.

“I thought Haskell was outstanding and 13 (Jonathan Joseph) as well. You could argue they are number one players, and Tom Wood would find it difficult to get back into that team the way Haskell played.

“I don’t look at it as, ’Are we concerned about England missing so many players?’ It is a top-level Test match rugby.

“Sometimes you play with strength in depth, sometimes you don’t.

“We started poorly at the start of the second half.

“We put in a loose kick and England kept the ball for four minutes and ended up scoring.

“We then had a yellow card, and we put ourselves under a lot of pressure.

“I thought we were reasonably comfortable at half-time, but they played really well in the second-half.”

more courts articles

Gary Glitter victim seeking six-figure sum in damages, court told Gary Glitter victim seeking six-figure sum in damages, court told
Stephen Bear ordered to pay back profits from sharing private sex tape Stephen Bear ordered to pay back profits from sharing private sex tape
Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother

More in this section

Leo Cullen 28/3/2024 Developing cohesion the biggest challenge for Cullen
Ospreys v Munster - United Rugby Championship Kendellen: Munster can't underestimate Cardiff threat
2015 Super Rugby: Cell C Sharks v Western Force Springboks legend John Smit says 'phenomenal' URC has proved doubters wrong
Sport Push Notifications

By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser.

Sign Up
Sport
Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited