England 12 Wales 19: Strettle denied at the death as underdogs so close to holding Gatland's men
It will go down as one of the most dramatic finishes in recent Twickenham history as underdogs England found themselves no more than a millimetre or two away from a potential draw against World Cup semi-finalists Wales.
David Strettle believed he had done enough to score in the corner in the final play of the game, and replays suggested he may even have been touching the ball as he was smothered by Leigh Halfpenny and Jonathan Davies.
Match winner: Scott Williams went over in the final few minutes to secure a memorable win for Wales
Match winner: Scott Williams went over in the final few minutes to secure a memorable win for Wales
MATCH FACTS
England: Foden, Ashton, Tuilagi, Barritt, Strettle, Farrell, Dickson, Corbisiero, Hartley, Cole, Botha, Parling, Croft, Robshaw, Morgan. Replacements: Brown for Foden (77), Flood for Farrell (65), Youngs for Dickson (60), Stevens for Corbisiero (65), Webber for Hartley (72), Lawes for Botha (60), Dowson for Morgan (72).
Pens: Farrell 4.
Wales: Halfpenny, Cuthbert, J. Davies, Roberts, North, Priestland, Phillips, Jenkins, Owens, A. Jones, A. Jones, Evans, Lydiate, Warburton, Faletau.Replacements: S. Williams for Roberts (40), R. Jones for A. Jones (54). Not Used: Hibbard, James, Tipuric, L. Williams, Hook.
Tries: S. Williams. Cons: Halfpenny. Pens: Halfpenny 4.
Sin Bin: Priestland (45).
Attendance: 80,764
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia).
But there was not enough downward pressure to convince the Scottish TV match official Iain Ramage to award the try and Wales, after agonising minutes and half-a-dozen replays on the big screen, threw their arms to the heavens as the final whistle blew.
Toby Flood, on for the magnificent Owen Farrell, would still have needed to convert from the corner to secure the draw, but the Welsh joy was partly because they had won the Triple Crown and can begin to dream of a potential RBS Six Nations title and Grand Slam. It was also a cry of sheer relief as England, written off before kick-off, pushed them to the limit.
Indeed, with less than five minutes remaining, the scores were level at 12-12 after England had three times led through four penalties from Farrell. Then Scott Williams ripped the ball out of Courtney Lawes’ hands on the halfway line, hacked it on and collected to dive under the posts. It was a cruel blow for an England side who more than matched the bigger, more experienced Welsh, not only in terms of a monumental defensive performance orchestrated by Brad Barritt and Farrell, but also in attack, where Manu Tuilagi, back from various injuries, was a handful all afternoon.
Loud and proud: Both teams boomed out their anthems in front of a packed house
Strettle was convinced afterwards that he had scored, but for once the result was not the be-all and end-all for the England team and their interim management, who stepped up a number of notches in defeat from their two previous victories, in Edinburgh and Rome.
‘I’m disappointed with the result but very proud of my players,’ insisted head coach Stuart Lancaster. ‘The players are hurting now, which shows how much they care, but they did the red rose proud today.’
In a spin: Wales' scrum-half Mike Phillips orchestrated his side brilliantly
Indeed they did, a fact his Welsh counterpart, Warren Gatland, readily acknowledged. ‘It was a tough game, a great Test match and England played really well,’ said the Kiwi, favourite to be appointed 2013 British and Irish Lions head coach on the back of his three wins and Triple Crown success.
‘We had the chance to make some history today … and we did. The fact that we struggled at times but still came through will be great for the team’s confidence.’
Boomer: Mouritz Botha continued his excellent Six Nations with a typically powerful performance
It began almost perfectly for Wales. Barely two minutes had passed when a neat inside pass from Mike Phillips sent George North hurtling through and a try looked certain, especially with Jamie Roberts outside him, but a desperate tap tackle by Strettle eight metres from the line halted the surge.
It saved a certain seven points and was greeted with a rapturous roar by a Twickenham crowd quite clearly willing to back this new-look, inexperienced England side on their first appearance at headquarters since the debacle of the World Cup.
Crunch: The athletic George North showed he had plenty of punch in the tackle, too
It took 21 minutes for England to launch their first meaningful attack, when Lee Dickson upped the tempo by taking a tap penalty and, with Farrell distributing well in his new role at stand-off and the wrecking ball that is Tuilagi making inroads, it led to Farrell kicking England into a lead. It lasted just two minutes, though, when Halfpenny levelled the scores.
Tuilagi then looked odds-on to score and although a stunning tackle from man-of-the-match Sam Warburton halted him, Roberts was offside and Farrell landed the simple penalty.
Staying in the hunt: Leigh Halfpenny was trustworthy as ever with the boot
A long-range penalty from Halfpenny made it 6-6 but it was England who looked the more dangerous.
Given the opportunity to kick England back into the lead before half-time, Farrell coolly struck despite being close to the touchline and few could argue with their advantage.
Eye on the prize: Owen Farrell scored with all but one of his kicks at goal
Within five minutes of the restart it would get a whole lot better for England, too. Mouritz Botha continued the Saracens theme perfected by the injured Charlie Hodgson in the first two Tests by charging down Rhys Priestland’s clearance and in the resulting chaos, the Wales stand-off was yellow-carded for an offside offence and Farrell stretched England into a six-point lead. But Wales were far from out of it and, moments before Priestland’s return, a Halfpenny penalty reduced the lead to 12-9.
Breakout: Lee Dickson enjoyed one of few chances to sprint into the green, green grass
Still there was little to suggest Wales could breach England’s defence, with Barritt at the fore and Farrell, increasingly battered, felling the Welsh behemoths. On came Lawes for Botha, Matt Stevens for the sterling Alex Corbisiero and Flood for a limping Farrell, who left to heartfelt applause.
A 72nd-minute equalising penalty from Halfpenny set up the dramatic finale and then Williams and a Scottish TMO broke English hearts.
Kept quiet: Manu Tuilagi, the danger man, was well dealt with by the visitors
Late drama: David Strettle thought he had rescued a chance at a draw for England, but was denied by the video referee after almost five minutes of deliberation
Late drama: David Strettle thought he had rescued a chance at a draw for England, but was denied by the video referee after almost five minutes of deliberation
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