Smith on target as England survive Wales fightback

Flyhalf Marcus Smith kicked 17 points as England withstood a second-half fightback from Wales to secure a hard-fought victory at Twickenham.

What will be remembered as a thrilling contest and a good advert for the Six Nations disguised disjointed performances from both teams and it was England that weather a late onslaught to come away 23-19 winners.

Smith was deadly off the kicking tee in the opening ten minutes, slotting two penalties to punish Wales. The hosts looked to have ascendency at the set piece as well as the breakdown and Wales were initially made to pay for their inaccuracies.

The Welsh also squandered opportunities of their own, including an attacking lineout five metres from the England line. This the defending champions would come to rue in the second half.

Meanwhile, England methodically built their lead over the opening half and entered the tunnel 12-0 ahead despite having lacked the killer edge to score a try.

A moment of madness in the second half handed England complete ascendency. A lineout overthrow on Wales’ own five-metre line was intercepted by England No 8 Alex Dombrandt who strolled in for a try that left the visitors shell-shocked and 17 points adrift.

Swing Low chorused across the stands as the contest looked to have been settled.

Wales battled on valiantly but it was a case of too little too late for the visitors. They showed great determination in the final quarter of the match and were rewarded with three tries that dragged themselves back into the contest.

Josh Adams, Nick Tompkins and Kieran Hardy all crossed for the men in red but, despite waves of attack well into the 84th minute, they ultimately could not salvage the win.



The post Smith on target as England survive Wales fightback appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

The post Smith on target as England survive Wales fightback appeared first on Rugby Daily News.



source https://rugbystream.us/smith-on-target-as-england-survive-wales-fightback/

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