Welsh stun English

At half time at Twickenham no one was prepared for what was to happen in the remaining forty minutes of what many presumed was a match all but over. But then again that’s England for you, having established a 16-3 lead at half time. It’s hard to say what happened whether Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards had put something in the water but many believe the shirts of both teams’ players had just been switched.With England dominating the first half and playing some very fluent rugby with some attacking flair it looked as though England were on course for their first win of the six nations campaign. Within the opening 10 minutes winger David Streetle produced a dazzling run that split open the Welsh defence only to see him choose the wrong option and give Wales the chance to clear. Unfortunately Streetle picked up an injury and on stepped Lesley Vanikolo aka the volcano for his first bit of six nations fever and he did not disappoint, on the stroke of the 20th minute a cross-field kick from Wilkinson found the volcano who rose above Mark Jones to claim the ball, with a little flick of his wrist he was then able to lay it off to Toby Flood for England’s only try of the game.With the first half going all England’s way and the Wales defence living on the offside line it was only a matter of time before the fans thought the floodgates would open however with Sackey looking to go over just before the interval it was not to be as some heroic welsh defence kept the English at bay. Going in at half time with a 10 point lead and dominating all areas of the game, it was a mere touch up job for England to ensure a victory.However the Welsh dragons roared back in sensational fashion with their game being played in broken field the Welsh exposed an English defence that looked tired and drained. The welsh capitalised midway through the second half when the ever so reliable Wilkinson overthrow a pass to new comer Cipriani for the first mistake that the welsh duly converted into a try. However in this period of time it was 10 minutes of madness that cost England with Tindall and Tom Rees going off injured, the welsh exposed the gaps in defence and scored yet another try. However it was going to be a mistake from Balshaw that was going to cost England as the controversial selection failed to clear his lines in what would have been routine for any fullback. He took too long to release his kick and was punished by a Welsh side that Warren Gatland had pin picked as the English's weak link.The Welsh unlike the English managed to maintain their seven point lead in the closing 10 minutes as they played a tight and territorial game they did not allow England in. Afterwards Brian Ashton merely listed the wounded players as an excuse for England’s demise in the second half. All that can be said is let’s hope England don’t fade away next week.