England survived a terrific late Wales surge to put one hand on their first Six Nations title for five years as an Anthony Watson try and 20 points for Owen Farrell helped them beat the visitors 25-21 in a Twickenham thriller on Saturday.
The win secured the triple crown and sent England into their final game in France next week on course for a first Grand Slam since 2003.
England top the standings with eight points and their 58 match points advantage over France, who were due to visit Scotland yesterday, meaning even a heavy defeat in Paris would be unlikely to deprive them of the title following four successive second-placed finishes under Stuart Lancaster.
Photo: EPA
Wales have five points and France four, and defeat for them at Murrayfield would guarantee England top spot.
“The Grand Slam is a reality, and we can’t wait to get to Paris and to do the business,” England coach Eddie Jones said.
With Wales due to host Italy in their final match, Saturday’s Twickenham showdown was effectively a title decider — as well as a chance for some England revenge for their Rugby World Cup defeat — yet it was one-way traffic from the start.
England looked sharper and hungrier, and did not let up during one of the most dominant halves seen in a game between the two old rivals for many years.
After 20 minutes, three Farrell penalties had made it 9-0 and Wales had not created an attack.
The opening try came after 31 minutes when prop Joe Marler found himself at scrumhalf and set man-of-the-match lock Maro Itoje up to blast through and create a hole that Mike Brown used to feed Watson for an easy score.
Wales defensive coach Shaun Edwards would have been fuming as the visitors, usually so well-drilled, missed tackle after tackle, while their attack was non-existent.
England turned round 16-0 up at the break and soon stretched it with another penalty, but then gifted Wales a lifeline when Dan Biggar charged down George Ford to score under the posts.
England still looked unruffled, though, and added two more penalties.
However, in the final 10 minutes, with England down to 14 men after a yellow card for Dan Cole, Wales suddenly rediscovered their verve.
George North and Toby Faletau scored within four minutes to cut the deficit to four points and change the whole atmosphere.
Wales still had time to launch another attack, but Manu Tuilagi, on as a replacement for the first time in almost two years, foiled it.
That allowed the home fans, who had seen their team blow a seven-point lead in the final 10 minutes in the Rugby World Cup, to breath a huge, collective sigh of relief.
Earlier in Dublin, reigning champions Ireland rediscovered their form to record their first win of this year’s championship, running in nine tries to thrash Italy 58-15 and end a frustrating run of results.
“From the off you could see the intensity and pace we wanted to play at. We put a lot of the silly mistakes we’ve made in the championship right today,” Ireland captain Rory Best said.
“It’s difficult to find some words after this result. We’ve a lot of things to do to become competitive,” Italy captain Sergio Parisse said.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping