England on song as they quench the Welsh fire

It was a cold night in Cardiff as Stuart Lancaster's England turned up demanding the stadium roof be open. In the end it probably wouldn't have mattered either way as England dominated the Welsh across the park. Wales took an early lead, through excellent work by Faletau at a crumbling scrum sending Rhys Webb over. However as the first half wore on the tide was turning as England begun dominating the breakdown and the gain line, by half time Wales still held the lead but the atmosphere was nervous. The second half was all England, as they scored two tries and thirteen unanswered points to take the victory away from the home team.

Haskell was superhuman against Wales

The game wasn't a spectacle of running rugby, it wasn't a festival of excitement, it was a proper arm wrestle all match. Played on the gain-line as both teams smashed into each other with no regard for their bodies. Yet with all the talk about Wales' game plan of "Warrenball" it was woefully ineffective for a team that supposedly play the gain line battle every week, the Wlesh ball carriers were stopped on the line with every carry. The usually effective Faletau (and the rest of the backrow) were stalled by the magnificent James Haskell again and again, and oddly the impressive Jamie Roberts was under utilised by Wales.

Did Wales use big Jamie Roberts enough?

Instead they attempted to use him as a decoy, but it didn't seem to work as Jonathan Davies was unable to break past Jonathan Joseph and was then often unsupported at the breakdown. The bluff with Roberts seemed a bit illogical, even if England were keeping Burrell tight to Ford to defend the 10 channel, the doctor is still one of the greatest gain line operators around and would have picked angles to increase his effectiveness.

That was just one of many flaws in the Welsh plan, they went out there to kick England off the park although this has rarely seemed to work for Wales. Mike Brown performed wonderfully under the highball and returned kicks with interest, and apparently Gatland hadn't done his research of Bath fullback-come-wing Anthony Watson. The young man was impervious under the high ball, totally outclassing George North on the wide kicks. Leigh Halfpenny performed dutifully at fullback for Wales, but the lack of intent to counter-attack seemed ridiculous with the talent possessed by that back three. Surely Liam Williams has to be introduced to the Welsh team, his achieved more in a ten minute cameo than Alex Cuthbert did all game, his commitment to his side is on another level.

While the Welsh "stars" under performed, the English youngsters were sublime. George Ford was

England's new general - George Ford

simply classy at fly-half, attacking the line and selecting the perfect pass every time to unleash his dangerous back-line. His kicking game was tactically astute and he didn't shirk his defensive responsibility when called upon. Jonathan Joseph stepped up to the international game with aplomb, his silky footwork was rewarded with a try, and his defence helped England stop the large Welsh centres continually. The most impressive player for England was James Haskell returning to the starting team after a long absence he really put his name forward for continued selection, superb ball carrying ability causes problems all day for Shaun Edwards defence, only a post pad prevented a total display from the Wasps captain. His defence was ridiculous, stopping the normally powerful Faletau again and again, disrupting break-downs  and proving to be a mammoth strength to the England back row.

Long time no see - Corbisiero

Looking ahead, England are cruising at the minute, even with numerous injuries they are performing at outstanding levels and are building excellent strength in depth. Next week they face the easiest game of the tournament as Italy head to Twickenham. It's a chance for a little experimentation but not too much should be done to the team that played so well. At most I'd look at bringing a couple of
players back into the international arena, Coribsiero is a prime example; also consider allowing players who normally play from the bench to have a start Tom Youngs would be a good option to give the dynamic hooker a longer run out.

Meanwhile on this side of the Severn Bridge, Wales need to seriously look at the options across the park and the effectiveness of some players as they travel to Murrayfield to take on a confident Scotland who just lost out to France. As previously stated Liam Williams would provide a creative

Liam Williams could provide the spark for Wales

outlet for Wales, someone who can change the style if "Plan A" isn't working - a Shane Williams character. Scott Williams is the form centre in Wales and neither Roberts nor Davies have performed wonderfully for the national side in recent games and will be looking behind them. More radically is the possible introduction of Hallam Amos at wing, he's proven his outstanding finishing ability for the Dragons, is a player willing to counter attack and provides another kicking option. Rhys Webb has to work hard on his box-kicking as it begun to fall apart in the second half against England, he's sniping and speed of pass is still important but his tactical play needs work. In the pack, the backrow has limited options to be altered by Justin Tipuric still provides a creative spark which could get the team working better. The front row showed signs of weakness at scrum time, Samson Lee came against a powerful operator and showed his lack of maturity, it  might be worth bringing Paul James in on the other side to stabilise the set piece.

Suggested Wales XV vs Scotland
15 - Leigh Halfpenny
14 - Liam Williams
13 - Jonathan Davies
12 - Jamie Roberts
11 - George North
10 - Dan Biggar
9 - Rhys Webb
1 - Paul James
2 - Richard Hibbard
3 - Samson Lee
4 - Jake Ball
5 - Alun Wyn Jones
6 - Dan Lydiate
7 - Sam Warburton
8 - Talupe Faletau