Giants meet at Six-nations
England Vs Wales Head to head:
Dilanka MANNAKKARA
It is the clash of the titans,the meeting of the giants when arch
rivals England lock horns with Wales today at Twickenham. The two
unbeaten sides have a wonderful history between the two specially in the
Six Nations where some amazing matches were witnessed over the years.
Lets take a glimpse of the great history of matches between the two
heavyweights.
The two European giants have met 122 times overall with Wales’ 19-9
victory over their old rivals in Cardiff last August their 54th since
their first clash in 1881. England's 23-19 win the previous weekend
ensures they are two victories better off in the all-time standings with
12 matches drawn.
England's Tom Palmer tackles Wales’ Dan Lydiate during last
year's Six Nations clash. Getty Images |
England led the series until 1907, when Welsh rugby was enjoying its
first Golden Era. After that, there were never more than two wins
separating the sides until 1925. England then stayed in front until 1970
when Wales were embarking on another Golden Era and led the series from
1971 until 2003.
England have won 28 of the 47 matches staged against Wales at
Twickenham and the principality can boast just one successful trip to
the stadium in their last 13 attempts - a 26-19 victory in 2008.
England's 62-5 win at Twickenham in the 2007 World Cup warm-up
friendly and Wales's 34-21 Cardiff win in 1967 - Keith Jarrett's famous
debut match - are the best scores recorded by the teams in this series.
England did win, however, by seven goals, six tries and a dropped goal
to nil at Blackheath in 1881, before scoring by points were introduced.
The try-count of 13 that day stands as the series record for a match.
The best winning margin (57 points) in the matches was established in
England's success at Twickenham in 2007.
Wales won 25-0 in 1905 - their best margin - and scored eight tries -
their best return for the fixture - in the mud at Cardiff in 1922.
Jonny Wilkinson set the record for the highest individual score in a
match contributing 30 points at Twickenham in 2002. The Welsh record for
a match is 22 points by Neil Jenkins at Wembley in the last ever Five
Nations fixture, in 1999. James Hook equalled that Welsh record when the
sides met in Cardiff in 2007.Four players have scored four tries in a
match.
George Burton and Nick Easter - both forwards - respectively
performed the feat for England in the Blackheath match of 1881 and the
Twickenham friendly in 2007. Wing three-quarter Willie Llewellyn crossed
four times for Wales on his Test debut at Swansea in 1899 and Maurice
Richards, also a wing, went over for Wales at Cardiff in 1969.
England’s golden boy Johnny Wilkinson is the leading overall scorer
in the matches. He scored 182 points for England between 1999 and 2011.
Neil Jenkins holds the corresponding record for Wales with 65 in his ten
appearances between 1991 and 2001.
Will Greenwood's try for England when the sides met in the 2003 Rugby
World Cup quarter-finals in Brisbane made him the leading try-getter in
the series with seven. Gerald Davies, Dewi Bebb and Willie Llewellyn
each scored six for Wales.
Rory Underwood set the record for most appearances in the series,
playing 14 times between 1984 and 1996 (including a World Cup match in
1987). Gareth Thomas also featured in 14 matches for Wales.
[Teams]
England:
Ben Foden (Northampton Saints); Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints),
Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Brad Barritt (Saracens), David
Strettle (Saracens); Owen Farrell (Saracens), Lee Dickson (Northampton
Saints); Alex Corbisiero (London Irish), Dylan Hartley (Northampton
Saints), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Mouritz Botha (Saracens), Geoff
Parling (Leicester Tigers), Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers), Chris Robshaw
(Harlequins, capt), Ben Morgan (Scarlets)
Replacements: Rob Webber (London Wasps), Matt Stevens (Saracens),
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints),
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers), Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Mike Brown
(Harlequins)
Wales:
L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues); A Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), J Davies (Scarlets),
J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), G North (Scarlets); R Priestland (Scarlets),
M Phillips (Bayonne); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), K Owens (Scarlets), A
Jones (Ospreys), A-W Jones (Ospreys), I Evans (Ospreys), D Lydiate
(Newport Gwent Dragons), S Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt), T Faletau
(Newport Gwent Dragons)
Replacements: R Hibbard (Ospreys), P James (Ospreys), R Jones
(Ospreys), J Tipuric (Ospreys), L Williams (Cardiff Blues), J Hook (Perpignan),
S Williams (Scarlets)
England-Wales Six
Nations results:
2000 England 46-12 Wales (Twickenham)
2001 Wales 15-44 England (Cardiff)
2002 England 50-10 Wales (Twickenham)
2003 Wales 9-26 England (Cardiff)
2004 England 31-21 Wales (Twickenham)
2005 Wales 11-9 England (Cardiff)
2006 England 47-13 Wapes (Twickenham)
2007 Wales 27-18 England (Cardiff)
2008 England 19-26 Wales (Twickenham)
2009 Wales 23-15 England (Cardiff)
2010 England 30-17 Wales (Twickenham)
2011 Wales 19-26 England (Cardiff) |