England 15-8 Wales
Wales lose the battle but win the war
Richard Seeckts
March 19, 1994
Report Match details
Date/Time: Mar 19, 1994, 14:45 local, 14:45 GMT
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
England 15 - 8 Wales
Half-time: 7 - 3
Tries: Rodber, R Underwood
Cons: Andrew
Pens: Andrew
Tries: Walker
Pens: NR Jenkins
England's Ian Hunter is felled by the Wales defence, England v Wales, Five Nations,  March 19, 1994
England's Ian Hunter feels the force of the Welsh defence
© Getty Images
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Wales came to Twickenham in search of their first Grand Slam since 1978. They were thoroughly outplayed by England, creating an air of unsatisfactory farce as Ieuan Evans, the defeated captain, received the new Five Nations trophy from the Queen after the match. This was the first occasion on which an outright winner of the championship was decided on points difference, rather than sharing the title as in previous years when there had been no trophy. Innovation designed to create a climax had exactly the opposite effect.

England needed to win by 16 points to win the Championship but, despite showing their best form and scoring their first two tries of the competition, they lacked the cutting edge to put Wales away in the comprehensive manner required. Some attributed this to poor leadership from Will Carling, and Rob Andrew's conservative play at fly-half, but Wales were resolute in defence in the final quarter, even if they offered next to nothing in attack.

Wales had played beyond themselves earlier in the tournament after several lean years, the nadir of which had been failing to get out of their 1991 World Cup group after losing to Western Samoa. Now they had momentum and had played some decent rugby, particularly in beating Scotland and France in Cardiff. They talked themselves up in the week prior to the match which, according to Andrew, was counter-productive as "they put themselves under enormous pressure and froze on the day".

David Pears withdrew from England's side two days before the match, allowing Ian Hunter to switch from wing to his preferred position at full-back, where he flourished. Tony Underwood came into the side on the wing, and Dean Richards returned from injury at No.8, for the first time since England beat New Zealand at Twickenham four months previously.

Richards had a mighty game, defying his lumbering appearance with an immense display of power in the loose, safe hands at the lineout and, on the rare occasions Hunter was under pressure at the back, brick wall defence. It was a stark reminder of what England had missed in the faltering, last minute win over Scotland and the unfortunate defeat to Ireland which, in the final analysis, cost them a Grand Slam.

Rory Underwood scored in the 11th minute, racing onto a pass from Phil de Glanville who had scorched through a gap to set up England's first try in over seven hours of playing time. Monkey now off the collective back, at times it looked like England might run in half a dozen tries, but their finishing was poor and only one more came. Opportunities went begging as Andrew tried, and failed, to extend the lead with drop-goals.

Shortly after the interval, Tim Rodber capped a great personal performance with a steal at a lineout on the Welsh line, from where he barged through Phil Davies and over the line. It sealed the match, but not the Championship.

England went 12 points clear at 15-3 when Andrew slotted a penalty after his opposite number Neil Jenkins had attempted to head-butt him in a less than friendly clinch. It was a rare moment of indiscipline in a match otherwise played in fine spirit.

25 minutes remained for England to stretch the lead to 16 points, but having played such a tight game all season, the dynamic stuff didn't come naturally. Wales manned the barricades to excellent effect, Scott Quinnell even rampaging his way close to a score in the mayhem of the final minutes.

Prop Ricky Evans was brought down by a superb Dewi Morris tackle close to the line, Phil Davies managed to recover the ball and sent winger Nigel Walker in for the try with four minutes left on the clock.

Ieuan Evans lifts the trophy © PA Photos
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Geoff Cooke retired as England manager after seven years in which England had risen from rock bottom, to reach a World Cup final and win two Grand Slams.

After winning his 50th England cap, Brian Moore, in the Sunday Times, was openly critical of the decision for Andrew to drop goals. He missed three attempts, the second when the was a three-man overlap to his left with the try line begging.

Referee Jim Fleming was also in Moore's sights for inconsistency, but England's failure to score the tries to match their power was symptomatic of a team in transition, building towards the 1995 World Cup where it all went so well...... until they came up against a chap called Lomu.

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