England won the Triple Crown on Sunday after adding Wales to their list of conquests in this year’s Six Nations. The defending champions were outplayed at Twickenham as the hosts avenged the heavy defeat in Cardiff last year with a 29-18 victory.
England are still in with a good shot at claiming the Championship and while the Triple Crown win would have been enjoyable – it’s only the first time they’ve won it since 2003 – the Six Nations title is the main goal. To achieve that, they’ll be hoping Ireland lose to France next weekend.
“Lifting the Triple Crown at Twickenham on Sunday was one of the most special moments of my England career,” said skipper Chris Robshaw in his Telegraph column.
“We were embarrassed by Wales last season, there is no hiding from the fact. It has been a long year for a lot of us, so to go out and deliver a performance like that in front of our own supporters was a fantastic feeling.
“We will need a bit of luck in Paris and to deliver in Rome, but we have to believe we can win it.”
England scored tries through Danny Care and Luther Burrell, and came close to a third after an excellent counter-attack following a Justin Tipuric error. Burrell was tackled out in the corner, foot on the line, but they will take heart from the manner in which they created the chance.
Courtney Lawes played a big part in that, and was Man of the Match on the day.
From Wales’ point of view, coach Warren Gatland is no stranger to being under fire, but he’ll have plenty to answer for when one inspects the apparent lack of a a Plan B. With the Rugby World Cup a year away, it appears the Lions-packed side will need to a big 12 months to turn things around.
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