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England Men

15 Aug 2019 | 4 min |

Wales v England: Five famous Cardiff clashes

Following a 33-19 victory last weekend, England travel to Cardiff on Saturday for their second summer Test against Wales.

2001: WAL 15-44 ENG

A Will Greenwood hat-trick made for a solemn atmosphere at the then Millennium Stadium, as a clinical England romped to victory.

Rob Howley and Scott Quinnell dotted down for the hosts but those tries provided scant consolation in the face of a comprehensive defeat, which was on the cards from England’s opening two attacks.

Greenwood profited from a pair of forward surges, first after a searing Jonny Wilkinson break and then following a delightful Iain Balshaw offload.

Wales scrum half Howley capitalised on turnover ball to score, but Matt Dawson replied with a brace before half-time to pave the way for Clive Woodward’s side to stroll home.

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2003: WAL 9-22 ENG

Wales welcomed England to Cardiff on the back of a humiliating reverse in Rome, and came out of the blocks with renewed intent.

Sheer fervour and industry – alongside some glaring indiscipline from the visitors – allowed debutant Ceri Sweeney to knock over two early penalties.

However, though his team were far from their most cohesive, nine points from the familiar left boot of Wilkinson hauled England into a slender half-time lead.

The second period was a completely different story, and while Wales certainly re-instilled pride thanks to a combative display, tries from Greenwood and Joe Worsely kept Martin Johnson’s charges on course for their eventual Grand Slam.

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2005: WAL 11-9 ENG

A match that catapulted Gavin Henson into the wider public consciousness.

The silver-booted centre produced a superb performance across the board that culminated in a 44-metre penalty three minutes from the final whistle.

Earlier, he had made two monstrous tackles on Mathew Tait, who endured a torrid Test debut the day before his 19th birthday.

Shane Williams scampered over for the only try of the game but three Charlie Hodgson penalties gave England the lead before Henson’s match-winning intervention.

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2013: WAL 30-3 ENG

Heading across the Severn Bridge with four wins in the tournament, England could dare to dream of a Grand Slam. But an hour and a half after taking to the Millennium Stadium turf, they had been handed a thrashing.

From the intoxicating home anthem, it was clear Wales were inspired. A back row of Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric and Toby Faletau swarmed over the park and Adam Jones was a rock at the scrum, earning Leigh Halfpenny regular shots at goal.

The full back did not miss, and an Alex Curthbert double after the break – the second wonderfully manufactured by Tipuric – sealed the Six Nations title for Wales.

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2017: WAL 16-21 ENG

A late Elliot Daly try sealed a dramatic 21-16 victory for England in Wales as their unbeaten run continued to 16 games.

Wales led 13-8 at the break after a breathless half of rugby at the Principality Stadium, the majority of which was played in England’s own half.

After Leigh Halfpenny and Owen Farrell traded early penalties Ben Youngs sniped from five metres out for the first try of the game. Wales ended the half strongly through a Liam Williams try, which gave the hosts a five-point advantage.

Halfpenny added a further three points but two penalties from Farrell brought the score to within three. Daly then went over in the corner with four-minutes remaining in the Test, and Farrell's conversion took the score to 21-16 as England held on for a famous victory.

“Faz passed me the ball and I tried to run as fast as possible into the corner,” said Daly of his wonder score post-match. “I wasn’t thinking about it too much, it was a beautiful ball and I just pinned my ears back to get into that corner and luckily I did.”

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