Not read the thread yet, only just finished watching the game.
Congrats England on a hard fought win. Kept going till the end, and you managed to isolate Cuthbert once in the game and he duly left the door ajar.
It was a brutal test match, but one which Wales got the better of for the majority. The main problem was that we were unable to convert pressure into points, and it has me thinking what if Davies was playing at 10. Look, Biggar had a great game in terms of his commitment and defensive work, with that intercept standing out, but we need to start scoring more try's after initially making good progress to get into the red-zone.
Pleased at the performance on the whole, disappointing to have slipped up in the final few minutes. What was our kicking strategy? Backfired spectacularly in the end, that ball just had to find touch, especially with Warburton essentially out of the game. We've had this kicking strategy for the entirety of Gatlands reign, and it's backfired on us on numerous occasions now (Australia comes to mind a few times). Ideally we need to add to our kicking options, because Jon Davies isn't a great kicker of the ball (he can hoof it on occasion, but it's basically to anywhere), neither is Liam Williams. I think back to when we had Henson at 12 and Byrne at 15, two great options who were able to properly relieve pressure when camped on our own try line.
Plenty of Welsh players putting in some great shifts. Owens had a terrific game at hooker, Ball and AWJ were industrious, while the backrow were magnificent, and almost won us that game. I wonder if that's the game that makes people realize that Tipuric isn't some lightweight powder puff forward, but that he can genuinely cut it even in a fiercely physical contest. Warburton was back to his very best, which is so nice to see, whilst Moriarty lifted his game to a new level in that third quarter with some monstrous hits, and strong carries.
In the backs, Webb had a good game, just denied a score, and unlucky not to set-up another with a lovely pass to put Davies free on the outside. I've mentioned Biggar who was very good, but ultimately Ford possibly proved the difference in the sides by identifying space. Centres were good, with Scott Williams a real nuisance in defense with that ripping motion. Halfepenny and Cuthbert were the quietest players, with Cuthbert in particular not adding anything of real note in attack, and only one real intervention in defense. Should have been Steff Evans out there, and maybe he would have got involved in attack!
Overall, massive improvement, but gutted we let that one slip through the net.
