Evening all: In deference to Buzz Bissinger I expect the term Friday Night Lights to be bandied about a few times this evening by the broadcasters on TV and radio and while I'm not entirely convinced by or happy about the scheduling, I am genuinely excited about tonight's match. I spoke to two top rugby men, JJ Williams and Ollie Campbell, this week and their enthusiasm for the Six Nations was palpable, the perfect dose of 15-a-side Viagra to whet one's appetite for the opening fixture. I'm slightly terrified as well, given that the MBMer is a hostage to the TV coverage and the camera angles are not always helpful in giving you a broad persepctive of movement and momentum. Oh to be in the Millennium stands, about halfway up, a couple of pints of Brains warming the heart, and being able to see everything on the field. I'll do my best any road.
It will be interesting to see how Morgan Stoddart fares after such a long absence from the Wales side. Nigel Davies said of him this week: "The key thing about Stodds is his ability to do something out of the ordinary when he has the ball. When you look at Leigh Halfpenny, he has got a very good, complete game, very accurate, seldom makes mistakes. With Stodds there is more of a risk factor, but also more of an X factor as well." Will he be vulnerable defensively againts England's slick back three, or on the front foot? We'll soon find out.
Here's your teams:
Wales: 15: James Hook, 14: Morgan Stoddart, 13: Jamie Roberts, 12: Jonathan Davies, 11: Shane Williams, 10: Stephen Jones, 9: Michael Phillips; 1: Paul James, 2: Matthew Rees (captain), 3: Craig Mitchell, 4: Bradley Davies, 5: Alun: Wyn Jones, 6: Dan Lydiate, 7: Sam Warburton, 8: Andy Powell.
Replacements: 16: Richard Hibbard, 17: John Yapp, 18: Ryan Jones, 19: Jonathan Thomas, 20: Dwayne Peel, 21: Rhys Priestland, 22: Lee Byrne.
England: 15: Ben Foden, 14: Chris Ashton, 13: Mike Tindall (captain), 12: Shontayne Hape, 11: Mark Cueto, 10: Toby Flood, 9: Ben Youngs; 1: Andrew Sheridan, 2: Dylan Hartley, 3: Dan Cole, 4: Louis Deacon, 5: Tom Palmer, 6: Tom Wood, 7: James Haskell, 8: Nick Easter.
Replacements: 16: Steve Thompson, 17: David Wilson, 18: Simon Shaw, 19: Joe Worsley, 20: Danny Care, 21: Jonny Wilkinson, 22: Matt Banahan.
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ire)
Woo hoo: The BBC's English coverage has started, we can't pick up BBC Wales here at Guardian Towers, sadly. John Inverdale is hamming up the Anglo-Welsh rivalry and I have the Rugby Special theme tune and Catatonia's International Velvet buzzing around. Not that I'm Welsh, just that tune always reminds me of the Millennium Stadium. I wonder if fomer Wakefield schoolboy Mike Tindall will confound the critics who think he's past it tonight. I also wonder what Warren Gatland will come out with after the match. Chris Ashton or Shane Williams? They're on the pitch and Delilah is being sung, an ode to murder. It's blowing a gale here in London N1 but everything seems calm in Cardiff after Martin Johnson agreed to the roof being closed.
Here come the teams: Andy Tabberer sounds as if he's in an ideal place and mood: "Fine ale in hand, wife in kitchen making dinner and children asleep. Heart beat has now slowed to a solid 60 beats per minute as the working week is kicked into touch. Thank God for a bit of relief from the sad, tired, saggy and predictable game that is football." Group hugs underway by England. Crowd raucous and deafening as Wales emerge. Fire spouting out of those things and spotlights. Amazing atmosphere.
The anthems: Tindall hymns the praises of his future grandmother-in-law before the smoke clears. Now for Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. It does make the spine tingle. Owen Davies is stuck in Japan: "My sky is titted due to three meters of snow, and my electricity is out. Because of all the snow. Can I have some regular updates on this tiny, ridiculous, phone or my wife will confiscate it and insist on using it to call for help. I'll dig us out in the morning." Glad to see he's got his priorities right.
1 min: Stephen Jones kicks off for Wales, taken by Tindall. Young feeds Flood and it goes down the line as Foden steps in outside Ashton. Stephen Jones tries to tackle him and is winded, goes down and Rolland halts play.
2 min: Restart with a scrum. England put in, win a free kick for Wales' too early drive. Another scrum. Penalty to Wales between halfway and England's 10 metre line. nd Dan Cole and Paul James have a bit of afters.
3 min: James Hook kicks for goal, has the distance but passes wide on the right.
5 min: Powell crashed through the middle, got the ball to hook in halfway after England's 22 and rejoins the line. Powell has a man on the overlap but opts to kick, a 20-metre grubber but England take the 22 again. Good start from Wales.
6 min: Another Wales penalty for Sheridan coming in at the side after storming runs from Lydiate and Bradley Davies.
Penalty miss: Two of two missed, Jones from 40m hooks it wide. "Obvious penalty, writes Andrew Bagchi. "Idiotic."
8 min: Easter makes progress up the left touchline and England recycle well, Sheridan moving forward a few feet and switched out to the right and out to Foden who bursts forward 20 metres but when he's tackle by Williams he doesn't release. Penalty Wales, kick to touch, just inside England's 22.
10 min: Hartley finds Palmer in the lineout, back to Youngs, garryowen and Wales knock on. The scrum collapses and Paul James is penalised. Penalty to England for James not binding.
12 min: Kick into the Wales 22 for touch. Won by Palmer at the lineout, driving maul from England and Lydiate flies into a tackle as Wood peels off to drive. Hartley makes a foot then back to Flood in the shotgun trying to find Ashton via Tindall stuck all alone on the right wing. Terrible pass from Tindall, overthrown, Ashton slips and it soars into touch.
Try!! Wales 0-5 England (Ashton)
Conversion Wales 0-7 England (Flood)
14 min: Flying slam dunk by Ashton to touch down after Youngs got quick ball to Flood, he burst forward 10 metres and played a reverse pass to Ashton who barrelled up the middle. Poor defence from Wales, there. I was just going to say that England seemed handicapped by slow ball but then, as my brother points out, Flood waltzed through a huge gap after getting quick ball.
Penalty!! Wales 0-10 England (Flood) It came from a scrum when Powell didn't release afterwards on the 22 and Flood tonked it over smoothly.
20 min: Great move from Wales, bunched on the left. Lovely handling from Hook to Jonathan Davies and out to Shane Williams, but the pass is just behind him and it's knocked on.
21 mins: Wales win a scrum 25 metres out and Mike Phillips dodges round to the blindside and is tackled, but England pile in as Wales recycle and Wales have a penalty.
Penalty: Wales 3-10 England (Jones)
23 mins: Ashton is told that if he questions one more of the referee's decisions, he'll get a yellow card. Joanne Knowles writes: " Hi Rob - while people may have their doubts about the Friday night scheduling, it's great for me and (I'd guess) lots of other parents of young children, who can watch live after the kids are in bed instead of frantically shushing a toddler while a crucial penalty is taken. Enjoying the game." Fair point, Joanne. Martin Peters asks for a view: "Seeing a player being attended to by the doctor or trainer (not sure which) while play was still going on, I was wondering: has this always happened in rugby? What would happen if the players collided or interfered with the injured player (or vice versa, of course)? I can't think of any other ball games in which this sort of thing happens." It's been going on for about 15 years, I think, Martin.
24 mins: England making progress up the left, adding drive to drive, Easter getting feet, Haskell a couple of yards then Louis Deacon loses possession and Wales break with Craig Mitchell out to Stoddart who turns on the speed, makes 40 metres but is forced out into touch just on the 22.
26 min: England win the lineout and Youngs kicks. Wales drive and stretch England across to the right through Bradley Davies's surge and then come back inside and Deacon puts his hand out to stop Phillips recycling from the ruck and Deacon is off to the bin.
Penalty!!: Wales 6-10 England (Jones) A gimme from 15 metres and Wales have 10 minutes with the extra man
30 mins: England have a minute's possession after the kick off and lay siege between the 10 and 22, making slow progress, feet at a time until Andy Powell has a fly kick at the ball out of the side of a ruck and he's offside. The BBC have just shown Tom Wood having a bit of thinking time before tackling Mike Phillips as Wales broke to score their last penalty. Dawdling I think teachers used to call it.
Penalty!! Wales 6-13 England (Flood)
34 mins: Matt Rees overthrows from the lineout that came seconds after the restart and Youngs whips around the back but knocks on. Scrum down. But time out while Andy Powell goes off for treatment. Ryan Jones comes on to huge shouts of encouragement.
35 mins: England win the scrum against the head, Haskell peels off to be fed and makes 20 metres, passes to Flood who kicks along the ground but Wales recover ball.
37 mins: Beautiful crossfield kick from Jones intended for Stoddart who makes ground but knocks on with his fingertips.
38 mins: A few scoring problems that would have been enhanced by a couple of pints. Sorry about that, should be fixed now. England haven't looked like a team with 14 men so far or Wales have failed to make their advantage work.
40 mins: Knock on by Foden as Wales kicked forward, attacking up the left Lydiate I think. Scrum though the 40 minutes are up, won by Wales. Warburton peels off the maul and finds Shane Williams who kicks behind the goalline for Stoddart to chase but Engalnd get back to usher it out. That's half-time.
Half time: Colin Charvis thinks England are efficiently building victory, while Wales are careering around at the very edge of their capabilities. England, he thinks, look ruthless, not committing too many players to the break, saving something to ensure they are there for 80 minutes. John Blakeman writes: "My Welsh colleague is holed up in his office at our university here in Wisconsin reading your match coverage. Don't you think he should be in the classroom teaching his students?? At least BBC America is showing some of the matches live this year, starting on Saturday." That's good news for Lexham Fox who is having troubles further west: "I'm here in sunny California near noon and we have to pay $20 to watch the game in a pub. If they want to grow the sport they have to stop making deals like this which prevent exposure of new fans to this greatest of sports. Wish I could watch but money is tight these days."
They're back on the pitch: And Jonathan Davies is saying Shane Williams is being wasted, picking wrong positions and running the wrong angle that reflects a lack of confidence and game time.
41 mins: Ryan Jones catches from the kick off and drives, England recover and Flood kicks long but doesn't find touch. Stephen Jones and Hook switch to the right and find Stoddart who gets bogged down and Wales recycle.
42 mins: They work the ball left to Shane Williams, England slowing the ruck down and give away a daft penalty, for Ashton handling in the ruck.
Penalty!! Wales 9-13 England (Jones) From wide on the left about 25 metres out. Lovely strong kick.
44 mins: England lineout caught by Palmer on halfway. Driving maul and the ball goes out for another England lineout AW Jones getting his hand in to knock it nout.
45 mins: England win the lineout, Deacon catching and the ball comes across the field to the left and Cueto does his Jason Robinson quickstep, passes inside but Craig Mitchell slows down the ruck with his hands and is yellow carded. England penalty.
Penalty!! Wales 9-16 England (Flood) Excellent, composed kick from about 35 metres, straightish and true.
45 mins: Mark Guthrie writes: "Me and a few mates are holed up in a workshop in the Swedish Hinterland trying to watch the game on a makeshift projector and screen. Despite the fact that they should be finishing their work for the Stockholm Furniture Fair, we are spending our time scrambling around the nether regions of the internet trying to find a working link without success. Can anyone help?" I'll pass it on if you let me know.
48 mins: Wales building from halfway through Phillips and Jonathan Davies out to Rees who pops it to the right and Shane Williams but Tindall pushes him backwards and Wales patiently start again.
51 mins: A trip missed by the referee and Moore goes mad, saying the citing commissioner will do the perpetrator after the match. Jonathan Davies I think. England are in Wales' 22, Easter driving three defenders back, crash ball back by England and Stoddart looks to have pinged his groin in the tackle.
53 mins: Wales scrum on five metres after England knocked on, straining to get over the line. James goes to tighthead, Yapp to loosehead. Great scrum by Wales, held ground and Ryan Jones peels off the back, to Phillips who kicks for touch 25 metres out.
55 mins: Palmer wins the lineout, England move infield then switch it to Foden on the left, he kicks forward but Hook scrambles possession but England are all oover him and forceWales back inside the five. They kick for touch 10 metres out. Hartley finds Palmer and England drive.
Try!! Wales 9-21 England (Ashton)
Conversion: Wales 9-23 England (Flood)
57 mins: Excellent try after Palmer won the lineout and passed to Haskell via Youngs then the second row made a fine burst into space 10 metres out, fed Cueto who lobbed a pass over the centres to Ashton by the right touchline five metres out and he burst forward over the line.
57 mins: Thanks to Andrew Jones for making Mark Guthrie happy in Sweden.
Try!! Wales 14-23 England (Stoddart)
Conversion!! Wales 16-23 England (Jones)
61 mins: England make their first major defensive mistake with Wales camped in England's 22. Stephen Jones makes ground and passes to Jonathan Davies, drawing Hape too far forward and breaking England's cover. Davies passes, awkwardly, to Stoddart who manages to check and turn to gather and power two metres over the line.
England substitutions: Sheridan off Wilson on. Haskell off Worsley on.
63 mins: Ben Youngs goes off too and Danny Care is on. Tactical substitution, not an injury one.
64 mins: Toby Flood takes a huge hit, picked up by Ryan Jones and gets whacked. Time off.
64 mins: Brilliant kick for touch from Flood, recovered but he must be shaky. It's eight metres from the Wales line. Palmer wins the lineout and England's rolling maul pushes Wales further back but Wales counter ruck and recover. Well done Wales.
66 mins: Forward pass from Flood gives Wales the put in midway between their 22 and 10 metre line. Penalty to Wales for Wilson not binding in the scrum.
66 mins: Here's Jonny!
68 mins: Lee Byrne comes on for Stephen Jones and Hook goes to out half. Wales inside England's 10 and Phillips takes the abll out of a ruck and passes to Shane Williams but he's stopped. The forwards take it on and make ground but get no advantage andthey get the penalty for Hape interfering at the breakdown, driving in from the side.
Penalty!! Wales 19-23 England (Hook) After treatment for cramp in his calf, Hook gets up to kick the goal from about 24 metres. A suitable punishment for Hape's silliness.
70 mins: Shaw on for Deacon and Thompson on for Hartley. Jonathan Thomas on for Wales and Dwayne Peel too for Mike Phillips.
71 mins: England lineout 15 metres out. Palmer wins it again and the driving maul begins. Shaw grappling and driving. A metre short of the line now.
71 mins: Dan Cole drives but is held up on the line, then Wilson.
72 mins: A metre out still and the backs split. Worsley to Easter and they actually lose ground. Yapp wrestling away.
73 mins: Five metres back and Wales get the penalty. Fine defence from Wales, too one dimensional from England.
74 mins: Wales kick to touch and win the lineout. Bradley Davies on the crash stopped before his 10 metre line and Wales go back. Lee Byrne doesn't release when tackled and England get the penalty 30 metres out.
Penalty!! Wales 19-26 England (Wilkinson) As good as he ever was with that kick. A banker for him, really.
77 mins: Hape tackled with brutal but fair force by Jonathan Davies as he tries to run it back from the kick off. Out for a lineout that's hurled over the top and Wales are held up by Shaw and Palmer in midfield.
78 mins: Wales attacking up the right flank now through Lee Byrne but England stall them and Wales are slowed but retain possession, Wilkinson smashing Hook in the tackle and he doesn't release. England penalty in their own half. Toby Flood is Brian Moore's man of the match.
80mins: Into touch from Wilkinson but Wales win the lineout. They try to crash over the gainline but England hold them up but then they work the overlap on the right and Stoddart gives it to Hook and switches it left again.
80 mins: Peel tackled and England regain possession. Danny Care boots it into touch and England win.
Final thoughts: England were very clinical but still conceded silly penalties, their age old achilles heel. Wales had some vim in the backs and power in the forwards but, as Moore pointed out, they kept running laterally, not making enough forward bursts over the famed gainline. I thought Youngs played well for Engalnd and Easter, too, but Flood is the stand-out man in white, coming of age since joining Leicester. Wales need to get Hook in the game more and trust him to deliver. "The distant roaring is the England fans in Austria," writes Mike Tittensor. And here's Val Davey: "You can see Johnson's NFL interest in the blocking lines England have run today. I know the Kwis have been doing it for years, but that doesn't make it legal (Wales have done it as well, so have I missed a rule change?)" You haven't Val, everyone turns a Nelsonian eye to it. Thanks for all your emails and sorry for a daft scoring error earlier. Excitement got the better of me. Good night.
