Biggar says ‘serious questions’ need to be asked of Wales display and England explain haka response
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Here are your rugby morning headlines for Sunday, November 16.
Biggar: Serious questions need to be asked
Wales legend Dan Biggar says “serious questions need to be asked” following Wales’ win over Japan.
Despite bagging a last-gasp victory, Wales were poor for the majority of the game. In the first half it was a particularly under par showing, with a litany of mistakes plaguing their match.
From dropped balls to failed lineouts, Steve Tandy’s side struggled to find their rhythm against the Brave Blossoms but were saved by a fantastic kick from Jarrod Evans at the death.
Also, after two yellow cards in the opening period, there were four minutes where Wales had a two-man advantage over their opponents but failed to make the most of it.
Speaking about the performance on TNT Sports, Biggar recognised the lack of ruthlessness Wales had when they had two more men then Japan, while noting that we must get behind the coaching group after a very important win.
“It was vital, the result was vital,” he said. “Now, when we go into the deep dive of this, the performance will need serious, serious questions in terms of how sort of lateral they were, in terms of not taking advantage of Japan down to 13. But for the meantime, let’s get behind the coaching group.
“They’ve managed to get over the line. It was a real poor performance for 79 minutes, probably, but they showed some bottle to come back last week when they were 14-0 down and they showed some bottle there, 80 metres from their line to come out and win this game in terms of the right call, being accurate, just really, really good. “
All Blacks boss fires Wales warning after England defeat
New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson has issued a stark warning to Wales ahead of next weekend’s showdown in Cardiff, insisting his side will respond with “hunger” after slipping to a bruising defeat against England.
The All Blacks saw their Grand Slam hopes crushed at Twickenham as England took their chances in clinical fashion, landing two drop-goals and capitalising on a yellow card early in the second half to seize control of the contest.
Robertson admitted his team were “pretty disappointed” with the loss but vowed a fierce reaction when they arrive at the Principality Stadium.
“England took their opportunities and we didn’t,” he told the BBC. “They played some good rugby and put the pressure on. They got a couple of drop-goals and got momentum off the back of that.
“We played some really good rugby but we didn’t capitalise enough. We are pretty disappointed but we will get hungry again to make sure we finish off our tour proud.”
Speaking to Sky Sports, Robertson said New Zealand had only themselves to blame after failing to execute key moments.
“We had opportunities, we started playing the way we wanted to with really good structure,” he said. “Then we had a couple of kicks for the corner, a couple of fundamental things that we didn’t do that well.
“They came back and got momentum off a couple of drop goals and the yellow card after halftime, and the game changed a little bit.”
Robertson also reflected on his side’s missed chance to complete a Grand Slam, admitting the defeat had hit the dressing room hard.
“Grand Slams are tough. They are incredibly tough. It’s hard to do,” he said. “We are just so disappointed. We put everything on it. There will be a lot of emotional people in the changing room.”
Wales now face an All Blacks side stung by failure and determined to end their tour on a high, setting up a blockbuster occasion in Cardiff next week.
England explain haka challenge and bizarre Pollock moment
England’s players have lifted the lid on their extraordinary pre-match challenge to New Zealand’s haka and the bizarre moment flanker Henry Pollock stared down the All Blacks while licking his lips.
The moment came ahead of England’s momentous win over the All Blacks, as Steve Borthwick’s side broke from their usual line and marched into a ‘V’ formation while the haka rang out. The move immediately drew “echoes of Yokohama”, a clear nod to England’s famous 2019 World Cup semi-final performance, when they used the same shape before stunning New Zealand.
England captain Maro Itoje revealed the response was carefully planned by the squad’s leadership group.
“As a group of leaders, we came up with what you guys saw,” he said. “It was just our response to what they did. We were trying to achieve the same thing they were trying to achieve.
“The haka is a war dance… it has huge spiritual meaning to New Zealanders. Our response was to show ourselves, the team and the stadium that we were ready for the challenge.”
Try-scorer Fraser Dingwall explained that the formation wasn’t just symbolic, it followed a specific structure, placing England’s oldest and youngest players at the tip of each arm of the ‘V’.
“I think it was a throwback to 2019,” he told TNT Sports. “The idea was that the oldest player, Jamie George, was on one side, and the youngest, Henry Pollock, on the other — which fits quite nicely, doesn’t it?
“Then we had Maro, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ellis Genge in the middle. It was just a really nice moment, a way of lifting the crowd and showing our intent.”
The moment that caught fans’ attention, however, was Pollock channelling his inner Owen Farrell — the teenager standing calmly, even smiling, as the haka reached its climax, a scene already being replayed widely online.
The confrontation set the tone for an epic Test match, with England staging a thrilling comeback to beat New Zealand and leave the All Blacks facing fierce scrutiny ahead of next week’s clash with Wales in Cardiff.
Welsh-qualified centre impresses on debut
Welsh-qualified Zack Wimbush earned rave reviews after scoring a try on debut in the English Championship.
The centre is on loan at Cornish Pirates from Exeter Chiefs and scored during the Cornwall side’s 52-0 drubbing of Cambridge.
Wimbush, who was born in Hong Kong, qualifies through Wales through his mother’s side of the family, with the relevant paperwork proving that fact coming through last year. However, the 22-year-old is also eligible to play for England.
After scoring, the Pirates put on social media: “Zack Wimbush powers over on his debut. A big impact since coming on!
“A memorable debut. From a barnstorming first touch to a debut try, how big an impact did Zack Wimbush make when he came on?!”
The 13 jersey has been difficult for Wales to fill since Jonathan Davies and then George North stepped away from the international game.
Max Llewellyn has started there the last two weeks and has failed to really grab his opportunity with both hands, with some believing Wimbush should be far closer to the Wales setup than he appears to be – notwithstanding that he is playing in English rugby’s second tier at present.
Pirates fan Steve wrote on X: “I watched a 6f 6 inch, 115 kg centre today in the English Championship. Zack Wimbush, on loan at Pirates from Exeter. Absolutely terrifying, to watch. He could be a generational talent if he stays fit!”
Hansen scores hat-trick in Ireland’s Australia rout
By Edward Elliot, PA, Dublin
Mack Hansen claimed a first-half hat-trick to set Ireland on course for a record 46-19 win over his native Australia in Dublin.
Canberra-born Hansen, who started at full-back for the first time at Test level, celebrated his return from a foot injury by crossing three times in the opening 28 minutes to delight a capacity Aviva Stadium crowd.
Second-half scores from Caelan Doris, Ryan Baird and Robbie Henshaw ensured head coach Andy Farrell again came out on top against former Ireland boss Joe Schmidt.
Australia trailed by just five points at the break following converted tries from Len Ikitau and Fraser McReight and claimed a late consolation through Billy Pollard.
But Ireland were deserved winners ahead of completing their autumn campaign at home to world champions South Africa next weekend.
Fly-half Sam Prendergast kicked seven points, including a drop goal, for the dominant hosts, before his replacement Jack Crowley slotted a further nine.
Farrell led the British and Irish Lions to a 2-1 series victory over Schmidt’s Wallabies in the summer following Ireland’s 22-19 victory over the same opponents last November.
His side – showing nine personnel changes from last weekend’s disjointed 41-10 success over Japan – were rewarded for a rapid start on a soggy Saturday evening.
Hansen crossed twice in the opening 11 minutes, diving under the posts after being teed up by Stuart McCloskey following a quick-tap penalty before collecting a Prendergast pass to register a carbon-copy effort.
Australia, who suffered a shock defeat to Italy last weekend and had lost five of their previous six Tests, responded when centre Ikitau beat Prendergast to barrel over.
Hansen, whose mother hails from Cork, then further punished his homeland, powering across the line wide on the right after Prendergast’s crossfield kick was spilled backwards by Tommy O’Brien.
Yet the Wallabies were only 19-14 behind at the interval as flanker McReight crashed over in the final play of the half, with fly-half James O’Connor adding his second conversion.
Ireland had struggled to set pulses racing with their performances this month and would have been eager to secure greater control of the scoreboard.
After hooker Dan Sheehan was held up on the line, Prendergast nailed a drop goal from distance before providing a sumptuous crossfield kick assist for O’Brien, only for the score to be disallowed for a knock on in the build-up.
Crowley – on in place of the impressive Prendergast – slotted a penalty to stretch the score to 25-14.
Captain Doris then bulldozed over at the end of sustained pressure, with Crowley adding a tricky conversion, before Australia were left to play the final 10 minutes a man down after replacement lock Nick Frost was sin-binned for a high tackle on Tom Clarkson in the build up.
Despite the Wallabies’ numerical disadvantage, replacement hooker Pollard went over to reduce the deficit.
But Ireland twice responded to seal an emphatic, six-try victory, with Baird crashing over before Henshaw raced clear down the left after being released by a sensational kick from Jamison Gibson-Park.
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