Rugby: Woeful Wales - lucky to come second

WALES were lucky to come second after another hiding at the hands of the old enemy, this time by a record margin at Twickenham on Saturday.

The saddest part of all from a Welsh point of view is that England didn't have to break sweat to rack up a half century of points.

It was all so predictable and despite words of comfort, almost of a condescending nature from England chief Clive Woodward about Wales' defence, it was just no contest.

In the past three matches between the countries at Twickenham Wales have conceded a massive 156 points.

At this rate England will be dropping the fixture, just as they stopped playing Wales at soccer some years ago.

There's not much point going on like this, whether it is because the fixture no longer provides England with a meaningful test or whether it is because Wales are now languishing so far behind it is pointless for them as well.

One thing for sure, though, is that unless the Welsh Rugby Union and the clubs grasp professionalism properly there really will be no hope.

Unless the Union and the smaller clubs allow elitism to become something other than a dirty word and give the bigger teams and their benefactors the tools to do the job, Welsh rugby at national and European club level will be dragged down and down.

Not only did England declare at the half century mark, but they were able to do so without the considerable presences of skipper Martin Johnson, Jason Robinson and Phil Vickery. If Robinson had been playing and at his peak then the damage could have been even more severe.

Wales were able to beat England at under-21 level on Friday night as Newport's Michael Hook scored 21 points, and at A level, but at senior level there is a yawning gap.

Whether that can be breached depends on whether the game at the top end is allowed to develop properly by breaking free of the dead wood.

It simply cannot go on like this. Wales may have threatened at the outset on Saturday with the ball going through half-a-dozen phases, but there was no cutting edge and they failed to score.

After that there was never any doubt, and England did not even have to perform at their peak to win by a record margin. It was painful for a Welshman.

Another record fell, this time to Jonny Wilkinson with his 30-point haul from a try, dropped goal, four penalties and five conversions, in the process becoming the first English player to top 500 points.

The Welsh set pieces were abysmal, with the line-out a continuing shambles, often losing their own ball or unable to secure decent possession because of Robin McBryde's poor throwing in or England pressure.

And the scrums were also unstable as the power of the England eight came through, though Wales were not helped by skipper Scott Quinnell's refusal to get down and push.

England nullified the twin threat of Quinnell and Rob Howley, meaning that Wales possessed little or no threat.

They were brave in defence, for sure, Nathan Budgett setting a stirring example, while Craig Morgan and Kevin Morgan showed touches of class.

Though conceding 31 points in the second half, it could have been worse for Wales as they had to produce last-ditch tackles to keep England at bay.

They still cracked as Dan Luger's quickfire double opened up Wales twice in three second half minutes.

Both of them came after awful handling errors by Wales which are fatal at this level.

Harris made a howler while Andy Marinos' hands let him down as well.

Will Greenwood had blasted through for a trademark opening try, while Wilkinson got the all-important early second half score as he shuffled outside Marinos and over.

Then came Luger's double and finally replacement Tim Stimpson raced across in injury time, given the benefit of the doubt by the video referee.

Wilkinson's slide rule kicking did the rest and Iestyn Harris' 72nd minute effort with a neat dummy and sidestep was but a consolation.

Where now for Wales? It's tempting just to throw the arms up in the air and give in. But if the WRU and the body of clubs don't give Wales a chance at the extraordinary meeting a week Sunday then it really will be the end.

England: A Healey, D Luger, M Tindall (T Stimpson 63 mins), W Greenwood, B Cohen, J Wilkinson, K Bracken (M Dawson 59), G Rowntree, S Thompson (D West 74), J White, D Grewcock, B Kay (M Corry 17-27), L Moodey (J Worsley 42-51), R Hill (Worsley 80), N Back (captain).

Scorers -- tries: Dan Luger (2), Will Greenwood, Jonny Wilkinson, Tim Stimpson; conversions: Wilkinson (5); penalties: Wilkinson (4); dropped goal: Wilkinson. Wales: K Morgan, D James, G Thomas (R Williams 48), A Marinos, C Morgan, I Harris, R Howley (D Peel 59), I Thomas, R McBryde (B Williams 65), C Anthony, A Moore, C Wyatt (G Llewellyn 54), N Budgett, S Quinnell (captain), M Williams (C Charvis 50). Scorers -- try: Iestyn Harris; conversion: Harris; penalty: Harris.

Our picture shows Wales captain Scott Quinell taking a tackle from England wing Ben Cohen