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It was the wrong decison, quite obviously. A draw would have done.
So it was an incorrect decision, followed up by a second incorrect decision to throw to the front. The reason they threw to the front was to reduce risk, that's why you throw there. SO they new it was risky.
Wales put Charteris alongside the bloke who caught it, so arguably, England were looking to double bluff by throwing it to a potential danger point. I actually really admire the decision to go for the win. Of course I'm delighted that Wales won, but my estimation of England went up as a result of their boldness.
It might well be bold, ut it was a mistake never the less.
Still, the MAIN problem was England had control of the game, substituted incorrectly and lost it, well done to Wales for keeping at it, fantastic effort.
The more I think about the decision to kick for the corner, the more stupid it gets... even if Farrell had missed it (and he hadn't looked like missing a kick all night), then at least we'd have got the ball back from the drop out with 2mins to play... whereas if he'd kicked it we'd have had a chance to get back into the Welsh half and win the game or at worse the tie would have left us still in prime position to win the group (because of the Fiji bonus point).
Dave A brought up rugby league, and there was a very similar situation in the final game of the regular season on Friday night; with a very different result. Trailing by 2pts (i.e. the value of a penalty in League) with 2mins left Leeds Rhinos were awarded a penalty in almost the same position as THAT England penalty. They knew a win would secure the League Leaders trophy or a draw would *only* secure 2nd place in the league and a home tie in the play-offs. Leeds decided to secure 2nd place on the league, knowing qualification into the play-offs was the most important thing (and potentially giving up on the £100k winners cheque), and kicked the penalty... and then did this from the restart.
while, of course, going for the win now seems a mistake, my memory is a loud cheer from the crowd when England kicked to touch. It was certainly a move that was supported by the vast majority of the crowd. True, it's the job of a team to make the right choice and not the emotional choice, but I reckon if you could go back and take a straw poll at that moment, the majority of england fans would have said go for the win.
The mistake, IMO, was in how they handled the line out, not in going for the win.
It's not about bravery, it's about decision making. The Charge of the Light Brigade was brave. Throwing it short was another poor decision when Wales had looked vulnerable at set pieces all match.
Japan made the right decision when they went for the try, a draw did very little for them in the grand scheme of things, while a win is not just historic but gives them an outside chance of progressing. (I know it's unlikely but better than nothing.) England did not, a draw left everything to play for while a loss leaves us on the brink of elimination.
Who cares about what the majority of England fans thought at the time? Robshaw should have been making the decision based upon what was best to put the team in the best position to win the World Cup... and the best way of doing that was to get back on level terms and starting again. It's interesting that most of the "experts" all said that not taking the points when on offer was the wrong decision.
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Rugby, the original version
May 2025