RBS Six Nations: Warren Gatland and Sam Warburton hail England spirit after Wales defeat
Saturday 7 February 2015 07:10, UK
Wales coach Warren Gatland and captain Sam Warburton both admitted England deserved their 21-16 victory at the Millennium Stadium in Friday's thrilling RBS Six Nations opener.
Bath trio Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and George Ford contributed the points as England sunk Wales in Cardiff and subsequently gained revenge for their 2013 heartache.
Last time England were in the Millennium Stadium they suffered an embarrassing 30-3 defeat that saw Wales clinch the Six Nations, but tries from Watson and Joseph along with 11 kicked points from Ford proved the difference in Friday night's Championship curtain-raiser.
Wales boss Gatland paid tribute to England's second-half show, despite clear frustrations over his side throwing away the 16-8 advantage they held at half-time.
"Give England credit, I thought they played particularly well in the second half," he said.
"I thought we started the game well and played pretty well in the first half, were reasonably comfortable at half-time, but we weren't able to score points in the second half and that sometimes happens at top-level sport."
There was a question mark afterwards over George North being allowed to play the whole game, despite picking up several heavy knocks, and some were questioning if he was showing signs of concussion.
Gatland belayed those fears and backed his medical team, adding: "Well that's part of the medical protocol.
“The medical team wouldn't have let him back on the field unless they felt 100 per cent confident that he was okay, so you've got to back your medical team and I haven't spoken to them about it. George seems fine."
Wales captain Sam Warburton, who made more tackles (17) than any of his compatriots, believes England were worthy winners given their second half display.
“I thought England played very well in the second half,” admitted Warburton. “They got the momentum and I thought they did very well at the breakdown with choke tackles.
“They won turnover ball, scrums and penalties from us. We needed to get a foot hold in the game in that second half and we couldn’t do it.
“They deserve a lot of credit, they outplayed us in that second half and deserve the win.”
