England vs. Wales

England 15 def. Wales 12

[no comp]

England
15
12
Wales
Match Info
Match URL www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/14985
Status Completed
Date Friday, 19th June, 1998
Referee John Connolly (Wigan)
Venue Naughton (Widnes)
Crowd 5,154
England Scoresheet Wales
Paul DAVIDSON T Keiron CUNNINGHAM
Andy HAY   Daio POWELL
 
Graham HOLROYD 3 G 2 Iestyn HARRIS
 
Sean LONG FG    
England Teams Wales
Gary BROADBENT
[Salford]
1 FB 1 Paul ATCHESON
[St Helens]
Paul STERLING
[Leeds]
2 W 2 Jason CRITCHLEY
[Castleford]
Nathan McAVOY
[Salford]
3 C 3 Damian GIBSON
[Halifax]
Keith SENIOR
[Sheffield]
4 C 4 Daio POWELL
[Halifax]
Francis CUMMINS
[Leeds]
5 W 5 Anthony SULLIVAN
[St Helens]
 
Graham HOLROYD
[Leeds]
6 FE 6 Iestyn HARRIS
[Leeds]
Sean LONG
[St Helens]
7 HB 7 Lee BRIERS
[Warrington]
 
Steve MOLLOY
[Sheffield]
8 FR 8 Kelvin SKERRETT (c)
[Halifax]
Paul ROWLEY
[Halifax]
9 HK 9 Keiron CUNNINGHAM
[St Helens]
Darren FLEARY
[Leeds]
10 FR 10 Neil COWIE
[Wigan]
Simon HAUGHTON
[Wigan]
11 2R 11 Dean BUSBY
[Hull]
Andy HAY
[Leeds]
12 2R 12 Richie EYRES
Lee GILMOUR
[Wigan]
13 L 13 Karle HAMMOND
[St Helens]
 
Mark HILTON
[Warrington]
14 B 14 Gareth STEPHENS
[Sheffield]
Paul DAVIDSON
[St Helens]
15 B 15 Martin HALL
[Halifax]
Paul JOHNSON
[Wigan]
16 B 16 Rowland PHILLIPS
Danny ORR
[Castleford]
17 B 17 Martin PEARSON
[Halifax]
 
    HC   Clive GRIFFITHS
   
 

Team Info

England

Previous Game:
European Championship 1996 - Game 1 vs. Wales
Next Game:
Anglo-French Challenge 1999 - Game 1 vs. France
Out:
Steve Prescott (fullback), Jason Robinson (wing), Gary Connolly (centre), John Bentley (wing), Daryl Powell (five-eighth), Shaun Edwards (halfback), Paul Broadbent (front row), Johnny Lawless (hooker), Chris Joynt (second row), Paul Sculthorpe (second row), Andy Farrell (lock), Steve Blakeley (bench), Bobbie Goulding (bench), Barrie McDermott (bench), Mick Cassidy (bench)
In:
Gary Broadbent (fullback), Paul Sterling (wing), Keith Senior (centre), Francis Cummins (wing), Graham Holroyd (five-eighth), Sean Long (halfback), Paul Rowley (hooker), Darren Fleary (front row), Simon Haughton (second row), Andy Hay (second row), Lee Gilmour (lock), Mark Hilton (bench), Paul Davidson (bench), Paul Johnson (bench), Danny Orr (bench)

Wales

Previous Game:
European Championship 1996 - Game 1 vs. England
Next Game:
Triangular Series 1999 - Game 1 vs. Ireland
Out:
Diccon Edwards (wing), Allan Bateman (centre), Gareth Davies (centre), Ian Watson (halfback), Mark Jones (front row), Paul Moriarty (second row), Mark Perrett (second row), Chris Morley (lock), Richard Webster (bench)
In:
Damian Gibson (centre), Daio Powell (centre), Anthony Sullivan (wing), Lee Briers (halfback), Kelvin Skerrett (front row), Dean Busby (second row), Richie Eyres (second row), Karle Hammond (lock), Martin Pearson (bench)

Match Report

Wales took on England in the middle of the "On the Road" Super League fixtures, with Andy Goodway selecting a largely young side with a view to trying out players for the Great Britain series against New Zealand.

Wales played a more expansive game than their opponents and led for most of the game. Atcheson combined with Harris to send Daio Powell in for the game's opening try. England struck back with Keith Senior putting Hay over for a score from close, but Wales took a lead to half-time when Cunningham charged through the defence from Karle Hammond's offload. Wales played the last ten minutes of the half with Jason Critchley in the sin bin for a professional foul.

That was unfortunately as good as it got for the Dragons and though they held the English off for most of the second half, a crunching tackle from Darren Fleary on
Atcheson saw the ball pop loose and Sean Long set up Davidson on an unstoppable run through two Welsh tackles for a try under the posts. Long hit a drop goal shortly before the whistle to emphasise the victory.

Wigan prop Neil Cowie was the best player on show for Wales, though Iestyn Harris produced a typical rock solid effort in defence.

Source: WalesRL.co.uk

Contributions: Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson