Watch the tries that keep Wales’ Grand Slam bid on track

Wales set a new record of 12 consecutive Test victories by beating England 21-13 at the Principality Stadium to keep their Six Nations Grand Slam bid on track.

England had led 10-3 at half-time in a ferociously physical Test match but Wales chipped away at that lead in the second period with a couple of Gareth Anscombe penalties before Cory Hill and Josh Adams both crossed in the last 12 minutes.

The Hill try came after a 30-plus phases move that lasted four minutes in and around England’s 22 and included a series of pick-and-goes.

The closing phases of the move involved a long pass to George North, who surged towards the line but was brought down two metres short.

The ball was recycled, Dan Biggar feeding Hill and despite both Harry Williams and Billy Vunipola tackling the lock he managed to touch down on the line.

Watch the Cory Hill try here…

Biggar converted to give Wales a 16-13 lead – then came the Adams juggling act.

Wales had penalty advantage from a scrum and Biggar launched a cross-field kick towards Adams. The winger jumped above Elliot Daly and managed to keep hold of the ball as he juggled it between his hands and then stretched over the line.

Watch the Josh Adams try here…

The roar from the crowd at that moment was huge and beer went flying all around the stadium as Wales fans celebrated.

Wales dealt with the England kicking game – so effective in the first two rounds – extremely well, with full-back Liam Williams named Man of the Match. And they closed down the half-backs quickly so Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell didn’t have so much time to put boot to ball.

It was a tight, feisty affair, with several scuffles breaking out in the second half, and some of the tackles going in were brutal. There were myriad double hits to stop players’ momentum or even drive them back in the tackle.

Here’s a statistic to illustrate the defensive effort: England’s Kyle Sinckler and Tom Curry both made 16 tackles in that first 40 minutes.

Related: Downtime with Kyle Sinckler

The two defences didn’t allow either side to break through into open space too often. Curry did find a gap in the 25^th minute, breaking from a ruck near the Welsh line to score.

Yet it was Wales’ patience in that final quarter that reaped dividends, with the tries from Hill and Adams proving crucial.

Wales head to Scotland in round four and face Ireland at home in their final game, so the clean sweep is far from sealed – and England could still lift the title – but it is in the hands of Warren Gatland’s side.

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