Wales knew choking England enough would see discipline crack - Callum Sheedy
Callum Sheedy says Wales knew that England’s discipline would crack “if we could choke them enough” after he put the boot into Eddie Jones’ team.
England conceded a damaging 14 penalties in their 40-24 Guinness Six Nations defeat at the Principality Stadium.
And they imploded during the final quarter when substitute Sheedy kicked three penalties in nine minutes during a 16-point unanswered burst by Wales that meant Triple Crown glory and left them two wins away from a second Grand Slam in three seasons.
“It’s tough to say whether you are surprised teams give away penalties,” Bristol fly-half Sheedy said.
“It is like anything – if a team is under pressure, discipline starts to get a bit wavy.
“I haven’t watched the game back and whether they were, or were not, penalties. I don’t really care, to be honest.
“We knew if we could choke them enough, they would get ill-disciplined. Thankfully, that happened.”
While England begin to pick through the pieces of a Six Nations campaign in rubble, Wales march on with 14 points from a possible 15 in this season’s competition.
Tournament no-hopers Italy are next up on March 13, before Sheedy and company head to Paris for a Saturday night appointment with France seven days later.
Victories in both games would secure a fifth Six Nations clean sweep and sixth title, but Sheedy knows how quickly things can change – for better or worse.
Welsh rugby fans right now… pic.twitter.com/wehMDbJLuw
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 27, 2021
“I couldn’t kick snow off a rope two weeks ago (against Scotland), according to the public, and now I will probably be a decent kicker!” he added.
“The people who build you up are the same people who shoot you down. You’ve got to take it with a pinch of salt.
“I hope the Welsh people enjoy this win, as they should. In tough, testing times, it’s great to get a win over England, and they should enjoy every minute of it.”
Sheedy is just seven Tests into his international career, yet he has already proved an integral part of Wales’ armoury under head coach Wayne Pivac.
A humble Eddie Jones is full of praise for Wales rugby ? pic.twitter.com/tF4OZiMpbM
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 27, 2021
And the 25-year-old has been around long enough to understand that this season’s big Six Nations prizes are still to be achieved.
“Let’s take each game as it comes and not get carried away with Grand Slam chat,” he said. “We will keep our feet firmly on the ground. We will enjoy the Triple Crown, and then a big week ahead of Italy.
“Grand Slam might be said in the public, but it won’t be said in the circle. (Captain) Alun Wyn Jones won’t let it.
“Al, I know for a fact, won’t let any complacency get into this squad, and rightly so. We haven’t done anything yet.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments