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Simon Thomas

The best tackle of Sam Warburton's life as England star was mugged in game Leigh Halfpenny didn't even know Wales had won

It’s now 10 years, virtually to the day, since Wales last beat England in a Six Nations match at Twickenham.

That 2012 clash was something of a rarity as the visitors went into the game as firm favourites.

They had opened their Championship campaign with victories over Ireland and Scotland, while England had only just squeezed past Italy in the previous round.

But under new head coach Stuart Lancaster, an unfancied young English side rose to the challenge, with 20-year Owen Farrell kicking them into a 12-6 lead after half-time.

In the end, Warren Gatland’s Wales prevailed 19-12 to claim the Triple Crown on the way to the Grand Slam.

But it was a tight old affair which really came down to three key moments - two try-saving tackles and one stunning individual score.

Here then is the story of that February day from the men at the heart of the Welsh win.

It’s a real ripping yarn!

Read next: The latest England v Wales headlines ahead of the weekend

Tackle No 1

The 2012 Twickenham triumph saw Wales captain Sam Warburton produce one of the performances of his career to earn the Man of the Match award.

But he very nearly didn’t take the field and ended up playing a fair chunk of the game on pretty much one leg, making his display all the more remarkable.

He had missed the victory over Scotland due to a dead leg and was still struggling with it in the build-up to the England fixture, so much so that he didn’t do any contact work.

But he just managed to prove his fitness in time and proceeded to have arguably his finest game for his country, despite taking a further bang to the knee.

The Cardiff flanker set the tone early on by winning a trademark jackal penalty over the ball and then, later on in the first half, came his moment of the match.

England were 9-6 up and they looked certain to extend their lead when a motoring Manu Tuilagi received the ball out on left, some seven metres from the Welsh line.

There seemed no stopping him, only for Warburton to pull off a superb lassooing tackle around the ankles of the young centre to bring him to the deck.

“They had broken our line and I saw we only had Alex Cuthbert defending on the blindside,” he recalls in his book Refuse To Be Denied.

“I saw Tuilagi get the ball and, luckily, it was a side-on tackle which always makes it a bit easier.

“I was thinking ‘Close your eyes and dive at his ankles’.

“I suppose you’ve got to be willing to fly in head first and break your nose.

“I wanted to go as low as I could to get away from his fend. I did that and I hung on to him for dear life.

“I didn’t break my nose, but I did cut my eye open.

“It was the sort of chop tackle we practised regularly and I just held on long enough so he couldn’t make the line.

“It felt like a normal tackle at the time, but now I realise it was rather more important than that.”

The now-retired Warburton spoke further about the incident a couple of years ago when talking to the BBC.

“Manu had the ball and was going for the try line and he very rarely gets stopped from ten metres out,” said the two-times Lions skipper.

“I remember thinking just go as low as I can and just wrap round his legs.

“I thought nothing of it at the time, but then when I watched the game back, I thought ‘Well, actually that was probably the best tackle I performed in my career’.”

The Try

Wales had crucially managed to survive the 10-minute period during the middle of the second half when No 10 Rhys Priestland was in the sin-bin and it was all square.

With just four minutes to go, the teams were tied at 12-12.

It was then that Scott Williams wrote himself into England-Wales folklore.

The then 21-year-old Scarlets centre had come on as a half-time replacement for Jamie Roberts, who had hurt his knee.

It was just his second Six Nations appearance, but it’s one that will forever be remembered.

With the game hanging in the balance, England’s Courtney Lawes carried the ball up over halfway only for Williams to swoop.

He ripped the ball out of the hands of the tackled Northampton lock and broke away before putting in an intelligent grubber kick.

It was then a foot-race and the Whitland wonderkid was to be the winner.

Getting to the ball ahead of the covering Tom Croft, he plucked it out of the air as it bounced up invitingly and swallow dived over the line with his right arm outstretched.

“It’s hard to describe the try because it was just instinct,” he told Clwb Rygbi on S4C last week.

“It felt like it happened within a split second.

“Firstly I managed to rip the ball and then I saw the space behind and went for it. It was special.

“It’s surreal that it’s been 10 years, I remember like it was yesterday.

“At the time I was young, I was just loving playing for Wales.

“It was a special day to win the Triple Crown.

“I will always have fond memories of Twickenham from that.”

Warburton has his own distinct recollection of the Williams supersub try.

“I was the man to tackle Lawes first, taking him low, with Ian Evans coming in to help,” he said in his book.

“Scott wrestled the ball from Lawes and took off. He was faced with about seven England defenders, so he kicked ahead.

“There was no-one covering. Only Tom Croft had any chance of taking the ball.

“I was still on the floor at this stage. I had looked up and seen Scott go through.

“I was just praying it would be a lucky bounce. It was. Scott was over.

“I put my head in my hands because I just couldn’t believe it.”

Tackle No 2

Leigh Halfpenny converted Williams’ try to secure a seven point lead with just a couple of minutes to go, but there was still time for a dramatic ending.

In the final play, England threw everything at Wales, the kitchen sink included, and it looked as though they were sure to score when the ball reached David Strettle wide out on the right.

But as Strettle went for the whitewash, Halfpenny bravely put his body on the line in front of him, knocking him off his feet.

Then in came Jonathan Davies to turn the Harlequins winger on his back, with George North sliding in to help prevent a grounding.

There then ensued an anxious wait as referee Steve Walsh consulted with Scottish TMO Iain Ramage, with Ramage’s decision being the footage was inclusive as to whether the ball was down.

So it was no try and that was the end of the game. Wales had won the Triple Crown.

Not that Halfpenny was to find that out for some time.

He was left seeing stars after taking a heavy bang to the head in making the tackle on Strettle and needed treatment which saw him miss out on the trophy presentation.

In fact, it was a good half hour before he actually realised Wales had won the Triple Crown!

“I just tried to do everything I could to bring him (Strettle) down,” he said, recalling his tackle.

“I tried to get my whole body behind it because he was coming at such a pace.

“I caught his knee to my head and was left pretty dazed.

“After that, it was all a bit of a blur.

“I didn’t really remember too much of the game when I walked off.

“I had to go in for a medical assessment in the changing room, just as the guys were about to lift the Triple Crown, which I didn’t realise.

“I think it was about half-hour before I found out we’d won!

“Our physio had to tell me it was no try.

“It was probably the most important tackle I’ve ever made.”

Halfpenny, who also kicked 14 points, added: “It was a great game to be involved in, a huge battle and tight the whole way through.

“Scott (Williams) created a bit of magic and scored that fantastic try and we managed to just hold them out at the end.

“It was fantastic work from Jon Davies and George North as well to hold Strettle up and stop him scoring the try.”

Scott Williams was quick to acknowledge the last-ditch defensive effort when he reflected on the game the other day.

“Every time somebody asks me about my try I have to mention Leigh and Jon’s tackle in the corner at the end which helped us win the game,” said the 58-cap centre.

“If that had not happened, nobody would have remembered my try as they do now.”

The crowning moment

It was left to Sam Warburton to receive the Triple Crown shield after Wales’ heart-stopping victory.

That was a special moment for the then 23-year-old openside, coming saw four months after he had been sent off for a tip tackle on Vincent Clerc during the World Cup semi-final against France.

“Before the game, I was walking to Twickenham and an England fan shouted ‘Warburton, you’re s**t and it was a red card’,” he revealed some years later.

“So I remember thinking ‘Oh right, okay’.

“Anyway, after the game, I had my Man of the Match medal and if he had been outside the players’ dressing room I would have put it over his neck!”

Reflecting on the whole occasion, he added: “It was the best moment of my career up to that point. To lift the Triple Crown above my head at Twickenham surpassed anything else I had achieved. What a day.”

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