Rugby: Gatland fires England barb after victory

Welsh centre Jonathan Davies celebrates Josh Adams' try. Photo / Photosport

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has labelled England chokers after a stunning second-half performance saw his team score 18 points to take them to a 21-13 victory over heavily-fancied England whose Grand Slam hopes were blown apart.

Instead it is Wales, celebrating a new record of 12 consecutive wins, who have designs on landing their third Grand Slam under Gatland whose record of upsets against England includes a famous World Cup win at Twickenham in 2015 and another Grand Slam-denier against Stuart Lancaster's team two years earlier in Cardiff. It was enough for Gatland, who is the front-runner to succeed Eddie Jones after the World Cup in Japan, to question England's mental strength.

"I look back at England over the past few years and when it has really mattered I question whether they can win these big games," said Gatland.

"We've had a record of being pretty good in those. We knew exactly where we were. We said to the players: 'They have no idea what animal is turning up this week,' but we did. We always knew how important this game would be. We went through some pain last week in terms of how hard we trained. The message to the players was that there is no way anyone is training as hard as us."

Forward Cory Hill forced his way over in the 68th minute after a lengthy period of Welsh resurgence to seize the lead for the first time, his team thriving amid the arrival of replacement first five-eighth Dan Biggar from the bench to direct the final quarter. And bedlam ensued at the Principality Stadium in the closing moments when Josh Adams grabbed Biggar's crossfield kick to touch down and confirm a famous win.

Gatland's first taste of success over opposite number Jones in four attempts was a fitting way to end their Championship rivalry before the Kiwi steps down after the World Cup. England led 10-3 at halftime and appeared destined to add Wales to their impressive list of emphatic results against Ireland and France, only to come apart at the seams after the interval.

It is the second time in the tournament that Wales have rallied from a halftime deficit, clawing back 16 points against France and overturning England's lead in this match to take their place at the top of the Six Nations table with a trip to Murrayfield and a final day home match against Ireland to come.

Jones highlighted England's weaknesses in the air and in the penalty count as the reason behind their surprise defeat. They can still win the title if Wales slip as their final two games are both at Twickenham against Italy and Scotland.

"We'll be chasing Wales," said Jones. "The world hasn't ended. We'll learn from today. We weren't quite good enough but there is no embarrassment in that."

In Paris, Scotland's wait for a first victory on French soil since 1999 goes on, with France finally showing some conviction by scoring four tries in a 27-10 win. Romain Ntamack's first-half try and winger Yoann Huget's try just after the restart gave France a 15-3 lead. There was no collapse like against Wales and Les Tricolores added two late tries to secure the win.