Carling warns Ashton against Wales

Jan 28 2008 by Simon Thomas, Western Mail

FORMER England captain Will Carling, part of the last English team to lose at home to the Welsh two decades ago, believes Wales can end their 20-year hoodoo at Twickenham next Saturday.

Carling’s England lost to Wales at Twickenham way back in 1988, when Bleddyn Bowen’s Triple Crown side triumphed 11-3. Now, two decades on, the man Welsh fans used to love to hate feels their 20 years of hurt could be about to come to an end.

Carling believes the new coaching unit of Warren Gatland, Shaun Edwards and Rob Howley will make a real impact, hailing all three as men of calibre.

And he also thinks England could be vulnerable as they are going through a transitional period with members of the old guard such as Lawrence Dallaglio, Jason Robinson, Martin Corry and Mike Catt having called it a day post-World Cup.

Carling says the Welsh selection at half-back will be crucial, with choices to be made between Dwayne Peel and Mike Phillips at scrum-half and James Hook and Stephen Jones at No 10.

But he feels the pack can more than hold its own and he’s convinced that Gatland’s Wales have the potential to make history at Twickers in five days time.

“I really think they can win,” he said.

“Sadly – from an English point of view – Gatland is a great appointment. I think Edwards is a great appointment and I think Rob Howley is a great appointment. They are calibre men.

“And when you look at the players in the Welsh side, I think they’ve got a very good team.

“A lot will depend on who they pick at half-back, in terms of the way they play the game, but I think they’ve got a pack that can take on England.

“The English are going through a transition as well. They’ve just finished a World Cup and had a lot of old guys in that tournament. They are trying to move into blending youth and experience and it can make them vulnerable.”

While England have been dominant over Wales for the past 20 years, it was a different story when Carling was a child and during the early part of his career.

“When I was growing up, I watched the Welsh side of the 1970s, so they were my heroes,” he said. “My dad had to break the news to me when I was about seven or eight that I was English and we were the ones that lost!

“To me, JPR, Gareth Edwards, Phil Bennett, that sort of lot, they were the guys.

“I remember the first time I played at Cardiff in the Five Nations I spent most of the time looking round thinking, ‘This is where they were.’

“We didn’t beat Wales, that was the way it was.

“The first game I played against them at Twickenham, we lost. When I went down to Cardiff the following year we lost. It was a massive fixture.

“To be honest, subsequently, it’s changed a wee bit from an English point of view, due to results and everything else.”

Reflecting on the 1988 game, Carling added, “That was the first time I played at Twickenham. For me it was just like, ‘Wow.’

“I remember being up against Jonathan Davies, Mark Ring and Adrian Hadley and just this whole Welsh thing. I looked at the shirt with the three feathers and it was probably the most evocative shirt for me, in terms of all the memories.

“It was my first experience of playing against these mythological figures who come from Wales and we lost. It was very depressing.

“Jonathan had that look about him that day. I remember him taking the mickey out of Mickey Skinner, who tried to tackle him. Mickey just got nowhere near him.”

Former centre Carling continued, “I read the other day that that was the last time Wales won at Twickenham and I was quite surprised by that, I have to say.

“It’s a remarkable turnaround. You wonder why it is. Maybe England have got a little bit better, while Wales have had the odd issue.

“England have had a good run and they’ve had some great players, but so have the Welsh. For the sort of talent that’s been around in Wales, I’m surprised there hasn’t been more success.”