England A snatch a 25-29 victory against Spain
It was a case of what might have been for a Spanish team who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in a game they were comfortable for in for large periods. In biblical weather that was sure to make England feel at home, Los Leones took on a junior England team featuring only one capped international. Although the crowd was suppressed by horrific weather , a healthy number came out to support Rugby in Spain and Spain looking to put down a marker before Fiji next week. Even after five minutes, the narrative of the game was set to be completely different from vs Ireland. A clean shot six minutes in from Spain to shut down a move out wide made it clear the attitude was on point.
Spain were rewarding their fans who had braved these ugly conditions, many of them truly insane enough to enjoy the “fanzone” that was more akin to a waterpark , with an industrial performance and some strong carries from Spain´s forwards was setting the tempo for a team keen to avoid the result of last week.
Seven mins in , a card for England after a dramatic collapse from Tani Bay yielded 3 points for Spain and all the early momentum was with Spain. 10 mins in a lineout in the corner for Spain had them coming close but to no avail. . Another yellow for England on the 13 minute for Nathan Michelow led to space all across the field and unlike last week, Spain put up a contestable kick in filthy conditions to lead to a recovery and a try by (Spanish player) putting Spain ahead 10-0 after fifteen minutes. Except after the kick had been taken it was wiped off, 3 minutes after the try was scored showing once again that the video ref in Rugby is becoming a detriment to the entertainment product of the game. Still, it showed that the intent for Spain to give their players a chance to compete off kicks was a clear change from last week.
Luckily, the baloon being burst didn´t hurt the mentality of Spain´s players too much and another won scrum on the 18th minute showed it was Spain who had the men against a very junior England team. But another yellow this time for Spain´s Cian in the 22nd minute meant a 3rd yellow and the constant stoppages for frame by frame replays was sapping the atmosphere from a game that felt like it hadn´t been allowed to start. Spain kept England out and threatened to break but holding the ball proved to be tough for both teams. Spain kicked another pen on the 26th min as England returned to 15 to make it 6-0 .
Several drops by England in the corner show the difference in conditions and quality from the Ireland A team a week before but Spain were good value for their 33 minute lead and were comfortable at the set piece. Then an ugly drop under the kick from Lucien Richardis let England in the corner to give England a 7-6 lead. Spain immediately struck back with a pen in front of the sticks and they knocked another one over to make it 12-7 at halftime with Lucien Richardis making amends with his boot. At half time, it felt whoever could cut out the errors would win this one.
Los Leones minutes of Madness
The rain eased as both teams headed back out but it started with a predictable pattern of loose ball control leading to another scrum penalty for Spain, which led a minute later to Samu Ezeala´s first try for Spain on his debut to make it 19-7 with 46 mins on the clock. The reality was Spain looked comfortable against a clunky England team . England looked to have scored in the 50th minute before they themselves had a try chalked off and it was Spain on the right hand side through VRAC´s Martiniano Cian who looked more dangerous before another penalty had Spain dreaming at 22-10 with 57 minutes on the clock.
Spain looked comfy until a try for England with twenty minutes left from Charlie Atkinson (given after yet another video ref frame by frame two minutes after the event, doing their best to break up the game) made it 22-15 and it would stay that way but when England broke through off a lineout in the 70 minute right down the middle Spanish fans feared the worse. Luckily for Spain, England bombed another chance as the lack of fluidity let them down. Spain would gain another 3 points after Cian left the field on a stretcher .
Spain´s kicking on and off the tee was night and day from last week. It was lucky they made it because after England scored under the sticks with 6 mins left the gap was only 3 points. However, an agonising drop under the high ball for Spain had England turn their possession into a try in the corner, making it two tries in the tiny amount of time that Stade Toulousain´s Joel Merkler was off the field after being substituted.
Sadly, despite a darting run from Tani Bay which had Spain being roared home 10 metres out, England managed to scramble back possession and Spain lost in an agonising 25-29 defeat.
Los Leones Verdict
After the off the field success of Leganés there were fears with horrible weather for a low crowd but in reality, with many of the ticket holders sheltering from the rain in the front seats a full top terrace and biblical conditions meant the crowd did their part in creating a great atmosphere and the headlines of a win versus an England team would have helped Spain create a great narrative going into Fiji. Sadly, the team need to pick themselves off the canvas and try to recreate the same intensity without the crushing last ten minutes.