Wales vs England: 1968-87

Welsh rule continues

In this period England and Wales met 21 times, twice in 1987. England won four times, Wales 16 times and there was a draw in 1968.

20 January 1968: The match was played at Twickenham.

Keith Jarrett missed two kicks at goal and Wales scored! Each time he missed a penalty England knocked on and from the scrum Wales scored. Captain Colin McFadyean knocked on and Gareth Edwards scored, and then Bob Hiller knocked on and No.8 Bobby Wanbon scored. In this way Wales got from 11-3 to draw the match at 11-all.

For the first time ever Wales had a coach - David Nash of Ebbw Vale.

12 April 1969: The match was played at Cardiff Arms Park.

Wales won the championship and the Triple Crown when they scored five tries to nil and beat England 30-9.

Wing Maurice Richards of Cardiff scored four tries for Wales, equalling the match record held jointly by Willie Llewellyn (1899) and Reggie Gibbs (1908). But the try of the match was scored by Barry John, King Barry, with much deception and acceleration.

28 February 1970: The match was played at Twickenham.

Wales scored four tries to two and won 17-13.

England's Keith Fielding cried off on the morning of the match, and Jim Novak was rushed from the field where he was playing for Harlequins to play for England. He set up a try for David Duckham and then scored one of his own.

When Gareth Edwards was injured Chico Hopkins of Maesteg came on as a replacement, the first time that had happened in an England-Wales match. At the time Wales were down 13-6. Hopkins changed the match!

The appointed referee Robert Calmet of France broke his left leg and dislocated his shoulder in a collision with players. Touch judge Johnny Johnson of England replaced him.

JPR Williams became the third Welsh fullback to score a try - after Vivian Jenkins (1934) and Keith Jarrett (1967).

16 January 1971: The match was played at Cardiff Arms Park.

England had eight new caps for the match.

Wales won 22-6 in a year in which they won the Grand Slam. They also headed England 33-32 in matches between the two countries for the first time.

The try was now worth four points.

It was the first match played at a reconstructed Cardiff Arms Park which was referred to as the national stadium. Cardiff RFC moved to the ground next door.

15 January 1972: The match was played at Twickenham.

England had six new caps, Wales one.

Wales won 12-3 in a sad year in which the championship was incomplete because Scotland and Wales were afraid to go to Dublin to play Ireland because of the troubles there.

JPR Williams's try was the first four-point try scored by Wales. Much had been expected of the match in the wake of the Lions' success in New Zealand and the presence of some of the heroes of that series, such as David Duckham, Gerald Davies, JPR Williams, Barry John, Gareth Edwards and Mervyn Davies. It was not a thrilling match as Wales dominated and England hung on.

20 January 1973: The match was played at Cardiff Arms Park.

Wales won 25-9, scoring five tries to nil. The Welsh pack was simply too strong for England.

16 March 1974: The match was played at Twickenham.

England won 16-12. It was England's first win over Wales at Twickenham since 1960 in fact.

With ten minutes to go wing JJ Williams, David Duckham and Peter Squires chased a ball in the English in-goal. The whole of Wales thought JJ had scored a try. Irish referee John West did not award it, inspiring the Max Boyce song, Blind Irish Referees.

The only Welsh new cap was Roger Blyth, son of Len and nephew of Alun Thomas.

There was controversy over the non-playing of the Welsh anthem. It was God Save the Queen and nothing. Welsh supporters tried singing the anthem as the players stood waiting, but the sound was drowned by those supporting England. The RFU's explanation: "We are all part of the United Kingdom and the national anthem of the United Kingdom is The Queen." The Welsh rugby Union protested and were given the assurance that Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau would in future be sung at Twickenham.

15 February 1975: The match was played at Cardiff Arms Park.

It was business as usual in 1975. Wales beat England 20-4. Wales led 16-0 at half-time. The second half was a formality.

17 January 1976: The match was played at Twickenham.

Wales scored its biggest win at Twickenham in beating England 21-9. It was a Grand Slam year for Wales.

After the match JPR Williams, who had smashed his way over for two tries, received seven stitches in his right cheek, saying: "The Williams blood has been spilt around many battlegrounds of the world."

England had two county cricketers in their side - Alistair Hignell and Peter Squires who broke an arm in the match.

5 March 1977: The match was played at Cardiff Arms Park.

Wales won 14-9. Wales scored two tries, England none but Alistair Hignell had England up 9-7 till JPR Williams scored a try, one of six tries he scored for Wales in his 55 Tests. The result was a surprise as England looked to win the Triple Crown but their pack which had defeated the packs of France, Ireland and Scotland succumbed to the Welsh eight.

4 February 1978: The match was played at Twickenham.

Neither side scored a try on a day when the rain poured down, but Phil Bennett outbooted Alistair Hignell and Wales won 9-6. Phil Bennett kicked the winning penalty with eight minutes to go. The culprit was apparently Rob Mordell of Rosslyn Park. He never played for England again.

17 March 1979: The match was played at Cardiff Arms Park.

Wales won 27-3, its second biggest defeat of England, second only to the 25 points of 1904. Wales score five tries, running rampant in the last twenty minutes.

Wales won the Triple Crown for the fifth year in a row.

16 February 1980: The match was played at Twickenham.

This was a sad match. Wales scored two tries to nil but lost 9-8. In the build-up to the match there had been lots of war talk, and on 15 minutes in the first half the referee sent Welsh flank Paul Ringer off for a late tackle on John Horton, the England flyhalf. Dusty Hare kicked England's penalties. Had Wales kicked as well they would have won.

Ringer was suspended for eight weeks.

17 January 1981: The match was played at Cardiff Arms Park.

There was a record nine penalty goals scored in the match as Wales won 21-19. The difference was the Steve Fenwick kicked a conversion while Dusty Hare missed his - and a penalty attempt that ended the match. But Hare had scored all England's points.

Steve Fenwick kicked the penalty that won the match when Clive Woodward wandered off-side on front of his posts.

6 March 1982: The match was played at Twickenham.

The England pack dominated and England won 17-7. Mike Slemen and John Carleton scored tries for England. Rhodri Lewis for Wales.

It was England's biggest victory over Wales since 1921.

5 February 1983: The match was played at Cardiff Arms Park.

England and Wales drew 13-13, the first draw in Wales between the two countries since 1936. England dominated and yet it took a Dusty Hare penalty to draw the game.

England had three players playing club rugby in Wales - John Scott (Cardiff), Tony Swift (Swansea), and Colin Smart (Newport).

17 March 1984: The match was played at Twickenham.

Wales won 24-15. Wales were just ahead 18-15 till Malcolm Dacey dropped two goals.

Adrian Hadley scored the only try in the match as kickers did most of the scoring.

20 April 1985: The match was played at Cardiff Arms Park.

Wales won 24-15, the same score as that of the year before.

Jonathan Davies made a brilliant debut. His brother-in-law Phil Davies also made his debut.

18 January 1986: The match was played at Twickenham.

England won 21-18 in a match with only one try. Bleddyn Bowen scored the try which Paul Thorburn converted. But Rob Andrew kicked a drop and six penalty goals. He kicked the drop when the scores were 18-all and he did it with his left foot.

7 March 1987: The match was played at Cardiff Arms Park.

It was an unpleasant match. It started being unpleasant early on when Wade Dooley of England punched Phil Davies of Wales to the ground. The punch was from behind. Davies left the field. Afterwards Dooley, a policeman, said: "I am ashamed."

Steve Sutton of Wales, also a policemen, suffered a broken nose - hit by his lock partner Robert Norster!

England took the step of dropping Dooley, Richard Hill, the captain, who was a scrumhalf from Bath and not a flank from Saracens, hooker Graham Dawe of Bath and prop Gareth Chilcott of Bath.

Wales won the match 19-12. Prop Stuart Evans of Wales scored the only try of the match.

8 June 1987: The match was played at Ballymore in Brisbane.

It was the quarter-final of the first World Cup.

Wales scored three tries to nil and won 16-3.

The field was wet, the match drab. Wales were penalised 25-9 in the match but England made the mistakes that counted and Wales scored tries.

The All Blacks knocked Wales out in the semi-final but Wales went on to beat the Wallabies and win third place.