Tuilagi stakes World Cup Claim As England Beat Wales 23-19 at Twickenham - Sky News

5:21pm UK, Saturday August 06, 2011

England survived a Welsh second-half recovery to inch to victory 23-19 in both sides' opening World Cup warm-up match at Twickenham.

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Manu Tuilagi pressed his World Cup claims with a try on his debut but Martin Johnson saw his captain Lewis Moody limp off injured in the second half.

Wales also suffered a major injury blow when Morgan Stoddart was stretchered off with an apparent leg or ankle break.

If Twickenham regulars were faced with the unfamiliar sight of England in their new all-black change kit, Jonny Wilkinson quickly had them back in the old routine with a well-struck penalty after five minutes.

But Wales absorbed England's early pressure and took the lead in style in the 17th minute. After battering away at the hosts' line through 13 phases, Wales exploited a simple overlap out wide, Jonathan Davies sending North over in the right corner.

Rhys Priestland slotted the conversion to put wales 3-7 in front.

However, shortly after Wales failed to secure their own lineout ball and conceded a scrum five metres out. England wheeled it successfully to allow James Haskell to barge over from close range. Wilkinson's conversion made it 10-7 after 25 minutes.

Wales were struggling to contain the English scrum and barely got out of their own half for the rest of the half, but defended stoutly against some rather pedestrian attacks before Wilkinson decided to take some points with a simple drop-goal three minutes before the interval.

The second half was barely three minutes old when Tuilagi gave a glimpse of the excitement that has surrounded his swift elevation. Wilkinson appeared to be running up a blind alley inside the Welsh 22 but turning back against the onrushing defence, he slipped an inside ball to Tuilagi.

The 20-year-old powered through two defenders and held off Stoddart's last-ditch tackle to score under the posts, Wilkinson adding the extras. The Welsh full-back, who had performed manfully, was carried off minutes later.

Wales' record try-scorer Shane Willams began a Welsh fightback when he got his angles right in the 56th minute. After a series of close range bursts, the diminutive wing went over for his 54th try in his 80th Test for his country.

England sent on five replacements in quick succession, Mouritz Botha and Charlie Sharples making their Test debuts, while Wales also brought on reinforcements as the game became increasingly fractured.

Wilkinson gave England an 11-point cushion with his second drop-goal just after the hour, before Moody departed in ominous fashion.

Wales stuck to their task, Roberts bursting through to good effect, and had a third try ruled out by the video referee with 12 minutes left. Sam Warburton was judged to have been in touch as he ground the ball in the right corner after a line-out.

The marauding flanker was then held up inches short with five minutes to go, but the men in red swiftly recycled and George North went over for his second try.

Priestland's conversion ensured a nervy finish for England, but they held on in their only home Test before departing for New Zealand.

Both sides now have a nervous wait to discover the extent of their injuries. As well as Stoddart and Moody, Wales will also assess the fitness of Stephen Jones who missed the chance of his 101st appearance after injuring a calf muscle during the warm up.