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Tom Palmer: Front row dominance lays platform for hard-fought triumph
England's Tom Palmer writes exclusively for the Yorkshire Post.
Believe it or not, I’ve actually played in conditions worse than those we encountered in Rome on Saturday.
That was last season, playing in the French Top 14 for Stade Francais against Racing Metro.
Although the Stadio Olimpico was covered in snow it wasn’t actually as bad as that and the grounds staff did a great job getting most of the snow off the pitch. In the warm-up it was cold and wasn’t really much fun, but when you get going in a game you stop noticing the weather.
We’re professionals and there is a lot going on in a game that takes your mind off of it, especially in a RBS 6 Nations game as tight as that one.
And I have to say how pleased I am at the way we came back into that game and got the result we wanted. From conceding two unfortunate tries, we showed composure and real determination to fight back and win the match.
That 20 minutes at the start of the second half is how we want to play, and it’s funny how it echoed the pattern of the game in Scotland, with that period at the start of the second half being when we were most composed.
For me there are two things that stand out as being key to the result: firstly, the performance of Owen Farrell, and secondly, that of the front row.
Owen deserves great credit for having a 100 per cent kicking percentage in those conditions. He showed real composure in a very tense game and proved what a calm head he has. It was not just his goalkicking, it was his whole demeanour. Owen is a natural leader and a great talent. His versatility is also an asset. When Jordan Turner-Hall came on, Owen seamlessly switched from inside centre to fly-half.
Our front row did a great job in the scrum. Alex Corbisiero and Dan Cole are both young props but they did tremendously well to dominate an experienced and highly-regarded opposition.
They gave us a really good platform, and another man who deserves praise for that is Rob Webber. I know Rob well from our days together at Leeds, and then playing together at Wasps. It cannot have been easy for him, coming into a tight game in those conditions for his debut, but he handled himself impressively.
Our character in bouncing back is also worthy of mention, particularly after going 15-6 down. Italy’s first try was a real piece of bad luck, with the ball bouncing off people and dropping nicely for them. It was one of those things that sometimes happen and there’s nothing you can do about it. The interception was tough to take because suddenly we were in trouble, going from a six-point lead to a six-point deficit in minutes. Thankfully we reacted well. Everyone was calm at the break and Stuart told us to just stick to the game plan.
We had created opportunities and had put Italy under pressure and it was just a case of carrying on doing what we had been doing. And the guys who came off the bench – Lee Dickson and Ben Morgan – made a big difference.
The only disappointment is the lack of tries; that we’re not scoring off of the chances we are creating. But the bottom line is we’ve won two tough away games.
Now it’s back to Stade for me before returning ahead of the Wales game. We are all excited about running out in front of our own fans at Twickenham.
Tom Palmer and the Yorkshire Post are supporting RBS RugbyForce, the community rugby programme that is improving club facilities across the nation. To find out more or register your rugby club for the RBS RugbyForce Weekend on June 2 and 3, visit www.rbs.com/rugbyforce.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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