England snatches late win over Wales

CARDIFF — England snatched a late 21-16 win against Wales in the Six Nations Saturday to stretch its winning run to 16 matches. The reigning champion was 16-11 behind with just nine minutes left at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium with hopes of back-to-back Grand Slams fading fast. But an Owen Farrell penalty saw England narrow the gap before, with four minutes left, Wales center Jonathan Davies’s poor clearance kick allowed Elliot Daly to run in the winning try. A fast-paced first half ended with Wales five points in front at 13-8. England scrum-half Ben Youngs had put his side in the driving seat with a try before sustained Welsh pressure was rewarded on the stroke of half-time when wing Liam Williams ran a sharp line from behind a scrum for a try which Leigh Halfpenny converted. Saturday’s win for England followed last week’s opening 19-16 triumph over France at Twickenham while Wales have one win and one defeat from two games following their 33-7 victory in Italy, Wales coach Rob Howley said the closing stages Saturday were crucial. On Sunday, France tackle Scotland in Paris. Last week at Twickenham saw France again go close against a major side only to lose narrowly, just as it did in November defeats by Australia (25-23) and world champions New Zealand (24-19). Argentina, US, Canada win Sebastian Cancelliere scored three tries and defending champion Argentina routed Uruguay 57-12 while the United States and Canada also took lopsided triumphs Saturday in the Americas Rugby Championship. Argentina won at home to reach 2-0 after an opening 20-6 victory in Canadian snow last week. The United States ripped visiting Brazil 51-3, while host Canada, powered by three tries from Taylor Paris, humbled Chile 36-15 for its 100th test win. Next Saturday’s matches find the United States at Canada, Argentina at Chile and Brazil at Uruguay. Argentina have booked a spot in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, but the regional tournament is a key tuneup for World Cup qualifying bids by Canada and the United States, who meet to decide a berth in June. — AFP