Six Nations 2022: Wales captain Dan Biggar rues another slow start in England loss

Wales' Dan Biggar (right) and England's Courtney Lawes after the final whistle of a game in which the Northampton pair made history by being the first Wales-England rival captains from the same club

Wales captain Dan Biggar says another slow away Six Nations start cost his side victory against England at Twickenham.

Wales trailed 17-0 before battling back through second-half tries from Josh Adams, Nick Tompkins and Kieran Hardy.

"We spoke all week about a fast start and I'm really disappointed we went 17-0 down," said Biggar.

"It is the starts away from home that is causing us problems. Ultimately we have to begin games better."

Wales were also slow out of the blocks against Ireland in Dublin before eventually losing 29-7 in the opening game of the tournament.

In contrast, Wales began well at home against Scotland to set up a 20-17 victory.

"The main headline is going to be you can't start slowly in place likes Twickenham and the Aviva Stadium and expect to come away with results," added Biggar.

"If you give good teams head starts, you're going to be up against it. It is very disappointing because it [the start] has shaped the way the game has gone.

"It was a combination of not being able to keep the ball in contact and breakdown penalties.

"We made some inroads in the first 25. The breakdown was a bit of a killer for us and we couldn't retain possession.

"I'm pleased with the character shown by the lads to get ourselves back in the game.

"When we strung some phases together, we caused them all sorts of problems. If we can start well, we'll be right in the mix."

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Head coach Wayne Pivac admitted Wales' indiscipline at the contact area continues to cost them as England fly-half Marcus Smith kicked six penalties in the hosts' 23-19 victory.

"In the first half we were disappointed with the discipline, we gave away eight penalties at the breakdown, with and without the ball," added Pivac.

"Some of them were silly penalties and it's an area we are working hard on."

Try or no try?

Pivac believes England's sole try for Harlequins Alex Dombrandt, which took England into a 17-0 advantage, should not have been awarded.

The Wales boss believes an offence at the defensive line-out was not picked up by the officials, before Dombrandt gathered possession from a Ryan Elias throw and charged over the Wales line.

"It was a very frustrating try we conceded," added Pivac.

"If we had an opportunity to review that try, it probably would have not been given.

"Adam Beard was bumped out of that line-out, which you can't do, but unfortunately it was not picked up and the try stands.

"It is not very often you throw close to your line over the top to an opposition player standing waiting to catch the ball.

"The replay we have seen, we thought there was an offence there."

Biggar, though, refused to blame the officials, led by Scottish referee Mike Adamson, for the defeat.

"We have no complaints about the performance of the referee, we have to look at ourselves," added Biggar.

"We deserved to be down on the scoreboard in that first 20 or 25 minutes, however it was."

Cuthbert revival

There were some impressive individual performances, led by Saracens centre Nick Tompkins, Cardiff scrum-half Tomos Williams, Ospreys wing Alex Cuthbert and Bath number eight Taulupe Faletau, who was playing only his third game following a seven-month injury lay-off.

Biggar and Pivac praised Cuthbert's performance in his 50th Wales appearance as the 2013 British and Irish Lions wing continued his international revival after being preferred to Louis Rees-Zammit.

"Alex was immense," added Pivac.

"He was the guy who was coming off his wing and was taking the ball down both flanks and still going in the 80th minute of the game.

"He was superb and enjoyed the opportunity."

Biggar added: "Cuthy was unbelievable. It was almost like the 2013 and 2014 Alex Cuthbert.

"He looked in his prime and was strong and powerful in contact and possession.

"He can be proud of that on his 50th international and I am just disappointed we could not get the result for his performance.

"If we had been on the right side of the scoreboard, he would have been man-of-the-match."

Waiting for France

With two defeats in the opening three matches, Wales' defence of the Six Nations title appears doomed with home matches against unbeaten France and Italy to follow.

After defeating Scotland comfortably, France will seek another win on the way to a Grand Slam in Cardiff on Friday, 11 March.

"We are disappointed to be two games down from three rounds," added Pivac.

"We have two home games left and they are very important as we aim to finish the competition strongly.

"We have had two fantastic matches against France in the last couple of Six Nations.

"France are a very good side and improving all the time. It is going to be a great game if the last couple are anything to go by."

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