England make unusual pre-match decision... and it BACKFIRES

Saturday, 17 March 2018 at 16:23

bySteven Smith

England extended the in-goal areas at Twickenham today, but that decision backfired during the first half of their Six Nations clash with Ireland.

The ground staff painted the new lines in blue due to fears that snow during the game could leave the usual white markings obscured.

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RFU planning to paint blue lines on the Twickenham pitch and keep on the undersoil heating after the Met Office issues amber weather warning. thetimes.co.uk/article/six-na…

8:38 AM · Mar 17, 2018

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Behind the try-line, the old white lines betrayed that the Twickenham staff had, presumably under instruction from the RFU, added some extra space to the area.

But the decision majorly backfired on the home side on the stroke of half-time when Irish winger Jacob Stockdale chipped the ball over Mike Brown and sprinted towards the try-line.

It looked as though the ball would go dead but the speedy 21-year-old reeled it in and touched it down at the last minute - right in the extra space provided by the extended lines.