DAN BIGGAR: Tactical masterclass by George Ford foils Warren Gatland’s superb stars… there was plenty of fight in these young Wales lads and this team has the potential to be very good in the long run

Wales came so close to another famous Twickenham win before George Ford took control of the match. I thought the England fly-half produced a tactical masterclass in the final 30 minutes to guide his side to victory.

It wasn’t pretty, but England will be very happy with two wins out of two in these Six Nations.

I’m sure some people saw Saturday night’s game and were disappointed in terms of entertainment. There were a lot of reset scrums.

Don’t get me wrong, everyone involved in rugby – and that includes players, coaches and fans – wants to see a running game where teams attack all over the field.

But the reality in the international arena is that games are won through defence, a good set-piece and a brilliant kicking game. England succeeded in the second half.

George Ford produced a tactical masterclass in the final 30 minutes to guide his side to victory

But I think Wales were brilliant and their young players really came to the party at Twickenham

England was under pressure. Wales were brilliant and I think Warren Gatland and his coaching staff, even though they have lost their two games, will be quite happy.

They almost did enough for the win here. But Ford finally got them. Being a number 10 myself, I couldn’t help but admire his achievements. Ford is tactically exceptional. He and his team adopted a kicking strategy for the final quarter and it paid off. Ford and England’s game management was excellent.

Ford deserves a lot of credit as after his conversion attempt was rejected by Wales as he was deemed to have moved in the run-in, he could easily have been upset. But Ford is a player with enormous experience and responded impressively.

He scored a brilliant 50:22 that provided the platform from which England forced Mason Grady to be booked for a deliberate knock on the ball. With field position, Fraser Ding-wall got the crucial try.

England got the job done. To me they looked better without the ball than with the ball. Their defense was solid overall and showed further signs of improvement. Their line speed closed Wales down in attack.

But there were still times when there was no collective thinking. An example was when Henry Slade flew out of line. As soon as he did it, you could tell from Slade’s reaction that he knew he had made a big mistake. It allowed Cameron Winnett to run clear and almost led to a Wales try.

I know they lost, but I thought Wales were excellent. Their young boys really came to the party and for the second week Tommy Reffell was simply brilliant.

I share Warren Gatland’s view that this team has the potential to be very good in the long term

I thought Dafydd Jenkins had another top game as captain and they all showed a lot of fight

There seems to be plenty of fight among these young Welsh lads. In the teams I played in with Wales, we were at our best when we never went away and stayed in the game.

The next generation looks like they have that bastard in them, which is a good omen. Dafydd Jenkins again played a top game as captain and Alex Mann is a player of great promise.

For Mann to score tries in each of his first two Tests is quite a feat!

Ireland are next in Dublin for Wales, which will be an incredibly tough task. But I agree with Warren when he said this is a team that has the potential to be very good in the long run.