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Mike Brown 'happy to eat humble pie' after one Welshman's performance
By Kim Ekin
Former England fullback Mike Brown has said he is ‘happy to eat humble pie’ after last week writing that not a single Welsh player would make it into the England XV.
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Brown wrote that “Based on what I’ve seen of Wales in the opening two rounds, they don’t have a single player who would get into the England XV right now.”
Now after Wales ran England close in Twickenham, the Newcastle Falcons back admits that at least one Welshman would definitely make the England team. Wales veteran Alex Cuthbert put in a remarkable performance on both sides of the ball.
The 31-year-old, who just this week welcomed a new child into his family, was a standout for Brown, who also had kind words for the performances of Taulupe Faletau and Tomos Williams.
“After my comments last week that no Welsh player would get in a combined England and Wales side, I must admit I was feeling pretty smug when Alex Dombrandt’s try made it 17-0,” wrote Brown in his Daily Mail column.
“Then, as Wales mounted a late comeback, I got pretty nervous. I was panicking a bit at the end! I thought it was going to be a rerun of the 2015 World Cup game all over again!”
“I got plenty of stick from Welsh fans on social media for what they saw as an attack on their players, but I’ve got to give credit where it’s due to some of their squad now.”
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“Taulupe Faletau put in an unbelievable shift. For him to play like that after so long out injured was remarkable. He played like the Faletau I remember facing when he was at his peak.
“Alex Cuthbert also looked back to his best. He’s had a lot of flak from Welsh fans and spent a long time away from Test rugby, but his performance at Twickenham was superb.
“For him to make 176 metres from 14 carries is unbelievable. I also thought Tomos Williams – who I’m a big fan of – came into the game late on with the speed of his play.
“Cuthbert would definitely make my combined team from the sides which played yesterday and the other two would come close. I’m happy to eat humble pie on that!”
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