England's Rugby World Cup ambitions took a damaging blow this evening as they fell to a dramatic 28-25 loss at the hands of Wales in Pool A.
Stuart Lancaster's side led by seven going into the closing stages of the match, but a late Gareth Davies try was quickly followed by a long-range Dan Biggar penalty to hand the visitors a famous victory.
The team selection dominated much of the pre-match talk, in particular the decision to start Owen Farrell at fly-half ahead of recent first choice George Ford.
The Saracens number 10 kicked 20 of his side's 25 points, although he turned down a late penalty that would have drawn the game in favour of going for the corner and the win - a move that didn't pay off.
After the match, Farrell spoke to Sports Mole about that decision, his own performance, and his hopes of retaining his spot for the must-win showdown with Australia on Saturday.
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What is your immediate reaction to that defeat?
"Obviously gutted. It was a game we felt in control of for a large part. We just couldn't get enough points ahead to take complete control of the game and obviously they came back in the end and got the result."
You had the chance to take a draw in the dying moments - whose decision was it to go for the corner?
"We got together as a group and had a chat and obviously the decision was to back ourselves and go for the win."
It wasn't the easiest kick, even without the pressure that would have accompanied it. Was the decision in any way influenced by your confidence of converting the penalty?
"As a kicker you always back yourself, but we came up with the decision together and backed it."
There was plenty made of your inclusion - how do you feel you performed on the night?
"I'll have to watch the game back and pick it apart. There's always some things that you come away from thinking you can work on, and hopefully I can put them right."
How high are your hopes of retaining that starting spot for next week's game against Australia?
"I don't know. Again, I'll just look at the game and see what the plan is for Australia. It's obviously out of my hands, so we'll see what happens next week."
England will face Uruguay in their final Pool A match, although their fate could effectively be sealed already by that point.
Barney Corkhill
