England launched their bid for Six Nations glory with an emphatic and chastening 48-7 mauling of a sorry Wales at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
After France dismantled Ireland in Thursday’s tournament opener, England were tasked with underscoring their status as chief rivals to the reigning champions – a challenge they rose to in ruthless fashion.
Wales were architects of their own downfall, buckling time and again under England’s brutal dominance, which saw Henry Arundell run in a first‑half hat‑trick, Ben Earl cross over, and the visitors reduced to 13 as Nicky Smith and Dewi Lake were sin‑binned.
Wales travelled to Twickenham with expectations at an unprecedented low, but this drubbing – made heavier by second‑half scores from Tom Roebuck and Tommy Freeman and a penalty try – offered another sobering reality check for Steve Tandy’s squad, with the magnitude of the task of reviving Welsh rugby laid bare.
For Steve Borthwick and England, a comprehensive bonus‑point win – their 12th successive Test victory – offered the latest measure of their continued progress ahead of next week’s Calcutta Cup trip to a wounded Scotland.
England put sorry Wales to the sword
England ticked along at a point a minute from the outset. George Ford followed his early penalty with a miss‑pass that released Arundell in the corner for his first, establishing a 10-0 lead inside eight minutes.
Prop Smith paid the price for persistent Welsh infringements when he was sent to the bin on 17 minutes, and his captain Lake followed him 30 seconds later for cynically bringing down a maul, leaving the visitors down to 13.
It took England seconds to exploit the numerical advantage, Ford and Arundell combining again as the winger gathered the fly‑half’s cross‑field kick to touch down unopposed for his second.
Wales ultimately conceded 12 points with Smith and Lake off the field, Earl marauding down the touchline and over in the corner for England’s third midway through the first half.
Even when restored to their full complement, there was no respite for Wales. Fraser Dingwall pounced on a handling error in the Welsh backline, shifting the ball immediately to Arundell, who streaked clear of Aaron Wainwright to complete his hat‑trick.
Ben Earl scores England’s third try in the first half against Wales
England picked up where they left off early in the second half, with Tom Roebuck carving through Wales to add a fifth try for the hosts.
Twickenham roared to salute England captain Maro Itoje as he came off the bench for his first appearance since the passing of his mother.
But he was on the field only seconds before being sent to the bin for repeated infringements caused by mounting Welsh pressure, which finally yielded a score when Josh Adams gathered a cross‑field kick to touch down and spare the visitors’ blushes.
Henry Pollock saw a try ruled out for a foot in touch, only for England to be awarded a penalty after Taine Plumtree’s tackle on the forward was deemed high.
After seeing a score chalked off for a Luke Cowan‑Dickie neck roll at the breakdown, Tommy Freeman had the final word when he went over in the corner to add a final coat of gloss to an England victory that was sealed with ease.
Ford: We left a bit out there
Player of the match – England fly-half George Ford – told ITV: “We’re obviously delighted with the result, and by and large I thought the performance was good.
“There’s a tad bit of frustration in that as well. We wanted a good start, a decent performance, and we got that.
“The start of a Test match is always massive. First 10, 15, 20 minutes tactically to get a foothold in the game and put your stamp on it.
“We’re trying to put bits of our game together, we want a really good defence, kicking game, set-piece, all to give us attacking opportunities. The more we create, the more we’ll take.
“We probably left a bit out there today. It’s always tough at Murrayfield, but we’ll look forward to it. We always love going up there. We’ll give it our best shot.”
What’s next?
England travel to Murrayfield to face Scotland for the Calcutta Cup on February 14 at 4.40pm, while Wales host defending champions France in Cardiff on February 15 at 3.10pm.