Ten-try England rout Wales but title bid falls short

Men's Six Nations

Wales (7) 14

Tries: B Thomas 2 Cons: Anscombe, J Evans

England (33) 68

Tries: Itoje, Roebuck, Freeman, Cunningham-South 2, Stuart, Mitchell, Pollock 2, Heyes Cons: F Smith 6, M Smith 3

Ten-try England racked up a record Six Nations win over woeful Wales, but their title hopes fell short as France beat Scotland later on Super Saturday.

England's thumping victory in Cardiff meant anything less than a win for France would hand Steve Borthwick's side the championship.

Fabien Galthie's men briefly wobbled, taking a narrow three-point lead into half-time, but ultimately prevailed to take the crown for the first time since 2022.

England still have multiple positives to look back on from their afternoon at the Principality Stadium and a campaign that ends in a second-placed finish.

Their selection gambles - bringing Tommy Freeman into midfield and picking six forwards on the bench - paid off as their power overwhelmed Wales and briefly nudged them within sight of the tournament jackpot.

Wales had little to cling to as a 17th successive defeat was all-but assured by half-time and a thrashing confirmed by the end.

Despite the initial air of optimism injected by Matt Sherratt's three-game spell as interim head coach, Wales finish bottom of the table again, 'retaining' the Wooden Spoon from last year.

This defeat surpassed the 50-10 Six Nations loss Wales suffered at Twickenham back in March 2002. Only a 62-5 Rugby World Cup warm-up defeat in 2007 stands as a worse result for Wales in the fixture's 144-year history.

Buoyed by the belief inspired by narrower scorelines against Ireland and Scotland, Wales fans had dared to dream before kick-off, snarling and singing through England's warm-up.

It took only three minutes for reality to intrude. England kicked a penalty to the corner, caught, drove and burrowed over though captain Maro Itoje.

England's Under-20 side had taken a similarly early lead the previous night at the neighbouring Cardiff Arms Park, only to be overhauled by a committed Wales performance.

Blair Murray scooping up a loose ball and scampering in might have been the spark for a similar comeback, or at least longer-lasting resistance.

But referee Nic Berry chalked off the score, spotting Tomos Williams getting involved in play from an offside position after an Alex Mitchell box-kick had been spilled.

A minute later, Tom Roebuck - picked out by a fizzed Fin Smith miss pass - showed tremendous reach and strength to dot down with Murray hanging off him, which stretched England's lead to 14 points inside 10 minutes.

The visitors kept winning the small battles.

Gareth Anscombe was held off the floor after running into a tag team of Will Stuart and Tommy Freeman. Ben Earl celebrated a scrum penalty. Luke Cowan-Dickie made a superb tap-tackle to deny Murray.

And by the end of the half England were making big dents in the scoreline.

Freeman cantered in on 34 minutes after quick hands from Northampton team-mates Fin Smith and Fraser Dingwall to become the first Englishman to score in every round of a Six Nations campaign.

On 38 minutes, Chandler Cunningham-South, on early for the injured Ollie Chessum, powered through Murray on his second surge in quick succession.

With the final play of the half, Stuart stepped and shunted over. Fin Smith only missed the final conversion and England went down the tunnel 33-7 ahead, with the bonus point already secured.

Wales, in danger of disintegrating in the face of England's power and cohesion, had only Ben Thomas' score, a well-taken line off Anscombe, in reply.

A second Wales try went begging after the break as Aaron Wainwright and Max Llewellyn failed to grasp Ellis Mee's offload in sight of the line.

With England's back row dominating both the breakdown and gainline, it was a rare opportunity.

England were forced to rejig when Freeman went off with an injury. Henry Pollock, who turned 20 in January, was summoned for his Test debut, while Earl moved into the centres.

But the disruption did not stem the flow of scores.

Mitchell hacked upfield and gathered for England's sixth try after Elliot Daly's tackle had dislodged the ball from Jarrod Evans' grasp.

The replacements cashed in on England's unrelenting dominance.

Pollock gleefully marked his Test bow with a score, sprinting in out wide from a sharp pass from George Ford before prop Joe Heyes gathered Tom Willis' spectacular offload for another.

In front of a muted Principality Stadium, the only sound was from pockets of celebrating England fans and the shredding of record books.

The visiting supporters' minds turned to title permutations as chants in support of Scotland sprouted in the stands, broken only by cheers as Pollock and Cunningham-South doubled their tallies.

A large proportion of Wales fans had departed before the end, missing Thomas' 77th-minute try which proved little consolation.

The brutal chasm the hosts still have to bridge was obvious to all, however.

England have the 'makings of a very good team'

England head coach Steve Borthwick speaking to BBC One: "We challenged them to go out and play with the attitude that we wanted to play big and they did exactly that.

"All the England fans out there - there were so many of them and they were so loud, probably the loudest I've ever heard them in Cardiff - I'm so happy that they've got plenty to cheer about.

"I'm delighted I get the privilege of coaching this young group of players. I think this has got the makings of a very good team."

Man of the match Ben Curry on BBC One: "This team has been through a lot, I'm really happy for everyone involved.

"It's an unbelievable feeling to be able to give that to not just ourselves, but to the fans as well.

"This is what you dream of. I love being part of this team. I haven't had too many opportunities in the last two years, but I've loved coming into camp, I've loved this team.

"Even the lads who aren't playing are helping the lads in the week, it's a proper team effort. I feel we're building something special."

'Today was a body blow too many'

Wales interim head coach Matt Sherratt speaking on BBC iPlayer: "It's a very difficult one to reflect on because the emotions are quite raw.

"Probably my overwhelming feeling is just really disappointed for the players, they're a good group of people and they deserve more.

"It's been a tough 18 months and you could probably see today was a body blow too many."

Wales captain Jac Morgan speaking on BBC One: "We are gutted with the result but full credit to England, they were brilliant today and clinical when they had that ball.

"You can't knock the effort of the boys and their commitment in training.

"It will come hopefully and we'll get back to work and try to keep on improving."

Line-ups

Wales: Murray, Mee, Llwellwyn, B Thomas, Roberts; Anscombe, Tomos Williams; Smith, Dee, John, Rowlands, Jenkins, Wainwright, Morgan, Faletau.

Replacements: Lake, G Thomas, Assiratti, Teddy Williams, Reffell, Rhodri Williams, Evans, Tompkins

England: M Smith, Roebuck, Freeman, Dingwall, Daly; F Smith, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Stuart, Itoje, Chessum, T Curry, B Curry, Earl

Replacements: George, Baxter, Heyes, Cunningham-South, Pollock, Willis, Van Poortvliet, Ford

Referee: Nic Berry (Aus)

TMO: Mike Adamson (Sco)

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