Ruthless England scored 10 tries in a thumping 68-14 victory against Wales to put all the pressure on France in the race for the Guinness Six Nations title.
Steve Borthwick’s men produced their best performance in the campaign to leapfrog Ireland to the top of the championship table, meaning France had to beat Scotland in the final Super Saturday match to become champions. If Les Bleus slip up, England will be winners for the first time in five years.
England were clinical in Cardiff and set the tone inside three minutes as Maro Itoje scored, while Tom Roebuck, Tommy Freeman, Chandler Cunningham-South and Will Stuart also crossed for tries in the first half.
England’s tries came in quick bursts, but in-between, Wales was more than a match for the visitors. Had they had the rub of the green and shown composure at the right moment, they would have scored plenty of points themselves.
However, they tired in the second half and England inflicted further pain through tries from Alex Mitchell, two for Henry Pollock on debut, Joe Heyes and a second for Cunningham-South.
The scoreline marked Wales' biggest defeat in Cardiff in championship history and their biggest-ever defeat to England.
Though they were favourites to win before kick-off, this was some statement from England. With nine wins from their last 11 matches against Wales, they had good reason to be confident and they made an electric start at a raucous Principality Stadium.
An early penalty gifted them the chance to kick to the corner and, after two drives, they planted the ball down for the first try. Itoje, standing just a metre out, took full advantage of some quick ball to dive over and crown an excellent English start inside three minutes.
After a slow start to the Championship, Wales have improved in performances against Ireland and Scotland and their scrum – coached by former tighthead Adam Jones – has impressed.
The scrum here made a strong start by winning an early penalty and a minute later Wales thought they were back in it when a loose ball bounced around following a high kick and fell kindly for Blair Murray. The full-back sprinted away to score but the TMO spotted an offside Tomos Williams interfering with play and quickly ruled it out.
Rubbing salt into the wound, England crossed for a second try shortly after as a huge scrum earned a penalty, which Fin Smith kicked into touch for good field position. The fly-half then splayed a fine, looping pass to Roebuck in the wide channel and he muscled his way over. Smith kicked the conversion to put England 14-0 up.
Wales increasingly grew into an entertaining game, and only a desperate Luke Cowan-Dickie tap tackle prevented Murray from running in unopposed after he collected his own delicate chip in midfield.
However, they were soon rewarded for their efforts as Ben Thomas ran in under the posts after a five-metre lineout to cut England’s lead to 14-7. However, in a scruffy restart, Gareth Anscombe was charged down and England took full advantage of positive field position and scored a third try that opened the floodgates.
From a lineout routine, Roebuck looked set to score in the right corner but England recycled the ball and went through the hands to the left where Freeman barged his way through two defenders to dot down, becoming the first player in Championship history to score in all five matches in a single campaign.
After that sucker punch, England cashed in on a wounded Wales by scoring a fourth try just a couple of minutes later. Ben Earl won a penalty in midfield and England again cut through Wales, with some fabulous hands resulting in Cunningham-South diving over.
A fifth followed just before half-time as a Ben Curry break took England to the five-metre line and, with space to the left, they went to Stuart, who celebrated his 50th cap with a try.
Shellshocked after that late burst of England tries, Wales had a chance to re-set at half-time and they emerged for the second half with a renewed focus and bossed the first 10 minutes.
Itoje conceded three penalties but Wales were unable to convert pressure into points, with Ben Curry winning an outstanding turnover on England’s try-line to deny the hosts, and a botched three-on-one opportunity in the left corner.
An injury to Freeman forced an England reshuffle, with Earl shifted to centre and Pollock called from the bench to make a highly-anticipated England debut. They soon scored a sixth try as Elliot Daly dislodged the ball from Jarrod Evans, and it fell perfectly for Mitchell to kick into clear space and run in to score.
With Wales tiring, England inflicted further pain. After a barrage of forward carries inside the five-metre line sucked Wales’ defenders in, George Ford fired a fine pass out wide to a waiting Pollock to stroll in for a debut try, while Heyes rumbled over three minutes later from a Tom Willis off-load.
Thomas added a late consolation for Wales with a try under the posts with three minutes to go but England still had time for two more scores, as Pollock waltzed his way through from another Ford pass, and Cunningham-South added the last with the clock in the red.
Scorers:
Wales: Tries: Ben Thomas (2). Conversions: Gareth Anscombe, Jarrod Evans.
England: Tries: Maro Itoje, Tom Roebuck, Tommy Freeman, Chandler Cunningham-South(2), Will Stuart, Alex Mitchell), Henry Pollock(2), Joe Heyes. Conversions: Fin Smith(5), Marcus Smith(4).
Teams:
Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Joe Roberts, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Jac Morgan (c), 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Nicky Smith. Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Nick Tompkins.
England: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge. Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Henry Pollock, 21 Tom Willis, 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 George Ford.