It was not always straightforward or particularly pretty but England’s Six Nations title hopes are still afloat.
Six penalties from the man of the match Marcus Smith, a burgled 43rd minute try by Alex Dombrandt and some last quarter defensive grit were just enough to see off a spirited Wales on a cool still evening in south-west London, with Ben Youngs’ record-breaking 115th cap for his country adding to the quiet sense of red rose achievement.
But let’s be honest. The comfortable French win in Edinburgh earlier in the day again put a lot of what we witnessed, particularly in the first-half, into stark perspective. A Six Nations season always contains a few snakes and ladders but not many would currently put many euros on Les Bleus or Ireland failing to finish ahead of England in the final table.
That is not to say England were poor, just that the game was a couple of notches down on France’s effort at Murrayfield. The last half hour may have been enjoyably frantic, with two Welsh tries in seven minutes by Josh Adams and Nick Tompkins, but it needed to be fun to make up for a scrappy first half which struggled to match either the soaring setting or the clearest of late February blue skies.
England, though, have still only lost two games at home in the Six Nations in the last 10 years – beaten only by Ireland in 2018 and Scotland in 2021 – and there continue to be signs of a decent side trying to get out.
Once again Smith was in energetic ringmaster mode, his hitch-kicking sense of adventure always a threat. His half-back partner Harry Randall also buzzed around positively and we will never know what difference a fit Manu Tuilagi might have made.
Maro Itoje and Ellis Genge made a physical impression, too, but better sides than Wales will pose more demanding questions. The try count of three tries to one in favour of the visitors, including a last-gasp effort from Kieran Hardy which gave English supporters brief palpitations, will also give Eddie Jones and his assistants some food for thought.
A stiffer test will also await at the breakdown against the Irish and French, even if England had some joy on the floor here. Wales conceded five ruck penalties in the entire game in Cardiff 12 months ago; inside the first 15 minutes of this match they conceded four. England took grateful advantage, Smith slotting two confident early penalties after a good jackal from Itoje and an off-feet misjudgement from Taine Basham.
Wales, though, were causing some problems at the other end. Only a botched line-out wasted a promising position deep in England’s 22 and then Alex Cuthbert, winning his 50th cap, galloped through a couple of tackles and might have created a try had he spotted the unmarked Adams lurking out to his left.
It was a costly decision, with Wales subsequently penalised for holding on and the momentum shifting back England’s way. The visitors were suddenly under the cosh, hanging on in front of their own posts. When Liam Williams was sin-binned for interfering with England’s ball close to the line and both Owen Watkin and Tomas Francis departed for head injury assessments, it seemed as if England might have their neighbours snookered.
To their considerable relief a scrum penalty relieved the pressure and the early departure of a limping Luke Cowan-Dickie also forced the hosts to reset slightly. A knock-on by Max Malins also offered Wales the chance to launch a thrilling counter-attack with scrum-half Tomos Williams displaying the handling skills of a pro basketballer to set the resurgent Cuthbert away again.
England needed another catalyst to stir them back into life and it arrived in the form of a thumping Tom Curry tackle which led directly to another England penalty. This time Smith, having pushed a previous penalty effort narrowly wide, nailed the three-pointer and England’s 9-0 lead was to prove extremely valuable in the final analysis.
The sweet left feet of Elliot Daly, enjoying a decent game at 13, and Henry Slade also kept Wales pinned back with angled kicks to touch, the Exeter man earned his side a 50:22 throw-in five metres out with one particularly lovely strike. It did not bear immediate scoreboard fruit but, with Smith and Randall both keeping the defence guessing, another prolonged spell of English pressure produced a further three points just prior to the interval.
Wales needed the breather, having had to make almost twice as many tackles as their opponents, but within three minutes of the restart the game was effectively snatched away from them. Ryan Elias’s throw in his own 22 sailed right over the top to a rampaging Dombrandt who surged past Cuthbert and was adjudged to have touched the ball down at full stretch despite the last-ditch intervention of Taulupe Faletau.
Wales were left to complain that Adam Beard had been tugged down in the line-out but, with Sam Simmonds having also appeared at half-time in place of a dazed Curry, surely there was no way England were going to blow a 17-0 lead. Or was there?
With nothing to lose Wales picked up the pace and Williams’ fine miss pass put Adams over on the left. Then Tompkins picked a nice line and Dan Biggar’s conversion reduced the deficit to five points with 19 minutes left. To the relief of Youngs, and England, it proved to be the high water mark of the rising crimson tide.
