Woeful Wales Dominated by Clinical England

Henry Arundell scored a first-half hat-trick as England hammered Wales 48–7 at the Allianz Stadium.

England started on the front foot, with George Ford slotting a penalty inside two minutes. Arundell soon made the early pressure pay, opening the try-scoring within the first ten minutes before adding his second just moments later.

Wales suffered significantly due to poor discipline; notably, they had two players in the sin bin—Nicky Smith and captain Dewi Lake—mere moments before Arundell’s second score. Saracens' Ben Earl then crashed over from close range after 23 minutes to extend an already healthy England lead. Five minutes before the interval, Arundell crossed again to complete his hat-trick and secure the try bonus point for the hosts.

With the score at 29–0 at half-time, it was safe to say Wales were miles away from their best. While they are a side in transition, that transition is no excuse for such a lackluster opening 40 minutes. Steve Tandy has a massive job on his hands, and it certainly won’t be a quick fix.

Things went from bad to worse for Tandy’s side just four minutes into the second half when Tom Roebuck added England’s fifth try. Roebuck was only drafted into the starting XV following an injury to Manny Feyi-Waboso during the warm-up.

As both sides rang the changes, Maro Itoje entered the fray for England. The Saracens lock had been left out of the starting lineup after missing time in camp following the recent loss of his mother. However, Itoje had been on the pitch for what felt like mere seconds when referee Pierre Brousset sent him to the sin bin.

With England down a man, Wales finally got points on the board. A cross-field kick landed safely in the arms of Josh Adams, who crossed for his side’s first try of this year’s tournament.

The Welsh comeback was short-lived as Ben Thomas was sent to the bin, followed shortly by Taine Plumtree. Plumtree was judged to have tackled Henry Pollock high, making contact with the Northampton Saints back-rower’s head. The tackle resulted in a penalty try, truly putting the game to bed.

England weren't finished; with a minute remaining, Tommy Freeman forced his way through for a final score.

It was a clinical, convincing win for England and an alarmingly poor performance from Wales. While the second half was marginally better for the visitors, it was too little, too late, and nowhere near the level of performance expected of them.

England travel north next weekend to face fierce rivals Scotland at Murrayfield for the Calcutta Cup. With the game falling on Valentine’s Day, there’s no better way to spend time with a loved one than watching what is traditionally a fascinating clash. Meanwhile, it doesn’t get any easier for Wales as they welcome France to the Principality Stadium next Sunday.

Right now, it’s hard to look past Wales as the primary contenders for the Wooden Spoon—and even tougher to see where their next win might come from.