If France set the standard with their dramatic opening night victory over Ireland, England proved they are their main rivals to win the Six Nations.
Saturday’s 48-7 victory over Wales marked the start of a tournament in which England must take the next step towards silver medal under manager Steve Borthwick.
England brought a level of brutality, both offensively and defensively, that could not be contained by a Welsh team that was out of form and in transition.
World-class scrum-half Tomos Williams and Louis Rees-Zammit, appearing at full-back in his first Six Nations appearance after returning from NFL duty, were neutralized and disabled, leaving Wales vulnerable to the onslaught that followed.
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England head coach Steve Borthwick was full of praise for Henry Arundel, who scored a hat-trick in England’s big Six Nations win over rivals Wales.
England’s superiority was asserted in the canter, without the need for gearing beyond second. They scored 48 points and everyone at Allianz Stadium agreed they could and should have scored more.
England fly-half and man of the match George Ford said: “Obviously I’m happy with the result and I think it was a good performance overall.”
“There was a little bit of frustration there. We were hoping for a good start and a decent performance and we got that. But today we probably left a little bit unfinished.”
Henry Arundel scores first-half hat-trick against Wales in England’s Six Nations opener
Tandy regrets ‘self-inflicted’ part of defeat
Crisis-hit Wales arrived at Twickenham with unprecedentedly low expectations given the off-field turmoil that has engulfed Welsh rugby.
On the pitch, they were plagued by discipline issues and an unintelligent first quarter precipitated their collapse.
Wales conceded 10 penalties in 21 minutes, with front row players Nicky Smith and Dewi Lake sent to the sin bin.
England had 12 points, while Wales were reduced to 13, ending any hopes of an unlikely upset.
“We’re really frustrated,” head coach Steve Tandy said. “We loved our work throughout the fall and as a group, but today we are even more disappointed in ourselves.
“A lot of what happened was of our own making. We felt we were in a good position, but to have four yellow cards and be very inaccurate with the ball and lose, you’re always going to be behind on the scoreboard.
“It’s part of the game, it’s part of the journey to where we need to go. We’re here for a reason.
“At the end of the day we’re really disappointed with our performance tonight. England are in a very good position but we’re terribly disappointed.”
Steve Borthwick is adamant England can improve despite a seven-try defeat to Wales in their Six Nations opener
Borthwick insists there is a lot of room for improvement.
England’s challenges were clear ahead of their appearance in the Six Nations. They reach the fifth round match against France in Paris with the Grand Slam on the line.
But looking that far ahead is sure to frustrate their ambitions – especially given they have tougher challenges ahead of Wales, starting with Saturday’s trip to Murrayfield.
England may enter the Calcutta Cup as holders and Scotland may be reeling from an 18-15 opening loss in Italy, but England have not won in Edinburgh since 2020.
This victory came two years before Borthwick took over, and the England head coach outlined a number of areas for improvement before heading to Murrayfield.
“Defensively we were great,” he said. “We know Wales have so many dangerous players and they have so much pace out wide, but we contained them really well.
“Our kicking game was good and we did a good job with our set pieces. But there’s a lot of room for improvement. What I’m really happy about is that we’re able to create a lot of chances and convert them well.”
“We didn’t take our chances the way I wanted, especially in the second half. There’s a lot to work on.”
England 2026 Six Nations fixtures
UK and Ireland all the time
England 48-7 Wales (Saturday 7th February) – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (4.40pm) vs Scotland (Saturday 14th February) – Murrayfield (4.40pm) vs Ireland (Saturday 21st February) – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (2.10pm) vs Italy (Saturday 7th March) – Rome’s Stadio Olimpico (4.40pm) vs France (Saturday March 14) – Stade de France, Paris (8.10pm)
