RAMPANT England asked the ultimate Six Nations question of France as they smashed their way to a record-breaking victory at the Principality Stadium.
Steve Borthwick’s side scored FIVE tries in a sensational first half in which they blew the woeful Welsh away and added five MORE after the interval.
England put in a performance to remember as the Welsh were swatted aside[/caption]
England ran in ten tries to dominate proceedings at the Principality Stadium[/caption]
Wales’ young side had no answer to England’s power[/caption]
Tommy Freeman was among those to score in a one-sided first half[/caption]
It all added up to England’s biggest ever win on Welsh territory as the Red Dragon’s whimper saw the seats emptied in huge numbers long before the end, a long summer supping with the wooden spoon ahead of them.
Yet it will only be enough for the Six Nations title if Scotland upset the odds and deny France a win in Paris later tonight.
England were utterly dominant at the set-piece, making yards with every carry and showing real ambition in that re-jigged back division, as Fraser Dingwall’s club understanding with winger-turned centre Tommy Freeman was devastating.
Inspirational skipper Maro Itoje started the rout, winning a close-range line-out and then picking up to plunge over the line in only the third minute.
A second try – shortly after Blair Murray’s effort for the Welsh was ruled out for an offside offence by scrum half Tomos Williams – soon followed.
Borthwick’s boldness in drafting Tom Roebuck in on the right wing was justified as the silky Sale man took Fin Smith’s long pass to bulldoze his way through two tackles.
Wales, briefly, hit back, centre Ben Thomas exploiting a gap after three goalline drives had been repelled.
But England replied with a brutal trio of tries in just 10 minutes before the interval.
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Freeman scored the first, skipping through after brilliant fast hands from Dingwall and Fin Smith.
Then it was a close-range effort from Chandler Cunningham-South, an early replacement for second row Ollie Chessum, who popped up off Alex Mitchell’s right shoulder, cupping his ears to the home fans as he scored.
And from the final play of the half, with Wales half-stopping after the ball bounced off Ellis Genge’s head, England’s other prop Will Stuart was on hand to burrow over.
Wales spent the first 10 minutes of the second half in the England 22 – only for another accidental header to bring a sixth try for the Red Rose, as Mitchell took advantage of a rebound off Elliot Daly’s skull.
The pain did not stop as Wales plunged to their 17th successive defeat, rookie Henry Pollock marking his debut off the bench with England’s seventh try, fed on the right by George.
Alex Mitchell continued the dominance after the break[/caption]
It was Wales’ eighth defeat on the spin[/caption]
Number eight was almost instant, replacements Jack van Poortvliet, Tom Willis and try-scorer Joe Heyes combining as England went over the 50-point mark on Welsh territory for the first time in 143 years of trips over the Severn.
Thomas scored a consolation second but England still scored twice more as Wales fell apart.
New boy Pollock cut a lovely angle off Ford’s subtle pass and then Cunningham-South crashed over, Marcus Smith’s fourth conversion in 12 minutes as emphatic as the scoreline.
