CARDIFF, Wales — England have had some awful days in Cardiff. They have had championship charges halted here at this magical place for Welsh rugby.
But on Saturday afternoon, there was no danger of this. Steve Borthwick’s side blew Wales away, scoring 10 tries, and winning 68-14. It was a day records were shredded.
It wasn’t enough to secure the championship with France beating Scotland but England did what they had to do to keep the pressure on, handing Wales a brutal, beautiful, thorough beating. It was the most points Wales have ever conceded in Cardiff, and England’s biggest ever championship win over their great rivals.
England clicked. The Curry brothers were from another planet — Wales must have felt drunk as they were confronted with this double-vision of breakdown brilliance. Maro Itoje was immense; the captaincy hasn’t weighed heavy at all, instead, it has invigorated him. Fin Smith was again brilliant at fly-half, while this was the first time we saw Henry Pollock on the Test stage. His smile stretched from ear to ear as he ran on for his debut, and he marked it with a pair of tries.
Tom Hamilton reacts to England’s second place finish in the Six Nations behind France.
Borthwick’s plan of pace and intensity was executed to near perfection. Even the contingency plans were needed: Chandler Cunningham-South played 61 minutes in the second-row and Ben Earl had half an hour in the centres.
Even then, England didn’t falter, as they ran up a huge win, reducing one of the best atmospheres in world rugby to a murmur, only interspersed with England cheers.
Pre-match there was quiet optimism this would be Wales’ moment to finish that 16-Test losing streak. Well that flame of hope was extinguished by an utterly ruthless England side who have improved match on match in this championship.
Hopes of a Welsh revival were quashed; they looked second best in every area, unable to cope with England’s intensity and lost the contact area.
It wasn’t meant to be like this for Welsh rugby. Even four hours out from kick off, Westgate Street was bedlam. There were stormtroopers, daffodils and a couple of fans struggling to hold down alcohol they’d already consumed by the early afternoon. It felt like Cardiff was bubbling, threatening to boil over at any moment. England fans were being told where they could “shove” their chariots.
It was all set to be a great Welsh party, as those in red hoped this group would echo the classes of 1967, 1999, 2007 and 2013 in halting an England title charge.
But England refused to buy into that script as they swiped aside their greatest rivals in the finest performance of Borthwick’s tenure. England answered Borthwick’s pre-match challenge to find a pace Wales couldn’t live with, and they blew their hosts away in the opening stages, scoring through Maro Itoje in the third minute.
Wales thought they’d drawn level through Blair Murray soon after, but his effort was chalked off for Tomos Williams’ tackle on Tom Curry off the ball. So, in response, England doubled-down in the 10th minute, with Tom Roebuck scoring well on his first start. England’s momentum was briefly halted when Ollie Chessum was forced off with a shoulder injury in the 19th minute. That saw back-row Cunningham-South deployed at lock and Wales threatened to come back into it.
They had some joy, but were hamstrung by poor errors, like Gareth Anscombe criminally missing touch with a penalty in the 24th minute. Luke Cowan-Dickie’s outstanding tap-tackle on the lively Murray prevented him from sprinting away and eventually Ben Thomas scored on the half hour mark, but all it served to do was reignite England’s fire. Off the resulting kick-off Anscombe was charged down by the omnipresent Ben Curry, and from there England never blinked.
By half-time, England had scored a handful of tries. Tommy Freeman made it five in five, and became just the second player in the men’s Six Nations to achieve the feat of scoring in each match, equalling Philippe Bernat-Salles’ achievement from the 2001 championship. Cunningham-South burrowed over in the 38th minute, and Will Stuart sidestepped his way over on the half-time buzzer. The contest was over.
The second half allowed England to empty the bench, try some new combinations and ease themselves home. Mitchell scored a breakaway try in the 55th minute, Pollock grabbed one on his Test debut in the 67th minute, and Joe Heyes scored England’s eighth with 10 minutes left. Wales grabbed a late consolation through Thomas in the 77th minute, just a few phases after their first turnover in the match.
But England had the final say, Pollock and Cunningham-South hammering home the full stop of the match with England’s ninth and 10th tries in the final throes. This was a dream day for England.
For Wales, this result was a humbling reality check. For all the ambition and improvement we saw against Ireland and Scotland under interim head coach Matt Sherratt, this has sent them back to square one. It was an absolute disaster, and this simply must be their nadir. Welsh rugby can surely slip no further.
It was an obliteration by their fiercest rivals and this pain must trigger wholesale change. This was the second-most points they’ve conceded in a Test match, behind only the 96 they shipped to South Africa in 1998.
For England this was a famous day and proof of progress. England’s Six Nations started with a dismal day in Ireland, but they followed it up with one-point wins over France and Scotland. They rode their luck for both triumphs but cared little. Against Italy they got the job done.
And then in Wales, it was perfect. It was a era-defining performance. Pollock must think this international rugby lark is simple.
Check out how history was made in England’s 68-14 win over Wales in the Six Nations.
There were remarkable performances throughout, but Ben Curry was flawless. He was Wales’ chief irritant on the floor, relentless in defence and was just everywhere.
“Everyone has seen that Ben [Curry] has not got the plaudits over the years and at Sale we feel Ben is as good as Tom,” Roebuck said afterwards. “They are massive for us.” The man himself was delighted and crowned Player of the Match. “This is what you dream of,” Ben Curry said. “I love being part of this team. I have not had too many opportunities over the last couple of years and I love being a part of this team.”
Tom Curry was also superb, while Itoje put in yet another brilliant performance in the second-row. This may yet be the weekend where he crept in front of Caelan Doris for the British & Irish Lions captaincy.
Fin Smith showed why he is the present and future at fly-half, while Freeman did well at outside centre on his first England start there.
England dominated the set piece, and profited on the flanks — Elliot Daly putting in yet another age-defying showing while the bench also made the required impact. Pollock lived up to the hype with his two-try showing, and George Ford steered things effortlessly at No. 10 when he came on in the 56th minute to earn his 99th cap.
This all provides the watching Lions coach Andy Farrell with a wonderful headache ahead of the May 8 squad announcement. On such weekends, Lions squads change.
After the match, England’s attention turned to Paris, hoping for a favour from Scotland.
As Scotland threatened an upset, the stage for the trophy lift was being built in Cardiff, just in case. They tested the audio system in an empty Principality Stadium, just on the unlikely chance Scotland managed to get the job done. But France did what was required.
Yet this shouldn’t take anything away from what England did on this patch of grass earlier in the day.
This was an England performance to treasure, and has to be their benchmark heading forward. It was as close to a perfect day England will ever have on this side of the bridge on Welsh soil.
Source: espn.com