A courageous Wales remain winless in this season's Six Nations after getting overpowered by a strong England side who ran out 20-10 victors at the Principality Stadium.
At the end of a turbulent week in Welsh rugby, Warren Gatland's men fought to the bitter end but ultimately did not have enough power to beat England, who should have won by a lot more. They can have no complaints with the final result after getting outscored by three tries to one.
A first-half try from Anthony Watson was cancelled out by an interception score from Louis Rees-Zammit straight after the break, which put Wales into the lead. But it was short-lived with tries from Ellis Genge and Ollie Lawrence sealing a deserved victory for Steve Borthwick's side.
Wales will now travel to Rome to face a reinvigorated Italy in a bid to avoid their first Six Nations whitewash since 2003.
We take a look at some of the major reasons for Wales' defeat:
Kicking game
One area Wales lost hands down was the kicking game. While many spectators bemoan the aerial battle, it is absolutely crucial to the outcome of any Test match.
Wales kicked a lot during the first half but much of it was aimless, and they failed to put England under any real pressure.
England full-back Freddie Steward was imperious under the high ball and may as well have been playing with glue stuck to his hands. Whenever Wales asked any questions of his positional play or his ability under the high ball, he had an answer.
It was obviously a tactic of Wales to pressurise England in the air in order to win field position but instead they ended up losing territory. As the game wore on it was baffling to see Wales' half-backs Tomos Williams and Owen Williams continue to target Steward.
The old stalwart
The returning Taulupe Faletau was hugely influential with the Cardiff No. 8 a constant thorn in England's side. Faletau was a shock omission from the starting XV against Scotland a fortnight ago but Wales quickly learnt how invaluable the 32-year-old really is.
He may be approaching the end of his career, and a lot has been made of the age profile of this squad, but Faletau still has plenty to offer this side. He put a marker down in the first few minutes by charging down Jack van Poortvliet's box kick, while he was excellent at the breakdown. He also made an impact with his footwork, ball carrying, and his defensive game.
Whenever Wales are under pressure you can count on Faletau doing the right thing.
One example of his worth came in the 56th minute when England were pushing for a try which could have killed off the home side.
With the visitors looking for quick ruck ball, Faletau got himself in the right position to win a crucial turnover. Even though he ended up on the losing side, the margin of defeat would have been a lot had it not been for his efforts. A class act.
A glimpse into the future
Warren Gatland made the bold decision of selection an inexperienced centre partnership with a mere three caps between them. To put this risk into context, Joe Hawkins and Mason Grady were both starting for Wales U20s last summer against Scotland, Georgia, and Italy.
Outside centre is arguably the most difficult position to defend on the field but the uncapped Grady gave a good account of himself. Every time the 20-year-old touched the ball he made a positive impact whether through his carrying or his passing game.
Hawkins is a very talented footballer with a great deal of peripheral vision who is still finding his feet at this level but he showed some nice touches.
It wasn't perfect, and both still have a lot to learn, but there were real signs this could develop into a centre partnership to fear at Test level over the coming years.
Replacement centre Nick Tompkins also made a big impact from the replacements bench, injecting a large amount of energy into this Wales performance with his explosiveness, while he also made a try-saving tackle on Anthony Watson.
Hawkins and Grady are the future but on this evidence Saracens star Tompkins will remain in the selection mix for the foreseeable future.
Breakdown woes
On far too many occasions Wales got picked off at the breakdown while their clear-outs weren't efficient enough. There were a few periods where Wales got go-forward but were turned over by outstanding England openside Jack Willis.
In the 65th minute Wales had an attacking lineout deep in the England 22, but having got over the gain-line they were once again turned over, this time by replacement openside Ben Curry.
While both Justin Tipuric and Christ Tshiunza are excellent players, who both got through a large amount of work, the decision not to select Tommy Reffell was a bit of a head scratcher. The Leicester Tigers man has been among the best opensides in the English Premiership over the last couple of seasons, was immense during Wales' summer tour of South Africa, and was their best player up at Murrayfield a two weeks ago.
Wales could have done with his breakdown prowess from the word 'go' at the Principality Stadium, and he must surely be in contention to start against Italy in Rome.
A lack of power
Moving forward, Wales' biggest problem will be a lack of power and size in the front five. This is evident throughout Welsh rugby, with the Ospreys' performances in Europe the exception to the rule.
To their credit, Wales were courageous and didn't shirk the physical element of the game but in the end power told as they were outmuscled by a stronger England pack.
Historically, Warren Gatland's sides have relied on physicality and raw power to win Test matches but Wales haven't got the players to win that way anymore. Wales need to box a lot smarter if they are to make up for their lack of power in the front-five, with more creativity needed behind the scrum, while the breakdown needs to be a lot more efficient.
Character
Given what the Welsh players have been through over the past few weeks, it's a minor miracle they were able to compete against a strong England outfit. While they ultimately came up short, every player can be proud of his efforts having been put in a disgraceful position for the past few months.
Many of these players have no idea where they will be playing their rugby next season given the contractual freeze which has been imposed upon them by the Professional Rugby Board, while some of their colleagues at regional level may find themselves unemployed in the near future as a result of a series of brutal pay cuts.
Wales' players had threatened to strike with compromise with the Welsh Rugby Union being met on Wednesday. Despite all the politics going on in the background, they gave a good account of themselves and must never be put in this position again.
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