The Six Nations continued in Cardiff this afternoon as two old rivals collided in what was a bruising Test clash. This match had remained in real doubt up until Wednesday, when the threat of strike action from the Welsh players was finally avoided amid a bitter contract dispute with the WRU that has thrown rugby in Wales into absolute turmoil and provoked serious questions about the future.
England headed across the Severn Bridge on Saturday aiming to take full advantage of that chaos and hoping that Warren Gatland’s side, hammered by both Ireland and Scotland, didn’t feed off a typically frenzied atmosphere and new-found siege mentality in their bid to avoid three straight defeats to open the Six Nations for the first time since 2007.
And Steve Borthwick’s men just about came out on top in a scrappy, tense affair, winning in Cardiff for the first time in six years with scores from Anthony Watson, Kyle Sinckler and Ollie Lawrence making up for a poor day from the tee for Owen Farrell and Louis Rees-Zammit’s early second-half intercept. Follow Wales vs England reaction live below, featuring expert analysis from Nick Purewal at the Principality Stadium.
