England 48-7 Wales: The hosts get off to a strong start in the Six Nations

England coach Steve Borthwick had predicted a barrage of high kicks from Wales, and with the roof of Twickenham pitch slipping after heavy rain in the morning, he was quickly proven right.

Wales half-half Tomos Williams lifted the first kick into the box 40 seconds later, and Ellis Mee’s chase of another boot into the sky earned Wales some prime field position.

England were not averse to going the same route, with George Ford testing Louis Rees-Zammit with a pair of spiral bombs early on.

It quickly became clear that only England had the speed, intensity and power to capitalize on the ensuing chaos.

After George Ford’s third-minute penalty, England’s first try followed as Jay Pepper led the team-heavy side in contact and Ford flicked the ball away from Arundel and into it.

Charging points at a rate of one a minute, then Wales’ faint hopes were torpedoed by two yellow cards in the space of 60 seconds.

Nicky Smith and fellow front rower Dewi Lake were sent to the sin box in quick succession as they illegally chased England down a line out close to their own line.

Due to a lack of personnel and strength, England chose Wales.

Given the option of a penalty kick under the goalposts to restart the match, captain Jimmy George called for the crowd to the delight of the Allianz Stadium fans.

A set-piece duly followed, creating space for Ford to slot the ball wide of Arundel for a second time. Ben Earl then raced wide as England made the most of their power play against 13 men.

Wales rallied from a 22-0 deficit, but rarely managed to get the momentum back on their way.

England’s fourth try – Arundel’s third – was largely self-inflicted as Dan Edwards threw a pass behind Rhys-Zammit, allowing Dingwall to score and feed Arundel.

The Bath winger touched the ball just three times, scoring on each occasion, recording the team’s first Six Nations hat-trick since Jonny May against France in 2019.