England defeat Wales in Cardiff
England beat Wales 10-20 in the third round of the Guinness Six Nations at the Principality Stadium.
Tries from Anthony Watson, Kyle Sinckler and Ollie Lawrence, as well as five points from the boot of Owen Farrell secured England's first win in Cardiff in six years, as they held off an inspired Wales side, whose points came via Louis Rees-Zammit and Leigh Halfpenny.
England subdued early pressure as full back Freddie Steward calmly dealt with tactical kicks, and though the visitors looked dangerous in attack close to the Welsh line, their first points came via a 45-metre Farrell penalty on 10 minutes, as Steve Borthwick's charges took a 0-3 lead.
Set piece brilliance was the catalyst behind the first try - from a scrum inside the Wales half Jack van Poortvliet peeled off and hit Owen Farrell behind the brilliant running line of Henry Slade. The fly half lifted the ball inside to the onrushing Max Malins who burst through before offloading to Ollie Lawrence.
The Bath man was brought down 10 metres from the whitewash, but quick ruck speed saw the ball recycled and shifted through the hands of Farrell and Alex Dombrandt - the back rower provided a miss pass to Watson out wide, and the winger made an acrobatic dive into the corner to score in his first Test match in two years.
Halfpenny was on hand moments later to reduce the deficit to five, slotting a penalty, and as the break approached the hosts hammered England's line - but unwavering defence kept them at bay until half time. The stats showed a competitive affair: England carrying for more metres (206) and making more clean breaks (4) with Warren Gatland's charges boasting more possession (55%) and making more carries (70).
A momentum shift seconds into the resumption saw Rees-Zammit intercept the pass of Malins to canter away unopposed, and Leigh Halfpenny's conversion handed Wales a 10-8 lead.
Undeterred, England regrouped and worked their way down the field, forcing a penalty and opting to kick to the corner. Dominant forward carries followed - spearheaded by Ellis Genge - but it was his prop counterpart Sinckler, who powered over from close range directly under the posts, and Farrell's successful conversion put England back in the ascendancy.
With six minutes remaining England went in search of a decisive score, and found it in the shape of Lawrence. Replacement scrum half Alex Mitchell injected pace into the match, and when close the the Welsh line he supplied quick ball to Steward, whose assist to Lawrence confirmed the centre's first ever Six Nations try, and sealed the win.
Reaction
Owen Farrell: "We had a job to do, and we done it. It was a good Test for us we stuck in there and fought until the end and I thought we took control of that last 20 minutes.
"We're only starting, we have another big team coming next time back at Twickenham and we have a lot of work to do, there's bits starting to show, we've laid some foundations and we want to keep building on it all."
Steve Borthwick: "That was a tough Test match, there was a lot of pressure in that game. Both teams going at it, there wasn't much in it.
"Those Welsh players deserve such enormous credit and respect, to go through what they've gone through, and put in a performance like that."
TEAMS
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Max Malins, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Ollie Lawrence, 11. Anthony Watson, 10. Owen Farrell (C), 9. Jack van Poortvliet, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Ollie Chessum, 6. Lewis Ludlam, 7. Jack Willis, 8. Alex Dombrandt.
Replacements
16. Jack Walker, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Dan Cole, 19. Courtney Lawes, 20. Ben Curry, 21. Alex Mitchell, 22. Marcus Smith, 23. Henry Arundell.
Wales
15. Leigh Halfpenny, 14. Josh Adams, 13. Mason Grady, 12. Joe Hawkins, 11. Louis Rees-Zammit, 10. Owen Williams, 9. Tomos Williams, 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. Ken Owens, 3. Tomas Francis, 4. Adam Beard, 5. Alun Wyn Jones, 6. Christ Tshiunza, 7. Justin Tipuric, 8. Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements
16. Bradley Roberts, 17. Rhys Carre, 18. Dillon Lewis, 19. Dafydd Jenkins, 20. Tommy Reffell, 21. Kieran Hardy, 22. Dan Biggar, 23. Nick Tompkins.
FIXTURES & RESULTS
England 23 - 29 Scotland
Wales 10 - 20 England
11 Mar - England v France - Twickenham
18 Mar - Ireland v England - Dublin
