England
15) Freddie Steward Dropped the first two high balls that came his way, which is uncharacteristic for him, but grew into the game thereafter. Lovely basketball pass to Chessum. 7/10
14) Tom Roebuck A late call-up with questions over whether he was fully fit. Quiet first half, much more involved in the second. Simple finish early in second half. 7
13) Tommy Freeman Butchered pass to Roebuck off his left hand, which makes you question his suitability at 13. Brought thrust to the midfield, though. Great late finish earned him an extra mark. 7
12) Fraser Dingwall The “glue” player, tasked with knitting it all together and easing Freeman’s transition to 13. Always solid, rarely spectacular. Rogue decision to kick when Wales were down two players. 7
11) Henry Arundell First start since 2023 World Cup and scored England’s first try with his first touch. Two touches later he had a hat-trick. So dangerous, he has to remain part of this side. 8
10) George Ford Showed his full array of kicking talents and his slick handling was to the fore for Roebuck’s try. Is the undoubted ringmaster of this team. 9
9) Alex Mitchell Crisp service, kept Wales honest by mixing things up and his box-kicking has come on well. Bit of an armchair ride. 8
1) Ellis Genge Cost England a penalty when squaring up to Mann, was held up when England were battering on the door and allowed Williams to milk a penalty before going off at half-time. 5
2) Jamie George Smart captaincy to call for scrum with Wales down to 13. Said in the week he has been freed up by retirement announcement and it showed. 7
3) Joe Heyes Will have harder afternoons at the coalface, but this used to be a position of weakness so his emergence is welcome indeed. 7
4) Alex Coles Has developed into Mr Reliable, allowing England to put Itoje on the bench. Ran a polished lineout and disrupted Wales’s. 7
5) Ollie Chessum Enjoyed himself after missing the second half of the autumn. When he is galloping up the middle of the field you know he is in good nick. 9
6) Guy Pepper Impressive again, getting through a mountain of work. His consistency allows Steve Borthwick to load bench with players such as Curry and Pollock. 7
7) Sam Underhill Set the tone by charging down Rees-Zammit. No superman tackle, not many trademark big hits but there wasn’t really the need. 7
8) Ben Earl Came into championship in scratchy form, but at his effervescent best, always making good ground with footwork. Took try nicely. 9
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dicke (for George 50) Got stuck in 6; Bevan Rodd (for Genge ht) Not as conspicuous as Genge, which is a compliment 7; Trevor Davison (for Heyes 50) Denied try 7; Maro Itoje (for Coles 50) Rousing reception then immediate yellow card 6; Tom Curry (for Underhill 50) All action but warranted yellow card 6; Henry Pollock (for Roebuck 65) Brought some needed energy 7; Ben Spencer (for Mitchell 69) N/A; Marcus Smith (for Steward 65) Lively from moment he entered field 8.
Wales
15) Louis Rees-Zammit Charged down by Underhill early on and was peppered by Ford’s relentless kicking. Stuck to task though and coped well. Such a graceful runner, but rarely off the leash. 7
14) Ellis Mee England’s first three tries came in his corner, the fourth down his wing. Not a great endorsement for him and had no chance to show what he can do in attack. 3
13) Eddie James Based on raw attributes, you can see why Wales rate him, but just could not influence proceedings. One to keep an eye on. 4
12) Ben Thomas Gave away a penalty for offside and his rank pass led to Arundell’s third try. Yellow card to round off a dismal afternoon. 3
11) Josh Adams A veteran of this side with 65 caps, but did not touch the ball in the first half. His second-half try ended Wales’s 135-minute wait for a point. 5
10) Dan Edwards Wales have had plenty of illustrious No 10s over the years. On this evidence, Edwards will not be another, but not much he can do when his side are so outgunned. 5
9) Tomos Williams A classy operator, but there is only so much he can do when faced with such dominant opposition. Deserves better. 6
1) Nicky Smith Paid for the price for collective indiscipline with a yellow card and came off second-best in scrum battle with club-mate and good friend Heyes. 4
2) Dewi Lake Received his yellow card moments after Smith. Lineout had its problems, too, and his failure to kick the ball when trying to go quickly was desperate. 4
3) Archie Griffin Had a few carries, did not make much ground with them and got no change out of Genge at scrum time. 6
4) Dafydd Jenkins Gave away a maul penalty and could make no inroads. Spilled ball over the try-line to compound his afternoon. 4
5) Adam Beard He and Jenkins wore black scrum caps so it was hard to work out who was playing worse. Wales were sloppy all over the park, the lineout in particular. 4
6) Alex Mann Promised to get under England’s skin, squared up to Genge and saved his side a penalty. If he is Wales’s enforcer, though, he will not cause many sleepless nights. 5
7) Josh Macleod Kept on going and won his side a penalty at the breakdown around England’s 22 towards the end of the first half. Alas, Wales could not take advantage. 6
8) Aaron Wainwright Gave it a lash, but part of a back-row that came off significantly second best. Kept going to the end and helped avoid a cricket score. 7
Replacements: Liam Belcher (for Lake 69) Little impression 6; Rhys Carré (for Smith 50) Put himself about 6; Tomas Francis (for Griffin 50) One big tackle 5; Ben Carter (for Beard 69) N/A; Taine Plumtree (for Mann 50) Last-gasp tackle to deny Pollock but correctly sent to sin-bin for it 5; Harri Deaves (for Macleod 52) Got about the pitch 6; Kieran Hardy (for Williams 79) N/A; Mason Grady (for Mee 53) Not much impact 5.
