Henry Arundell plundered a hat-trick of tries as England launched their Guinness Six Nations title quest by overwhelming Wales 48-7 at Allianz Stadium.<\/p>\n
Two days after France swept aside Ireland 36-14<\/a> with a statement performance on the opening night, Steve Borthwick’s men responded by breaching the Welsh whitewash seven times to register their 12th successive Test win.<\/p>\n Arundell celebrated his first Test start since the 2023 World Cup by running in three first-half tries and there were also touch downs for Ben Earl, Toe Roebuck and Tommy Freeman, as well as a penalty try.<\/p>\n George Ford directed play masterfully at fly-half and England\u2019s precision in the first-half was impressive, but they took their foot off the pedal after the interval against opponents who had discovered their stomach for the fight.<\/p>\n Crisis-stricken Wales hastened their downfall with a brainless first-quarter disciplinary implosion that conceded 10 penalties in 21 minutes and saw front rows Nicky Smith and Dewi Lake sent to the sin-bin.<\/p>\n Errors compounded across their game and apart from an improved second half, Wales\u2019 12th consecutive Six Nations loss in a run dating back to 2023 was more evidence of how far they have fallen.<\/p>\n Earlier in the afternoon, Italy rocked the Six Nations <\/a>by ambushing Scotland 18-15 in Rome but at Twickenham it quickly became clear another upset was unthinkable.<\/p>\n 37mins: \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f29-0 \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f<\/p>\n Hat-trick for Arundell against a struggling Wales. A dodgy pass from Ben Thomas sees Dingwall on it and getting Arundell through for his third of the half.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfa@rte2<\/a> @rteplayer<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/XnOP6grnB7<\/a> #sixnations<\/a> #rterugby<\/a> #engvwal<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/S8ZbcoU4JQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RT\u00c9 Sport (@RTEsport) February 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Instead, by the end of the opening quarter England had surged 15-0 ahead through two simple Arundell finishes, both of them set-up by Ford who displayed his pinpoint passing and kicking for the assists.<\/p>\n But the drama extended beyond the scores with Wales\u2019 early disciplinary wobble placing them in an impossible position.<\/p>\n By the 16th minute referee Pierre Brousset warned Lake he would start to issue yellow cards in response to the rising penalty count \u2013 it stood at five \u2013 and within a minute Smith and Lake were in the sin-bin.<\/p>\n Earl was getting through a mountain of work and after England had attacked one corner, they swept left where their number eight had the strength to touch down.<\/p>\n When a rare Welsh attack broke down, the ball was slipped to Arundell who completed his hat-trick before left wing Roebuck also got in on the action by crossing early in the second half.<\/p>\n In a sign of how easy it had been, Roebuck had three unmarked white shirts outside him who could also have scored.<\/p>\n Maro Itoje was sin-binned seconds after stepping off the bench and Wales rounded off a promising spell with Josh Adams gathering a Dan Edwards kick and strolling over.<\/p>\n 52mins: \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f36-7 \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f<\/p>\n Josh Adams gets Wales on the scoreboard over 50 minutes in. Dan Edwards makes a cross-field kick to Adams who walks it in on the left.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfa@rte2<\/a> @rteplayer<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/XnOP6grnB7<\/a> #sixnations<\/a> #rterugby<\/a> #engvwal<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/V9jCX6GrCI<\/a><\/p>\n