Nick Easter scored four tries, his first in Test rugby for England, as the reigning champions began their build up to next month’s World Cup with a record 62-5 defeat of Wales at Twickenham.
England, who’d lost 12 of their previous 16 Tests, took an early grip on this game and, at halftime were 22-0 ahead.
The 57-point margin of victory was the best in Anglo-Welsh Test history between the two countries, surpassing England’s 50-10 win at Twickenham in 2002.
This was Wales’s last match before the World Cup squad deadline of August 14 and not many of their players enhanced their chances of making the 30-man party to be selected by coach Gareth Jenkins.
However, while England’s forwards were dominant they were not as ruthless in open play as they might have been with basic errors costing them tries.
But they still crossed Wales’s line nine times with Steve Borthwick, Shaun Perry, Lawrence Dallaglio, Jason Robinson and Mathew Tait also scoring tries. Outside-half Jonny Wilkinson kicked 17 points.
Wales’s only score came from a Dafydd James try.
”I’m pretty pleased with that performance,” said England coach Brian Ashton. ”There was a massive amount of pressure before the game because these guys were the first 22 to have a shot at the World Cup squad and you don’t get much more pressure than that.”
And he denied suggestions England, well beaten in their last two Tests in South Africa in June had played a limited, forward dominated, game.
”It wasn’t all that tight a game at all. There was a real mixture. In the first half I remember our backs taking their guys on in the middle of the field one-on-one and making clean line breaks which we should have finished off.
”There’s not much point whizzing the ball all over the park when you are five metres out and you’ve got a pack that can score without passing it.”
Of Easter, the coach said: ”Nick did well on the back of an outstanding pack performance.
”He’s played for England five times now and I doubt he’s played in that sort of comfort in any of his previous games.”
Welsh coach Gareth Jenkins, having seen his side overwhelmed on a hot day at Twickenham, said: ”That was a hard 60 points to watch. But we’ve got to realise that’s where we are. It’s August 4, our first outing, and today England really dominated us completely as a pack of forwards. They’ve strangled us”
He added: ”You can’t play against a side of England’s ability for 70% of the time without the ball. You can’t sustain 80 minutes of defence. We’ve been taught a lesson.”
England suffered late disruption to their plans when fullback Mark Cueto sustained a groin injury during the warm-up and had to be replaced by Tait.
But that didn’t affect their control of match against a Welsh side with only a handful of first-choice players in their starting line-up.
England went ahead in the 14th minute when Robinson tackled Dafydd James deep in Welsh territory.
Perry burst off the back of the ensuing scrum and was tackled just short of the line. But from the close-range ruck Easter burrowed over.
England’s second try came from a familiar ploy with Wilkinson kicking for touch off a penalty. That set up a lineout close to the Welsh line and Easter was driven over.
This time Wilkinson kicked the conversion and England were 12-0 ahead.
Wilkinson then showed what he could do with ball in hand when he ran through a gap in the Welsh defence. Although he was held up short of the line, Borthwick crossed for England’s third try with Wilkinson adding the extras.
Shortly before half-time debutant centre Daniel Hipkiss was stopped in his tracks by an illegal body check from Aled Brew for which the Welsh winger was sin-binned by French referee Joel Jutge and Wilkinson’s penalty extended England’s lead.
But although England are likely to need more than forward power alone at the World Cup it was sufficient for Easter to be driven over for two tries in quick succession. Wilkinson’s conversion of the latter try saw him to 900 points for England.
Wales eventually got on the scoreboard just short of the hour mark when scrumhalf Gareth Cooper’s long pass created space for James to go over in the right corner.
But England responded when replacement Dallaglio charged off the back of a scrum for another try before setting up Perry.
And there was still time for Robinson, another of England’s 2003 heroes, to chase down his own kick for a try. Then Tait followed up Wilkinson’s long range kick for England’s final score.
England’s build-up continues against France at Twickenham a week on Saturday before they face the World Cup hosts in Marseille on August 18. Wales welcome Argentina and France to Cardiff on August 18 and 26 respectively. – AFP
