How they rated
LIAM WILLIAMS
Marcus Smith kept kicking to him in the first half, and Williams kept catching the ball, with a handful of bombs defused. In between, the Wales full-back was yellow-carded for a ruck offence.
ALEX CUTHBERT
Cap number 50 for Wales, and put a stamp on the occasion with a 50-metre break early on. Made a couple of errors, but his running worried England and
Cuthbert more than justified his selection.
OWEN WATKIN
Deservedly retained in the starting line-up, but spilled first kick-off and then needed patching up with a cut eye.
Some decent defence but
Watkin looked a bit shaken up after his bump and found it hard to get into the game.
NICK TOMPKINS
Busy and involved in some good Wales moments, one of which saw him force his way across for a deserved try. His selection hadn’t been cheered by all but this was a strong effort from Tompkins.
JOSH ADAMS
Back in his natural habitat, Adams initially found it hard going, but one flowing counterattack proved the cue for a strong effort which included a try.
DAN BIGGAR
He will never lose for lack of heart and typically emptied the tank.
Opted to distribute rather than run himself and there was nice kicking.
TOMOS WILLIAMS
Best display for Wales, with Williams excellent after the break, in particular. A spectacular basketball-style pass hinted at his attacking threat.
The trigger for so much that was good about Wales after the break.
STAR MAN: TAULUPE FALETAU
First Test for Wales in 11 months and a defensive masterclass in opening half saw him repeatedly nail English ball-carriers. The Bath player also pulled an important turnover out of the bag as the hosts threatened before half-time. One charge forward had England back-pedalling. An outstanding Test.
REPLACEMENTS
Dewi Lake (for Elias, 70), Gareth Thomas (for W Jones, 45), Leon Brown (for Francis, 21), Seb Davies (for Moriarty, 71), Jac Morgan (for Basham, 55), Kieran Hardy (for T Williams, 70), Gareth Anscombe (for L Williams, 72), Jonathan Davies (for Watkin, 70).
ENGLAND
Steward, Malins, Daly, Slade, Nowell, Smith, Randall; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Sinckler, Ewels, Itoje, Lawes, Curry, Dombrandt.
Replacements: George (for Cowan-Dickie, 25), Marler (for Genge, 72), Stuart (for Sinckler, 68), Isiekwe (for Ewels, 68), Simmonds (for Curry, 71), Youngs (for Randall, 62), Ford, Marchant (for Daly, 74).
REFEREE
Mike Adamson (Scotland).
WYN JONES
Strong defensive effort, with 15 tackles put in without a single miss, and solid scrummaging that forced a penalty out of Kyle Sinckler.
Couldn’t get involved on the carrying side of the game, though, but unexpectedly subbed on 45 minutes
RYAN ELIAS
Not exactly Swiss clock accuracy. Elias blew a try-scoring opportunity in the first half and then gifted
England a score with a long throw. That shouldn’t happen at Test level. On the plus side, he tried to redeem himself with lots of graft.
TOMAS FRANCIS
Arguably Wales’ man of the match last time out, he started well here by winning a scrum penalty in the first 10 minutes. No ball-carrying, though, and subbed on 56 minutes.
ADAM BEARD
Battled gamely and stood firm in defence. There was the odd lineout issue, but Beard put in a shift.
WILL ROWLANDS
Showed his athleticism with a quality lineout steal and there was some nice counter-rucking from Rowlands early in the second half. Rowlands carried and had a fine all-round game.
ROSS MORIARTY
The Dragon was physical in defence and looked to carry but also gave away three penalties in the opening half and tried to force play on occasions. Replaced with 10 minutes to play.
TAINE BASHAM
England dominated the breakdown but Basham burst into the game by ripping the ball from
Dombrandt, following up with a dynamic carry. A double hit from Curry and
Lawes stopped him dead in his tracks shortly after, though. Basham didn’t stop trying, but it wasn’t to be.