England’s began their final phase of World Cup preparation in horribly underwhelming fashion as Wales sent them spinning to a 20-9 defeat in Cardiff.
Second-half tries from Gareth Davies and George North staved off a fifth successive home loss for Wales as England boss Steve Borthwick was given plenty to ponder less than 48 hours before he names his World Cup squad.
Few players left lasting impressions, although there were some impressive moments from fly-half Marcus Smith and number eight Alex Dombrandt, with Wales responding superbly to a three-point interval deficit.
England were abysmal with their ball-retention, conceding a colossal 22 turnovers, and Wales did not require a second invitation to capitalise.
Full-back Leigh Halfpenny marked his 100th cap by converting both tries and kicking two penalties, with Smith kicking England’s points through three first-half penalties.
England’s opening World Cup game against Argentina is just five weeks away, yet Borthwick will not be reaching for any panic button with three warm-up fixtures still to come on the August schedule.
For Wales, it was a significant confidence-booster following a fifth-placed finish in last season’s Six Nations as they recorded just a third win from the last 11 Tests.
Halfpenny led out the Wales players, who wore black armbands in memory of former Wales captain and coach Clive Rowlands following his death last weekend at the age of 85.
Wales suffered an early injury blow when hooker Ryan Elias was forced off after taking a blow to his right leg, with Dragons forward Elliot Dee replacing him.
A long-range Smith penalty nudged England ahead, rewarding initial dominance as the visitors monopolised possession and territory, putting Wales firmly in back-foot mode.
Smith soon doubled the advantage when Wales were guilty of a scrummaging infringement, but a Halfpenny strike made it 6-3 towards the end of an opening quarter high on intent, yet littered with errors.
Wales fly-half Sam Costelow created the game’s first clear-cut chance 15 minutes before half-tine when his inside pass freed wing Louis Rees-Zammit, but he slipped with England’s line at his mercy.
It was much better from Warren Gatland’s team and Halfpenny deservedly drew them level through a 26th-minute penalty.
England responded through some clever work from Smith that created space for centre Joe Marchant, before wing Joe Cokanasiga was tackled into touch near the corner-flag.
Despite conceding 12 turnovers during the first 35 minutes, England remained on top, while there were also scrummaging issues for Wales as debutant props Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti had a testing opening half.
Smith completed his penalty hat-trick to make it 9-6 at the interval, yet England knew they needed to sharpen their attacking edge in the second period.
The game required a spark and Wales duly found one just eight minutes into the second period.
Costelow’s kick found number eight Aaron Wainwright and his one-handed pass was collected by captain Jac Morgan, who brushed off challenges from Cokanasiga and replacement Jonny Hill before a supporting Davies touched down.
It was a try of outstanding quality and Halfpenny’s conversion opened up a four-point lead before Gatland made four changes.
The new arrivals included debutants Taine Plumtree and former England prop Henry Thomas, who qualifies for Wales through his father.
Thomas was able to switch countries under new World Rugby regulations which mean players can feature for their country of birth – or their parents’ or grandparents’ birth – provided a minimum period of three years has elapsed since they were last selected for an adopted country.
Borthwick also rang changes midway through the third quarter, introducing international newcomers Theo Dan and Tom Willis as England looked to reassert themselves in the contest.
But Wales were a team transformed after the break and when North crossed for his 45th try in the red shirt England entered the final quarter 11 points adrift.
Wales were within inches of adding a third try during the closing minutes, but Rees-Zammit knocked on behind the line under pressure from England full-back Freddie Steward.
The damage, though, had long been done ahead of next Saturday’s return fixture at Twickenham.
Gatland 'still the best coach in the world', says Wales assistant Howley
Wales assistant Rob Howley described Warren Gatland as the "world's best coach" and insists the under-fire boss is going nowhere.
Wales have lost each of their last 11 Test matches, their longest ever run in men’s rugby, overtaking a 10-game stretch between November 2002 and August 2003.
Their most recent defeat came by 32 points (20-52 v Australia), their heaviest loss since a 36-point thrashing at home to South Africa in August last year (16-52).
And it is not going to get any easier with world champions South Africa the visitors to the Principality Stadium on Saturday for Wales' Autumn Nations Series finale.
South Africa have emerged victorious in six of their last seven Tests against Wales (L1) and have also won each of their last three games against Wales by margins of 16+ points.
Another triumph would see Wales going the calendar year without winning a Test, which has not happened since 1937, though Howley has no doubt that Wales are in safe hands.
"We've got the best coach in the world who has had a legacy of more than 13 years," said Howley.
"He's won Grand Slams and there is no better coach to have in your camp than Warren. He gives players the confidence and self-belief they need to go out and play."
During Gatland's first stint in charge from 2008 to 2019, Wales were World Cup semi-finalists, Six Nations champions and Grand Slam winners.
This time around, amid far more challenging circumstances and attempting to mould a new squad, Wales have won just six out of his 23 Tests at the helm.
Wales have also won just one of their last 11 Test matches at the Principality Stadium, last winning in Cardiff against Argentina in November 2023.
Howley was asked if he would take an interim head coach job if Gatland departed, but responded defiantly by saying, "Warren Gatland won't leave".
Howley insists Gatland's experiences can help turn Wales around, saying: "Warren is a hugely respected coach and has coached over a number of years.
"His legacy with different teams is a winning legacy. At the moment, we are in this spell where we are losing.
"We at some point know we will win, and I hope it will be the next game on Saturday. I think at the moment we've got the best coach who has got years of experience.
"We've been in changing rooms where we've won and lost, Lions changing rooms going into the series at 1-1 with everything on the line.
"He understands rugby, and I believe Wales have got the best coach in the world to get us out of this."
Farrell backs 'composed' Prendergast to shine on first Ireland start
Andy Farrell believes Sam Prendergast is ready to step up ahead of his first Ireland start against Fiji at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Farrell has made seven changes to his team, handing first caps to Leinster's Gus McCarthy and Ulster's Cormac Izuchukwu for the penultimate game of the Autumn Nations Series.
The Ireland head coach has handed Prendergast the number 10 jersey for the first time after he was used off the bench in the closing stages of last week's win over Argentina.
Prendergast has only started eight games for Leinster, but Farrell had no hesitation in handing him a first start after he impressed on the Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa.
"I'm confident from what we've seen. We took him on the Emerging [Ireland] and he played in all of those games," said Farrell.
"The aim of that was to grab hold of that team and make sure that he treated it like it was his own, as though he was in charge, and he did that in spades.
"This week we've seen the benefit of that, but we need to see it transfer, obviously.
"Yes, his character is composed, confident but yet not over-confident. He's assertive in what he wants, and he has a nice way about how he goes about his business.”
Farrell also had a glowing review for Izuchukwu, saying: "Izzy has been in and around the squad for a while. The first Emerging Ireland tour was when we first came across his ability, his athleticism, his point of difference.
"That was a couple of years ago but the improvement in his maturity of his game, because he was young in the 15-a-side game when the first tour was on, but the difference between the first and second tour was like chalk and cheese.
"His ability and potential with that maturity, he deserves a shot to show us all what he's got."
On McCarthy, who captained the Ireland Under-20s to a Six Nations Grand Slam in 2023, Farrell said: "He's been a captain and you can see why because his maturity in how he goes about the game."
He added: "We took him on the training week [to Portugal] as a development player and he showed up unbelievably well. He forced our hand to keep him in the squad first and foremost and he deserves a shot to see what he can do as well."
Ciaran Frawley also returns to the bench after missing out last weekend on the back of a poor outing against New Zealand.
And Cian Healy must wait another week for a record-breaking 134th cap - having drawn level with Brian O'Driscoll against Argentina - after the prop was left out of the 23.
Ireland team to play Fiji
Jamie Osborne; Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Sam Prendergast, Craig Casey; Andrew Porter, Gus McCarthy, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne; Cormac Izuchukwu, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Rob Herring, Tom O'Toole, Thomas Clarkson, Iain Henderson, Cian Prendergast, Conor Murray, Ciaran Frawley, Stuart McCloskey.
'World-class' Scotland will provide Wallabies' sternest test – Skelton
Australia will face their sternest test to date when they continue their autumn tour against a "world-class" Scotland team at Murrayfield on Sunday.
That is the view of forward Will Skelton, who believes the Wallabies' victories in England and Wales have brought a new energy and confidence to their camp.
Having crashed out in the pool stage at last year's World Cup in France before finishing last in the Rugby Championship, Australia have looked a team reborn in recent weeks.
A first victory at Twickenham since 2015 and a 52-20 rout of Wales – their biggest-ever away win in matches between the teams – have made it an excellent tour to date for Joe Schmidt's side.
But La Rochelle lock Skelton feels their toughest assignment is to come this week, saying: "We've won two games, we're very aware of that.
"The Test against Scotland is going to be the hardest one yet. We're excited about this weekend and we're looking forward to ripping into it.
"Physically they're up there with the top five in the world. I think set-piece wise they're really strong.
"You've got a guy like Finn Russell who's a maestro at the back there. I think it's going be a close one and we'll be up for it.
"There's some class players in the Scottish team and, when they're at it they're world-class, so we're going to have to be on top of our game."
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