Wales v England: Winners and losers including rookie’s incredible introduction, Curry’s ‘unbelievable tournament’ and a new Welsh low
We pick our winners and losers from England's comphrensive victory over Wales in the Six Nations.
Following England’s record 68-14 victory over Wales in Cardiff, we pick out our winners and losers from the Six Nations clash.
Winners
England front-row
While Wales go winless again in the Six Nations, their scrum has been a real point of improvement and a consistent part of their game thanks mostly to the impact of Adam Jones coming in as a consultant.
However, England clearly did their homework and for the majority of the match, they dominated the set piece with Ellis Genge and Will Stuart continuing their sterling form.
Their respective influences extended further than their scrummaging prowess with Genge’s unintentional header leading to the line break which Stuart finished off a phase later, grabbing a five-pointer in his 50th Test match.
The pair have well and truly pressed their claims for a place on the plane to Australia in June, impressing so much this Six Nations that perhaps matchday 23 roles are not completely out of the question.
Chandler Cunningham-South
Asked to play over 60 minutes out of his usual position following Ollie Chessum’s injury, Chandler Cunningham-South rose to the occasion and produced a competent shift in the second-row.
He offered a safe pair of hands in the lineout and was busy around the park on both sides of the ball and was rewarded with two tries. The 21-year-old is a real talent for the future but is performing now too.
Blair Murray
The positives are few and far between for the Wales players after another winless campaign but today, Blair Murray was the standout for the Wooden Spooners.
He never lacked effort even when there was a clear drop-off from those around him. Wales are crying out for players to rebuild the squad around and Murray is clearly one that the next head coach can rely on.
Steve Borthwick
The England head coach has got his fair share of stick over the last 12 months, some of which justified, but his side ended their final game of the Championship still in the race for the title.
If Scotland do England a rare favour in Paris, Borthwick will hoist the trophy as a coach for the first time and while that is unlikely, he has done a fine job in changing his side’s fortunes. They have gone from nearly men in 2024, to a team that can not only get over the line in tight matches but also be ruthless and rack up a big score when the opportunity arises, which was the case in the last two weeks.
Maro Iotje
The responsibility of the captaincy has elevated Maro Itoje’s performances back to his usual highs and arguably above. Quite simply, he has thrived in the leadership role and today was just another example of that.
He grabbed one of the ten tries but was simply excellent in all facets of the game. Who knows, he could be a Six Nations winning captain on top of it all.
Tommy Freeman
Got his shot in the centres and was ultimately forced off through injury but it was a campaign to remember for Tommy Freeman, who finishes the tournament with five tries in five appearances. The Saints star got his first start in his preferred position and took that opportunity with both hands.
Henry Pollock
England’s youngest-ever try scorer in a Six Nations tournament at 20 years, 60 days, surpassing Henry Arundell who was 20 years and 96 days. He enjoyed it so much, he did it twice!
A stunning day for the young man who certainly has a long career ahead of him. He could not have asked or perhaps dreamt of more.
Ben Curry
England’s loose forward stocks are in rude, rude health. While Pollock enjoyed a stunning debut and Ben Earl was sublime yet again, and even shifted into the centres, while Tom Willis was excellent off the bench too.
The return to fitness and top form of Tom Curry has also been a massive boost, but for his brother, Ben it has been nothing short of an unbelievable tournament.
Wales legend Sam Warburton wrote earlier this week that Ben Curry has to be in the conversation for the British and Irish Lions tour and today he emphatically drove that point home. It’s always challenging to select a Player of the Match in such a comprehensive victory but Curry was fully deserving of the accolade. He has been on the fringe of the squad for such a long time now and is clearly hellbent on making the most of his chance and his performance illustrates that.
Losers
Ted Hill
Inexplicably dropped from the matchday 23 after his 10-minute cameo against Italy last week and would have finally got a decent amount of minutes today had he been retained. Instead, Borthwick opted to back Cunningham-South to provide cover in the second-row with the only two recognised locks in the team being the starts Itoje and Chessum.
When Chessum trudged off the pitch injured, one cannot help but feel for Hill who has never been given a fair shot at the highest level. This would have been an ideal chance but it was not to be.
Ollie Chessum
Borthwick’s gamble to select just two out-and-out locks in his matchday 23 looked to have backfired when the lock was forced off the pitch injured in the first half. However, England were by far the better team on the day that it did not matter.
However, that will not ease Chessum’s woes as he suffers yet another injury setback. He would have been fancying his chances of making the Lions squad, particularly after his Player of the Match showing last week, but has been dealt yet another cruel blow.
Matt Sherratt
It was also going to be an incredibly tough gig to fill Warren Gatland’s void, particularly when the call was made mid-tournament, but Matt Sherratt made an immediate impact against Ireland in his first game.
However, it all fell apart thereafter. Wales were poor against Scotland last week and much, much worse this week. The mood around Welsh Rugby is not great at all but there was an uptick in confidence this week before they came crashing down to earth yet again.
Sherratt earned a lot of respect from his first two matches in charge so much so that some suggested that perhaps the ‘interim’ bit of his title should be removed, but he ends his tenure on the lowest of lows, falling to a 17th straight defeat and the heaviest-ever loss to England.
Ireland
England’s ruthless 10-try victory brought a swift end to Ireland’s Six Nations three-peat hopes as they fell out of the title race.
Simon Easterby’s side were in the driving seat right up until the clash with France, who just require a win over Scotland to be crowned champions, and they did themselves no favours in Rome with a small margin of victory.
Wales
The best thing about Wales’ Six Nations campaign is that it is now over. For a second year in a row, they have lost all five matches and have collected the Wooden Spoon.
A new low has also been hit in the World Rugby rankings too.
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