WALES endured a heavy 48-7 defeat against England at Alliianz Stadium in the opening round of the Guinness men’s Six Nations in Saturday.

England winger Henry Arundell dashed over for a first half hat-trick as Wales struggled to get a foothold in the game.

A lack of discipline saw Steve Tandy’s side receive four yellow cards, as England made their superior numbers count to score further tries through Ben Earl, Tom Roebuck and Tommy Freeman in addition to a penalty try.

Wales head coach Steve Tandy said he was ‘bitterly disappointed’ with the outcome, with France due at the Principality Stadium this Sunday (February 15).

“Today, a lot of what happened was self-inflicted,” he said. “We felt we were in a good place, but to lose when having four yellow cards and being very inaccurate with the ball, you are always going to fall behind on the scoreboard.

“It’s part of the game. And part of our journey of where we need to go. We are where we are for a reason.

“Ultimately, we’re really disappointed with our performance tonight. England are in a really good spot, but we’re bitterly disappointed.”

Not a lot went Wales’ way in the first half as they gave away 10 penalties and a free kick, conceded four tries, picked up two yellow cards and ended up trailing 29-0 at half-time.

George Ford opened the scoring with a penalty in the second minute after Sam Underhill had charged down a kick out of defence by Wales to set up a strong position.
Then back to back penalties allowed England to move from their 22 to the Welsh 22, where Arundell grabbed his first try.

Ford’s conversion made it 10 points in as many minutes before Nicky Smith and Dewi Lake picked up yellow cards in the space of two minutes after a final warning from the French referee.

Down to 14 men – Rhys Carre and Liam Belcher had to come on straight away for a scrum as Alex Mann and Eddie James gave way – Wales were sitting ducks and Arundell picked up his second try before Ben Earl powered his way over.

Ford converted Earl’s score to make it 22-0 in the 24th minute. It got worse when Arundell pounced on a Ben Thomas pass that hit the deck to notch his hat-trick just before the break, with Ford’s conversion making it an even bigger interval deficit than in last year’s game in Cardiff when England led by 26 points.

England flexed their muscles early doors in the second half with Tom Roebuck getting their fifth try at the posts four minutes after the restart.

At 36-0 Wales needed to find something to restore some pride and they found a way. With their best passage of play they worked their way up to the England line and finally exerted some pressure.

So much so that England conceded a yellow card for offside, their recently arrived captain Maro Itoje getting 10 minutes in the sin bin virtually seconds after entering the fray.

Wales took full advantage and a kick pass from Dan Edwards to Josh Adams on the left wing finally brought a try in the 52nd minute. Edwards added the extras.

England continued to hammer away at the red walled defence and finished the contest stronger with a penalty try and Freeman’s touchdown in the corner right on the stroke of full-time.

Former Wales scrum-half and head of rugby at Haberdashers' Monmouth Richie Rees, told the Scrum V podcast: "We didn't fire a shot. We did not put our imprint on the game and that is what they will be frustrated about."

Skipper Dewi Lake refused to use the off-field uncertainty as an excuse for the England debacle but Rees says the problems must be causing concern.

"When people get certainty, you have a start point and we don't have that at the moment," said Rees.

"Players, coaches and supporters don't know where they are. Whatever you say and no matter how much you try to park things, there is a knock-on effect."

And it doesn't get any easier, as France, fresh from hammering Ireland, visit Cardiff this Sunday, kick-off 3.10pm, live on BBC One.