England have issued a clear statement of intent in the Six Nations, with their emphatic opening-night victory over Wales laying down a marker for the rest of the tournament. The English pack's brutal onslaught against the Welsh side was relentless, leaving them struggling to cope with the pace and power of England's forwards.
Tomos Williams and Louis Rees-Zammit, deployed at full-back in his first Six Nations appearance since returning from his stint in the NFL, were neutralised and nullified, leaving Wales' defence exposed. The result of this dominance was a 48-7 victory for England, with everyone inside Allianz Stadium agreeing they could - and should - have had more.
Steve Borthwick's side brought a level of intensity to their game that Wales struggled to match, and their forwards dominated the set-piece. England's performance was good enough to get them the result they wanted, but they will be disappointed with not being able to take it to the next level.
"We're obviously delighted with the result, and by and large I thought the performance was good," said England fly-half George Ford. "There's a tad bit of frustration in that as well. We wanted a good start, a decent performance, and we got that. But we probably left a bit out there today."
Wales, on the other hand, are struggling to come to terms with their off-field issues and were unable to cope with the English onslaught. "We're really frustrated," said head coach Steve Tandy. "Through the autumn and working with the group, I've loved it, but we're more disappointed with ourselves today. A lot of what happened was self-inflicted."
Despite their dominance over Wales, England's challenge before the Six Nations was clear: reach their Round 5 clash with France in Paris with a Grand Slam still on the table. However, Borthwick is adamant that there is plenty of room for improvement and that his side must work hard to refine their game.
"Defensively we were excellent," he said. "We know Wales have got so many dangerous players and pace out wide and we shut them down really well. Our kicking game was good and the set-piece did a good job, but there's plenty of room for improvement. What is really pleasing is we created loads of opportunities and we can get better at converting those."
The question on everyone's mind now is how England will perform in their next challenge - Scotland. Borthwick has outlined several areas where his side must improve, including converting chances into tries. If they can address these issues, there is no reason why they cannot go on to achieve a Grand Slam and win the tournament.
Tomos Williams and Louis Rees-Zammit, deployed at full-back in his first Six Nations appearance since returning from his stint in the NFL, were neutralised and nullified, leaving Wales' defence exposed. The result of this dominance was a 48-7 victory for England, with everyone inside Allianz Stadium agreeing they could - and should - have had more.
Steve Borthwick's side brought a level of intensity to their game that Wales struggled to match, and their forwards dominated the set-piece. England's performance was good enough to get them the result they wanted, but they will be disappointed with not being able to take it to the next level.
"We're obviously delighted with the result, and by and large I thought the performance was good," said England fly-half George Ford. "There's a tad bit of frustration in that as well. We wanted a good start, a decent performance, and we got that. But we probably left a bit out there today."
Wales, on the other hand, are struggling to come to terms with their off-field issues and were unable to cope with the English onslaught. "We're really frustrated," said head coach Steve Tandy. "Through the autumn and working with the group, I've loved it, but we're more disappointed with ourselves today. A lot of what happened was self-inflicted."
Despite their dominance over Wales, England's challenge before the Six Nations was clear: reach their Round 5 clash with France in Paris with a Grand Slam still on the table. However, Borthwick is adamant that there is plenty of room for improvement and that his side must work hard to refine their game.
"Defensively we were excellent," he said. "We know Wales have got so many dangerous players and pace out wide and we shut them down really well. Our kicking game was good and the set-piece did a good job, but there's plenty of room for improvement. What is really pleasing is we created loads of opportunities and we can get better at converting those."
The question on everyone's mind now is how England will perform in their next challenge - Scotland. Borthwick has outlined several areas where his side must improve, including converting chances into tries. If they can address these issues, there is no reason why they cannot go on to achieve a Grand Slam and win the tournament.
... like it's not even a big deal that england won 48-7 and wales got thrashed 
. but seriously, steve borthwick is being super chill about it too, which is kinda admirable? "there's plenty of room for improvement" yikes, sounds like they're trying to set themselves up for disappointment 
. i guess the real question is how are they gonna fix their conversion issues before they meet france in paris 
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. Their forwards were relentless, and it's clear that Steve Borthwick's side has finally found their rhythm 
. I mean, 40+ points at home is just ridiculous - they should've won by more! 
. They also completed 85% of their passes and had a passing accuracy rate of 92% 
. These numbers are a testament to the team's cohesion and execution.
. They created 22 chances in open play and scored 5 tries - it was only Wales' defensive errors that led to those 7 points 
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. They gotta work on converting those chances into tries if they wanna get a Grand Slam. And Scotland's gonna be a tough one, but I think they can do it 
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. It's like they were playing a different sport altogether 
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. They're gonna go on and do some damage in this tournament, mark my words 
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. "There's plenty of room for improvement" is code for "we're not as good as we think we are" 
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. Maybe if they'd brought on some fresh legs, they could've scored even more tries