Both England and Wales came into this Six Nations tournament under the leadership of new head coaches, with Warren Gatland returning to Wales’ top job, and England hiring Steve Borthwick to replace Eddie Jones.
Both coaches tasted defeat in their first Six Nations games of 2023, with Wales crushed at home by Ireland, and England suffering a last-gasp defeat to Scotland at Twickenham.
England got back on track with a win over Italy at Twickenham – the first of Borthwick’s tenure – but were far from convincing with ball in hand despite scoring five tries in their 31-14 triumph. Meanwhile, Wales were hammered by an inspired Scotland at Murrayfield, losing 35-7 to compound a miserable start to Gatland’s return.
The Sporting News are following the Wales versus England match live from Cardiff, providing live updates and commentary below.
Wales vs. England live score
| 1H | 2H | FT | |
| Wales | 3 | 7 | – |
| England | 8 | 12 | – |
Tries: Rees-Zammit; Watson, Sinckler, Lawrence
Conversions: Halfpenny; Farrell
Penalties: Halfpenny; Farrell
Wales vs. England live commentary, highlights
75 mins: TRY – Wales 10-20 England!!! England score late on!!! Alex Mitchell is on for Van Poortvliet, and his flat ball to Slade almost puts the centre over the line!! A heroic Halfpenny tackle stops Slade, but Mitchell gets quick ball and pops it wide for the other centre, and Lawrence grounds the ball to score in the corner!!! He caps off another superb performance, and although Farrell can’t add the two, England’s lead is 10 points with less than five minutes left on the clock.
73 mins: Wales overshoot their line-out throw and England burst forward with the ball. Slade has a three-on-two overlap as he enters the 22, but chooses to kick ahead and Malins can’t get there before the ball bounces over the touchline!
72 mins: Wales loose the ball inside their own 22 and England re-gain possession. Malins is almost over in the corner but is stopped short by great cover defence, and on the other side Steward can’t find a way through either!
70 mins: A Wales pass goes to ground and Lawrence latches onto it, bursting through midfield before being hauled down by Tompkins. Van Poortvliet kicks long and out of play, but it’s a penalty advantage that England will use to camp themselves in the 22!
68 mins: A loose ball sparks Wales’ attack into motion, and Tompkins finds Hawkins with a brilliant offload. He in turn passes to Faletau, and the hosts edge their way forward as the crowd rises!
65 mins: Biggar’s bomb to the sideline is kept in play by Van Poortvliet, but the ball goes to ground under pressure from Rees-Zammit and Wales keep possession.
62 mins: Wales are pinged at scrum-time and Farrell steps up to notch further points from distance, but is off-target once again to miss his third attempt of the game!
59 mins: Lawrence makes another dominant carry and gets over the gain-line, before Slade drills a kick forward which is overhit and bounces beyond the dead ball-line.
58 mins: Van Poortvliet darts forward and grubbers into the 22. He can’t regather the ball though, and Tshiunza cleans up for Wales before Biggar bangs it clear.
56 mins: Van Poortvliet hangs a box kick high into the sky, and as the England chase bears down on Rees-Zammit, he spills the high ball and England will feed their scrum right on the edge of the Welsh 22!
55 mins: Wales’ starting fly-half Owen Williams is forced off with a knock, and Dan Biggar, who started their first two games, replaces the Osprey earlier than expected.
Watch Louis Rees-Zammit intercept to score inside the opening moments of the second half (UK):
52 mins: England have head-and-feed at a scrum, but Genge is penalised for early entry after the referee’s warning, gifting free field position to the hosts.
50 mins: Halfpenny dummies before racing into space, but finds himself isolated in the tackle and England win the turnover penalty at the breakdown.
47 mins: Watson returns a Wales kick and beats Rees-Zammit around the outside to find space down the left edge. He finds Lawrence inside, who is tap-tackled as he offloads to Slade, but the pass is called forward and Wales will get the ball back!
45 mins: TRY – Wales 10-15 England!! England weren’t behind for long!! A penalty gives them field position inside the Welsh 22, and phase after phase are taken up towards the line. Sinckler hits and spins to crash over amongst a sea of bodies, and the referee sees that the ball is down and awards the points! Farrell adds two more, as England restore their five-point lead.
42 mins: TRY – Wales 10-8 England!!! Pockets, pinched!!! England lethargically move the ball left, but Malins’ pass is intercepted by Louis Rees-Zammit. There’s no catching the Gloucester flyer, who races under the sticks to score Wales’ first try of the game! Halfpenny adds the two, and as quick as a flash, Wales lead in Cardiff!
41 mins: We’re back for the second half, and Farrell’s long kick-off gets us underway again!
HT: It’s a five-point ball game at half-time, and is still very much in the balance despite the lack of attacking verve in the first 40. Here’s hoping for some open rugby in the second half between two sides who really want to win this game!
Watch: Anthony Watson dots down in the corner to score an acrobatic opener for England (UK)
HT: A low-scoring first half comes to an end, with England on top having scored the only try of the game so far. Anthony Watson’s sideline finish was superb on his return to the side, but England should arguably be ahead by more. Farrell has missed five points worth of kicks, while knock-ons in the 22 from Steward and Lawrence have hampered their forward progress. Their defence has been insurmountable so far though, restricting Wales to just three points and turning the ball over whenever their 22 was breached. All to play for in the second half!
41 mins: Wales continue to pile on the pressure as their forwards carry towards the tryline, but Ludlam turns the ball over to end that half with an England penalty!
40 mins: Wales keep possession as the clock ticks into the red, and prop Gareth Thomas hits a great line to burst into the England 22!
39 mins: England look to be on the ropes as Wales take carry after carry in their 22, but Dombrandt gets hands on the ball to win a turnover penalty and Wales are denied once more!
38 mins: Wales build pressure and enter double figures for number of phases with the ball. Rees-Zammit hits a great line to burst through down the left, but he’s stopped inside the England 22 thanks to great scramble defence!
35 mins: Farrell’s high bomb to the edge of Wales’ 22 is plucked out of the sky by Steward, but he knocks the ball on in the process of finding Chessum and Wales will feed the scrum.
32 mins: After a Rees-Zammit knock-on, a massive shove in the scrum from Genge sees Wales’ Francis pinged, but Farrell’s 40-metre attempt from the penalty sails just wide of the posts.
28 mins: Wales win a penalty which is taken quickly by scrum-half Tomos Williams. He scampers forward and into the England 22, but momentous defence from the visitors forces Wales back and Farrell wins a turnover penalty on the floor.
24 mins: Wales look to move the ball left, but it goes to ground after Tshiunza can’t keep hold of it. Advantage is played, but we come back for a scrum after Genge turns the ball over.
21 mins: PENALTY – Wales 3-8 England. England are pinged straight from the restart after Dombrandt holds onto the ball in the ruck, and Halfpenny steps up to kick Wales’ first three points of the game.
19 mins: TRY – Wales 0-8 England!! England cross first after some fantastic eyes-up rugby! Farrell’s inside ball to Malins sends the winger racing through the middle, and he’s take down 10 metres from the posts. It’s recycled at speed, and Dombrandt’s cut-out pass gives Watson space to dive in at the corner and score!! Farrell’s touchline conversion hits an upright to deny him, with England’s lead now eight points.
16 mins: England win clean line-out ball and shift the ball left. A big Lawrence carry busts through the gain-line, and Van Poortvliet offloads wide to Watson. He’s trapped out wide and the forwards arrive to help, but Chessum is penalised for obstruction!
12 mins: A Tomos Williams box kick is partially charged down and the ball spins towards Van Poortvliet, who can’t gather it cleanly and Steward spares his team-mate’s blushes!
10 mins: PENALTY – Wales 0-3 England. England win a penalty on halfway and Farrell steps up to kick the game’s first points. It’s a fair distance, but the captain has no issues, and slots the ball between the sticks to give England a three-point lead.
8 mins: Lawrence looks to take a wrap-around pass on the outside, but Wales’ rush defence is up quickly and the England centre can’t keep hold of the ball.
5 mins: England win a penalty in the centre but Farrell’s kick fails to find touch, and Wales recover the ball before Halfpenny clears his own lines!
2 mins: Owen Farrell’s clearance is charged down by Faletau for Wales, putting Freddie Steward under all sorts of pressure, but the England full-back does brilliantly to step his way out of trouble and beat two defenders in the process!
Kick-Off: Owen Williams kicks off for Wales, and this match is up and running in Cardiff!
5 mins from kick-off: The anthems are sung as loudly and proudly as ever, particularly Wales’ and we’re ready to go now!
10 mins from kick-off: Here come the teams, and a packed Principality Stadium welcome them with an atmosphere that has been raucous to say the least in the build-up to kick-off!
15 mins from kick-off: England’s changes are much more limited, as Anthony Watson comes onto the wing for his first start of the tournament, and returning forward Courtney Lawes, a long-term absentee with concussion problems, is back on the bench.
30 mins from kick-off: Wales coach Warren Gatland has made nine changes following the heavy defeat to Scotland, with the experienced heads of Justin Tipuric and Alun Wyn Jones back in the pack. Electric winger Louis Rees-Zammit is also back in the side, and will be hoping for some success in wide areas.
45 mins from kick-off: Wales’ pre-match preparation has been significantly disrupted by a contract dispute between players and the WRU board in recent weeks. Crisis talks took place last Wednesday, with the players’ demands appeased to avert the threat of potential strike action, which would’ve seen this game called off!
60 mins from kick-off: It’s been far from the ideal start to the tournament for England, either, having lost 29-23 to Scotland thanks to a Duhan van der Merwe try in the dying minutes. They responded a week later to deliver a first win under Steve Borthwick, but despite their five tries were still quite shaky in open play!
75 mins from kick-off: Wales sit rock-bottom of the table with zero points from their two games so far. Both have been convincing defeats too, conceding nine tries in total during 34-10 and 35-7 losses to Ireland and Scotland respectively.
90 mins from kick-off: Welcome to live coverage of this eagerly-anticipated Six Nations clash, as old rivals Wales and England do battle in Cardiff. It’s a match-up of two sides in a transitional periods with new coaches at the helm, and two who are yet to really fire in this year’s championship.