Star Metro - George backs England to 'kick on' after Six Nations rout of Wales

Henry Arundell, making his first Test start since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, ran in a first-half hat-trick of tries, with Ben Earl, Tom Roebuck and Tommy Freeman all crossing Wales' try line in a match where England also scored a penalty try.

England, without a Six Nations title since 2020, will now face a Scotland side smarting from an 18-15 opening loss to Italy in Rome.

"Regardless of who we were playing next, it's a brilliant platform for us to kick on from," said hooker George, who led the team after regular captain Maro Itoje was picked on the bench.

England's 12th win in a row against all opponents was built on the back of a dominant first half that left them 29-0 ahead at the break.

Despite Arundell's treble, veteran England fly-half George Ford was named player of the match for the expert way he orchestrated the hosts' attack, including setting up Arundell's first two tries with a sharp pass and precise cross-kick.

"Defensively we were excellent," said England coach Steve Borthwick.

"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."

Wales captain Dewi Lake, one of four Welsh players sent to the sin-bin, made no attempt to sugar-coat his side's 12th straight Six Nations defeat.

"We let ourselves down and let people down," said Lake. "We spoke all week about what we were going to produce and we didn't do it.

"There's no other way to say it. We're massively disappointed with what we put on the field," the hooker added.

Wales host a France side fresh from an impressive 36-14 win over Ireland a week on Sunday, with thousands of tickets still unsold for the Cardiff clash.

Lake said: "We know we're going to be better next weekend.

"We've spoken a lot about wanting to excite a nation. We didn't do it against England. We've got another four games in this tournament and we'll make sure we do it next week."

A.Rogen--SMC