England player ratings vs Wales as Steve Borthwick's men started their 2026 Six Nations campaign with a bonus-point win at Twickenham.
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England showed no mercy as they launched their Six Nations campaign with a brutal 48–7 dismantling of Wales at Allianz Stadium.
Any contest was effectively over by half-time, with wing Henry Arundell — starting for England for the first time in more than two years — running riot to grab a devastating first-half hat-trick.
Wales briefly flickered into life five minutes after the restart when Josh Adams finished neatly from Dan Edwards’ pinpoint kick, but it proved little more than a momentary reprieve. England quickly reasserted control and the traffic remained one-way, steamrolling a Welsh side that simply had no answers.
Scroll down for England player ratings vs Wales.
ENGLAND: 48
- Tries: Arundell (7', 18', 35'), Earl (23'), Roebuck (44'), Penalty (66'), Freeman (79')
- Cons: Ford (8', 24', 36', 45')
- Pens: Ford (2')
WALES: 7
- Tries: Adams (51')
- Cons: D Edwards (52')
- Pens:
England player ratings vs Wales:
15 Freddie Steward — 8.5
Had plenty of kicks to deal with from deep, which he dealt with very well throughout. Managed to notch an assist with a decent offload under slight pressure to set Ben Earl free for his try. Good with the ball in hand, including a lovely step on one occasion. His one on one defence has been a noticeable improvement recently too.
14 Tom Roebuck — 8
Saw the ball less than Henry Arundell, but still managed to get on the scoresheet after finding a brilliant line, just seconds after nearly going over with another brilliant line. That was the story of his night, as he found plenty of space and had a good level of joy.
13 Tommy Freeman — 8
Perhaps not as spectacular as a player of his quality would have liked on a day like this, however he was still involved plenty and saw a good amount of the ball with some intelligent running. Got an assist for Henry Pollock’s penalty try with a smart offload before scoring late on.
12 Fraser Dingwall — 8.5
As per usual, was the link man for plenty of the night and kept things ticking over, with plenty of creativity. Always seems to make the right decision on the ball.
11 Henry Arundell — 9
Not actually hugely involved in the play, but still managed to score a hat-trick. All were relatively straightforward finishes for a player of his pace and skill, but you have to be in the right positions to score.
10 George Ford — 9
Ran the show and was at his playmaking best. Unplayable today and showed the absolute best of his abilities. What a player.
9 Alex Mitchell — 8
Outstanding speed of service throughout and kept things ticking well for England with a lot of game intelligence shown. Won’t take many headlines but key to this win.
1 Ellis Genge — 7.5
Wasn’t hugely tested but had the better of Archie Griffin at scrum time. Came off at half-time for Bevan Rodd and can be happy with his performance. Lots of bounding runs and defensive effort, which was nearly rewarded with a try that ended up being held up.
2 Jamie George — 7.5
Very, very solid from George. Lineout throwing was on point and he made himself known around the park with a couple of powerful runs.
3 Joe Heyes — 7
Went well in the scrum and put in some proper graft defensively. Did a lot of unsung work that reaped its rewards for his teammates.
4 Alex Coles — 8
Imperious in the air and came off after 50 minutes for Maro Itoje. Coles is a big old unit and really put himself about this afternoon, showing again why he is so highly rated.
5 Ollie Chessum — 8.5
Like Coles, Chessum was a monster in the air at lineout time. Got himself on the ball on more than one occasion and made some serious yards with it in his hands. Also a proper workhorse as we’ve come to expect.
6 Guy Pepper — 7.5
Showed some great work at the breakdown and repelled the Welsh attack very effectively. An unsung hero as all of the forwards were today.
7 Sam Underhill — 8
An absolute Rolls-Royce of a back row, Underhill yet again put in an immense amount of work off the ball to set up a really good platform for his teammates. His highlight came early on when he charged down a Louis Rees-Zammit kick on Wales’ 22, setting the tone for a dominant day.
8 Ben Earl — 7.5
A standard Earl performance. Saw lots of the ball, and did the fundamentals of a No.8 very well. Got himself a first-half try in the corner, showing his winger-esque speed to finish confidently. Even had a stint in the centres late-on.
Replacements:
16 Luke Cowan-Dickie — 7
17 Bevan Rodd — 7
18 Trevor Davison — 6.5
19 Maro Itoje — 6
20 Tom Curry — 6
21 Henry Pollock — 7
22 Ben Spencer — 6.5
23 Marcus Smith — 7
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