2026 Six Nations: England 48 – 7 Wales Review

Steve Borthwick’s England open their 2026 Six Natiosn campaign in style with an emphatic victory over Wales on Saturday afternoon.

The much-anticipated 2026 iteration of the iconic Six Nations got underway, with each team looking to get their respective campaigns off to the best possible start. This, of course, includes England, who are looking to win an 8th Six Nations title, which would be their first since 2020.

In their opening game of the Championship, Steve Borthwick’s team were coming up against Steve Tandy and his Wales side at the historic Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday afternoon. The hosts were looking to not only defeat their rivals but also a side that has not won a game at the Six Nations since 2023.

To the delight of all those who follow England, they were ruthless against Wales on the day, coming away with a dominant and emphatic 48 – 7 victory. With their ambitions to lift the Six Nations title this year, this was the best possible start for Borthwick and his team.

The game had arguably been over even at half-time when England were leading 29 – 0, but they maintained their performance levels to seal what was an incredible win as they look to create as much momentum as possible going into the remaining games in their latest Six Nations campaign in 2026.

Below is the Starting XVs that England and Wales went with to start the game in the English Capital.

England: Freddie Steward, Tom Roebuck, Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall, Henry Arundell, George Ford, Alex Mitchell, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Alex Coles, Ollie Chessum, Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill, and Ben Earl.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Bevan Rodd, Trevor Davison, Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock, Ben Spencer, and Marcus Smith.

Wales: Louis Rees-Zammit, Ellis Mee, Eddie James, Ben Thomas, Josh Adams, Dan Edwards, Tomos Williams, Nicky Smith, Dewi Lake, Archie Griffin, Dafydd Jenkins, Adam Beard, Alex Mann, Josh MacLeod, and Aaron Wainwright.

Replacements: Liam Belcher, Rhys Carre, Tomas Francis, Ben Carter, Taine Plumtree, Harri Deaves, Kieran Hardy, and Mason Grady.

Over the course of their victory, hosts England got 7 tries, with one being a penalty try, whilst the aforementioned Henry Arundell got a hat-trick in this game (7’, 18’, 35’). The other tries for Borthwick’s team came through Tom Roebuck (44’) and Tommy Freeman (79’).

Arundell was a standout performer in what was his first start for England in over two years. Another standout player on the day for England was George Ford, who got four conversions (8’, 24’, 36, 45’), as well as a successful penalty in the opening moments of the game at Twickenham (2’).

Bath’s Henry Arundell is the first player to score a Six Nations hat-trick for England since Jonny May did so against France back in 2019.

Meanwhile, Wales’ only try of the afternoon at Twickenham came from Josh Adams, whilst it was Ospreys’ Dan Edwards who scored what was the sole conversion of the contest for his country on Saturday afternoon.

England Head Coach Steve Borthwick had the following to say following his side’s dominant victory against Wales (via England Rugby): “I thought defensively we were excellent. We know Wales have got so many dangerous players and so much pace out wide and I thought we shut that down really well.

“What was really pleasing is that we created loads of opportunities. I think what’s clear is that we can get better at is converting those.

“We didn’t convert the opportunities, especially in that second half, in the manner that I’d like us to.

“We all know Henry (Arundell) is a player who has incredible ability running with the ball and his ability to find the line is excellent.

“What I’ve been really impressed by is, over the last number of months, his attitude to go and improve other aspects of his game.

“He’s gone away post autumn and worked exceptionally hard on some other areas and he’s come back to the Six Nations as an even better player.”

This triumph over Wales also extended England’s winning streak to 12 matches. Not only that, this win now sees Borthwick’s side sit top of the Six Nations table with France just below them in second place, followed by Italy, Scotland, Ireland, and then Wales.

The other results on week one saw France beat Ireland 36 – 14, whilst Italy edged out Scotland in what was an 18 – 15 win at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Saturday, ahead of England’s triumph over Wales.

Next up for England in the 2026 Six Nations is rivals Scotland. This game is to be played at Scottish Gas Murrayfield in Edinburgh on the afternoon of Saturday 14th February 2026, with kick-off scheduled for 16:40.

The last time that these two nations met in this annual championship, back in 2025, took place at Twickenham, where a competitive and exciting contest saw England come away as narrow 16 – 15 winners over Scotland.

If England were to make it two wins from two to start their latest Six Nations campaign, they would, of course, further strengthen their chances of reclaiming the Six Nations Championship title in 2026 under the stewardship of current Head Coach Steve Borthwick.

Excitement is building rapidly ahead of the remainder of England’s 2026 Six Nations campaign, and there is optimism that they can collect another victory in Edinburgh against Scotland in their second game.

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