England rely on Marcus Smith accuracy to hold off Wales’s second-half charge

It was not always straightforward or particularly pretty but England’s Six Nations title hopes are still afloat. Six penalties from Marcus Smith, a burgled 43rd-minute try by Alex Dombrandt and some last quarter defensive grit were just enough to see off a spirited Wales on a cool, still evening in south-west London, with Ben Youngs’s record-breaking 115th cap for his country adding to the overall sense of red rose satisfaction.

But let’s be honest. The comfortable France win in Edinburgh earlier in the day again put a lot of what we witnessed, particularly in the first half, into stark perspective. A Six Nations season always contains a few snakes and ladders but not many would currently put many euros on Les Bleus or Ireland failing to finish ahead of England in the final table.

That is not to say England were poor, just that the game was a couple of notches down on France’s effort at Murrayfield. The last half-hour was enjoyably frantic, with two Wales tries in seven minutes by Josh Adams and Nick Tompkins, but it needed to be fun to make up for a scrappy first half that struggled to match the soaring setting or the clearest of late February blue skies.

England, though, have lost two games at home in the Six Nations in the past 10 years – beaten only by Ireland in 2018 and Scotland in 2021 – and there continue to be signs of a decent side trying to get out. Once again Smith was in energetic ringmaster mode, his hitch-kicking sense of adventure always a potential threat. His half-back partner, Harry Randall, also buzzed around promisingly and we will never know what difference a fit Manu Tuilagi might have made.

After careful consideration Eddie Jones had decided to fill his Tuilagi-sized hole with Elliot Daly rather