England’s Kyle Sinckler thankful for ‘pivotal’ Six Nations win over Wales

T wo contrasting post-Cardiff verdicts are still vying with each other. One is that Wales, who have lost 12 of their past 15 internationals, displayed almost no cutting edge and even less tactical acumen. The second is that England defended so capably and did such an effective job of suffocating Welsh momentum that, enticing for neutrals or not, this was among their more valuable results since they reached the 2019 Rugby World Cup final.

Both conclusions felt valid on Saturday night, especially when you listened to one of the visitors’ try-scorers, Kyle Sinckler, speaking from the heart after England’s biggest win in Cardiff since 2003. Sinckler, who now has 59 caps for his country, endured a traumatic time at the same venue in 2019 when his loss of discipline helped Wales to a significant 21-13 victory and few redemption stories have involved more honesty or self-awareness.

“Today was a very pivotal moment not only in my career but in my life,” said Sinckler, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “Looking back on the experience I had in 2019 my career could have gone one of two ways. I’m not going to lie, I had some demons coming back to the Principality Stadium. It was probably one of the hardest days of my life.

“I know we played here in 2021 but that was during Covid … no fans, a totally different experience. Walking back into the stadium yesterday, I remembered sitting on these stairs in floods of tears. I know we were playing Wales but for me it was a Test match between who I am today versus the person I was.

“In 2019 I was a totally different person. I entered the stadium with a lot of hate, a lot of anger and a big chip on my shoulder. Warren Gatland had said something that made headlines and that hurt, if I’m being