Ten-try England destroy Wales to retain Six Nations title hopes

CARDIFF : England produced one of their best performances for years to crush hapless Wales by a record 68-14 scoreline on Saturday to finish the Six Nations on a high and retain a chance of winning the title should France fail to beat Scotland later.

England have 20 points after winning four matches for the first time since taking the title in 2020 but France, on 16, will almost certainly top the standings with any sort of Paris victory in Paris due to their huge points-difference advantage.

Ireland finished on 19 after a 22-17 win over Italy and Wales will come last for the second year in a row after their 17th successive defeat – a record for a Tier One nation since the game went professional.

England were in total control from the start and tries by Maro Itoje, Tom Roebuck, Tommy Freeman - who became the first Englishman to score in all five rounds of the competition – Chandler Cunningham-South and Will Stuart put them 33-7 ahead at halftime.

Debutant 20-year-old flanker Henry Pollock came off the bench to score two tries and Alex Mitchell, Joe Heyes and Cunningham-South crossed after the break to take the tally to 10 as England easily surpassed their previous biggest victory margin in Cardiff, the 43-9 success in a 2003 World Cup warm-up, and their previous highest score (44-15 in 2001).