Wales 9 England 43

England sent home a frightening message as to the vast depth in their ranks going into the World Cup, when what was effectively their second XV hammered Wales' strongest side to the tune of 43-9 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, scoring five tries in the process.

With virtually all of their front-line stars rested, England's back-up team wreaked havoc against a Welsh side in need of some serious soul searching after a desperate year which shows no sign of getting any better.

Three penalties from the boot of fly-half and captain Stephen Jones were all they had to show for their efforts, while a rampant England team flexed their forward muscle and piled on the points late on, having gone into the break at only 16-9 up.

And the scoreline could have been a lot bigger were it not for the wayward boot of England fly-half Alex King, with the London Wasps star firing five penalty attempts wide of the posts.

King did manage to strike three penalties, two conversions and a drop-goal through before being replaced by fellow World Cup aspirant Dave Walder, and by the time he left the field the result was beyond all doubt, as England coach Clive Woodward gave valuable match practice to his second-string players, many of whom had already featured in the gritty win over the New Zealand Maori back in June.

While second row Simon Shaw sent a World Cup marker home with a man-of-the-match performance, he did not make the scoresheet, although fellow forward Lewis Moody -- back after injury -- did just that to open the try-scoring when the Leicester flanker crossed the line on the 25-minute mark.

By that time King and Jones had struck two penalties each, but it was English pressure all the way -- wing Dan Luger nearly scoring in the corner, before King struck a drop-goal.

Jones hit his third penalty just before the break to send the Welsh in trailing by only seven points, but the men in white put their foot on the gas in the second half.

King had a torrid time of it with the boot as the half got under way, having his first pop at goal interrupted by a streaker before missing the target, then similarly failing to find the posts with his subsequent two -- something which may well increase the chances of Walder or Paul Grayson making the World Cup squad as back-up to starting fly-half Jonny Wilkinson.

Jones had a drop-goal charged down as Wales struggled for territory and possession, and when England took a quick tap penalty in Welsh territory after 53 minutes, the result was Luger crossing the line for the second try of the match after good work from the pack -- Danny Grewcock and Martin Corry both playing their part.

King converted, and then his Wasps club-mate Joe Worsley piled more misery on Wales when he picked up from the base of the scrum and went down the blindside to score only minutes later, King having added another penalty.

Moody nearly got his second after narrowly failing to reach the ball in time before it went dead behind the Welsh line -- going on to be replaced by Sale Shark Alex Sanderson after an enterprising comeback from injury.

England scrum-half and vice-captain Andy Gomarsall had a try chalked off for an accidental off-side, but with momentum firmly going the way of the visitors, it was only a matter of time before the Welsh defensive line was breached again.

And South African-born debutant Stuart Abbott was the man to do it, the Wasps centre finding a superb angle to hit the line at pace and go over after yet more powerful forward work including Grewcock -- back after the suspension which forced him to miss the Australasian tour.

Then just when the scoring looked complete, veteran Leicester hooker Dorian West rumbled over in injury time from a short-range line-out for the fifth try -- the match serving as an apt demonstration of the health of the English game and the depth to which coach Woodward can call upon as he prepares his World Cup challenge.

For Wales however, a stark reality check -- as if they needed one -- and another reminder that they will have to pull a very big rabbit out of a very small hat if they are going to cause a ripple in the World Cup waters in just over a month's time.

The Teams:

Wales:  1 Gethin Jenkins, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Iestyn Thomas, 4 Robert Sidoli, 5 Chris Wyatt, 6 Colin Charvis, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Dafydd Jones, 9 Gareth Cooper, 10 Stephen Jones (c), 11 Mark Jones, 12 Sonny Parker, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Gareth Thomas, 15 Rhys Williams
Reserves:  Adam Jones, Gavin Thomas, Gareth Williams, Jonathan Thomas
Unused:  Gavin Henson, Tom Shanklin, Mike Phillips

England:  1 Jason Leonard (c), 2 Mark Regan, 3 Julian White, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Simon Shaw, 6 Martin Corry, 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Joe Worsley, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 10 Alex King, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Stuart Abbott, 13 Jamie Noon, 14 James Simpson-Daniel, 15 Dan Scarbrough
Reserves:  Will Green, Dorian West, Steve Borthwick, Alex Sanderson, Ollie Smith, Dave Walder
Unused:  Austin Healey

Attendance:  47500
Referee:  Deluca p.

Points Scorers:

Wales
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 3

England
Tries:  Abbott S.R. 1, Luger D.D. 1, Worsley J.P.R. 1, Moody L.W. 1, West D.E. 1
Conv:  King A.D. 2, Walder D.J.H. 1
Pen K.:  King A.D. 3
Drop G.:  King A.D. 1