Wales secured the Triple Crown after beating rivals England 40-24 in their Six Nations clash at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
While Wales wrapped up the first major silverware of head coach Wayne Pivac’s reign in bonus-point fashion, his opposite number Eddie Jones saw England’s title hopes reduced to ruins.
But Jones would have been left fuming by circumstances surrounding Wales’ two first-half tries, before scrum-half Kieran Hardy’s 49th-minute score kept the hosts on course and three late Callum Sheedy penalties and a Cory Hill touchdown thwarted England.
Wales’ opening try came after referee Pascal Gauzere had told England captain Owen Farrell to talk to his team and warn them after conceding the latest among a rash of early penalties.
Farrell, though, had barely started to do that before Gauzere called time back on, Dan Biggar kicked to the corner and wing Josh Adams finished impressively.
And there was no less debate over Wales’ second try as Louis Rees-Zammit appeared to knock the ball on before Liam Williams gathered over the line, but the television match official Alex Ruiz was happy to approve Gauzere’s on-field decision of a try.
It was England’s second defeat of a miserable Six Nations campaign that began with Scotland claiming a first win at Twickenham for 38 years, despite tries by Anthony Watson and Ben Youngs, four Farrell penalties and a conversion.
But Wales proved unstoppable and backed up victories over Ireland and Scotland by dismissing their fiercest rivals behind closed doors in Cardiff, with Biggar kicking a penalty and two conversions, while Sheedy booted 13 points.
How 70,000 Welsh supporters would have revelled in the triumph as their team edged closer to another Six Nations title ahead of away games against Italy and France next month.
Centre George North led Wales out as he became the youngest player to win 100 caps for their country.
His team quickly looked to make a mark after England conceded two penalties in rapid succession and, after they infringed again, lock Maro Itoje the culprit, Biggar kicked Wales ahead.
Itoje then went close to the game’s opening try, charging down an attempted clearance by Hardy, but home full-back Williams narrowly beat him to the ball.
Hardy’s opposite number Ben Youngs sparked England’s first concerted attack and it ended with Wales conceding a penalty that Farrell landed to tie things up after 12 minutes.
But Wales then stormed in front thanks to Biggar’s opportunism after he sacrificed a makeable penalty by kicking to the corner and Adams took a clean catch before claiming his 15th Test try.
Farrell made protestations to Gauzere, but England had been caught napping by Biggar’s adventure and the fly-half’s conversion opened up a seven-point advantage that Farrell quickly reduced through a long-range penalty that closed an entertaining opening quarter.
If England felt aggrieved by Wales’ first try, there was more to come 10 minutes before half-time.
Rees-Zammit could not gather a bouncing ball and it appeared that he might have knocked on before Williams crossed England’s line.
Gauzere consulted television replays, which still appeared inconclusive in terms of a knock-on, but he awarded the touchdown by Williams before another Biggar conversion made it 17-6.
❝It's a massive achievement for the group.❞ – Man of the Match @taulupe ⭐️ #WALvENG ⑊ #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/OsUOtlhiJn
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏉 (@WelshRugbyUnion) February 27, 2021
England desperately needed to score before the break and Watson obliged four minutes before the break, finishing strongly under pressure from three Welsh defenders.
The visitors were back in it before a Farrell penalty made it 17-14 at half-time.
Biggar, who appeared to suffer a knock just before the break, was replaced by Sheedy just five minutes into the second period, and Wales extended their lead shortly afterwards.
England could have no complaints this time as Hardy took a quick tap-penalty and left defenders floundering before touching down unopposed, and Sheedy added the extras.
England hit back through an impressive Youngs try that Farrell converted to bring up 1,000 points in the white shirt, only for Sheedy to edge Wales back in front through a 66th-minute strike.
He kicked two further penalties to clinch victory and then added the conversion to Hill’s try as Wales finished the match in style.
Check out the video highlights from Wales's 40-24 victory over England in Cardiff on Saturday.
Scores from Garry Ringrose, Hugo Keenan, CJ Stander and Keith Earls, plus a brace for Will Connors, helped the Irish bounce back from defeats to Wales and France in emphatic fashion.
The Irish suffered successive losses at the start of a Six Nations campaign for the first time following scores from Charles Ollivon and Damian Penaud, plus five points from the boot of Matthieu Jalibert.
Gregor Townsend’s team were looking to build on last week’s historic Twickenham victory over England and got off to the perfect start with tries from Darcy Graham and Stuart Hogg.
Willis’ left knee was damaged when he was cleared out at a ruck, just moments after the replacement flanker had scored the fifth of England’s six tries.
The 20-year-old Gloucester wing pounced midway through the second half, destroying Irish hopes of a famous triumph over adversity after flanker Peter O’Mahony’s 14th-minute red card.
The 38-year wait for success at the home of the reigning Six Nations champions finally came to an end as Finn Russell inspired the underdogs to a magnificent win.
As the scoreline suggests, this was a one-sided affair with Les Bleus holding the upper hand for long periods and they eventually outscored their hosts by seven tries to none with Teddy Thomas (2), Dylan Cretin, Gael Fickou, Arthur Vincent, Brice Dulin, Antoine Dupont crossing the whitewash, while Matthieu Jalibert finished with a 15-point haul after slotting six conversions and a penalty.
Faletau and back-row colleague Justin Tipuric were excellent, but there was still little evidence to suggest that Wales will be a Six Nations force later this season.
A pair of tries from Keith Earls, plus one from Cian Healy, helped Andy Farrell’s hosts overcome a slow start and end an inconsistent year in positive fashion.
The Pacific Islanders’ three previous games in the tournament were cancelled after they reported 29 coronavirus cases in their squad and they were highly motivated to deliver a good performance.
The previous Test between these sides ended in a 15-15 draw and it was a similar story in this Test which was played in horrendous weather conditions, with heavy rain prominent throughout.
Fly-half Billy Burns staked his claim as the first-choice understudy to sidelined skipper Johnny Sexton by contributing 15 points to help the Irish return to winning ways following last weekend’s disappointing defeat to England.
On the night that they remembered Christophe Dominici, who died at the age of 48 this week, France looked to a new generation as a side featuring 13 changes made light work of the Italians.
Eddie Jones’ men secured a seventh successive win thanks to tries by centre Henry Slade and prop Mako Vunipola, while Owen Farrell kicked four penalties and a conversion for a 14-point haul.
In a fast-paced and entertaining encounter, New Zealand had the bulk of the territory and possession and although they had to work hard to break down Argentina’s defence, they showed great patience and eventually outscored their opponents five tries to nil.
Gregor Townsend’s men were looking to match a feat achieved only twice in the Dark Blues’ modern rugby history, the last by David Sole’s 1990 Grand Slam winners.
Nineteen-year-old wing Louis Rees-Zammit, showing the finishing ability that brought him 10 tries for Gloucester in England’s Premiership last season, and replacement Rhys Webb crossed in either half.
Jonny May crossed twice to move beyond Jeremy Guscott and into joint second in the all-time red rose try-scoring list alongside Ben Cohen and Will Greenwood with 31 touch downs, leaving only Rory Underwood ahead.
In a tight and unspectacular encounter, Australia impressed on attack — especially in the first half — but they came up against a solid defensive effort from the Pumas.