A little ragged on his first start since March. Some of his kicking wasn’t great, including sending a kick-off out on the full, but was a running threat. England simply look a more dangerous side in attack when he is around.
9 Ben Youngs - 6
Went on one good run, turned over once.
1 Mako Vunipola - 8
Had a very good day. Dominated Samson Lee at the scrum – although perhaps not as much as Romain Poite thought – then scored England’s second try. It was his just his second score in England colours, and first since 2014.
2 Jamie George - 7
The lineout wasn’t absolutely perfect, but it was pretty good. Carried well and kept his discipline when tested by a shirt-pull from Alun Wyn Jones.
3 Kyle Sinckler - 7
Played his part in that dominant set piece and was a troublesome presence for Wales. Nearly scored, too.
4 Maro Itoje - 7
Always a big presence, but not at his absolute best. Lovely pass in the buildup to Slade’s try, but gave away a careless penalty as Wales chipped away at the lead in the second half.
5 Joe Launchbury - 7
A very good shift, again, from a player in fine form. A powerful performer at the set piece and getting around the park well, too.
6 Tom Curry - 8
Was withdrawn earlier than usual with what looked like an injury. Neat interplay with Underhill, both in attack and defence, and won a great penalty in England’s 22 that meant his team went into the break in the lead.
7 Sam Underhill - 9
A pretty epic performance that saw him offer even more than he usually does. Put in a great tackle on Faletau on his own line, was a force with the ball in hand, and just popped up everywhere. One blot was an unpunished hit on Dan Biggar in the air.
8 Billy Vunipola - 8
Workmanlike showing. Topped the tackle count with 11. Also carried 17 times, more than double any other Englishman. One of them very nearly brought him a try in the lead-up to his brother’s score.
Selected subs
17 Ellis Genge - 7
Was smarting to get on, but Vunipola’s impressive showing meant he had to wait. When he did, England won yet another scrum penalty.
21 Jack Willis - 7
Came on for Curry, and retained that level with one epic turnover late in the game. England have so many options on the flank.
23 Anthony Watson - 6
Jones will be delighted to have him back. Made good metres on both his carries out wide.
