England hold off Welsh comeback for 23-19 victory

LONDON (Reuters): The goalkicking of flyhalf Marcus Smith ensured that England survived a second-half surge by Wales to triumph 23-19 at Twickenham on Saturday to stay in the hunt for the Six Nations title – and effectively end Welsh hopes of retaining it.

England led 17-0 early in the second half after four Marcus Smith penalties and a try by Alex Dombrandt but Wales closed the gap to five points with tries by Josh Adams and Nick Tompkins. Two more Smith penalties looked to have got the job done but never-say-die Wales scored again through replacement scrumhalf Kieran Hardy to ensure the first Twickenham crowd to watch a Six Nations match for two years had to endure a nail-biting finale.

The win takes second-placed England to 10 points, four behind France, who beat Scotland 36-17 at Murrayfield earlier to make it three wins from three. England host Ireland in two weeks before signing off in a potential title decider in Paris. Wales, who lost their opening game to Ireland, have five points and are just about out of the running.