Wales vs England LIVE! World Cup warm-up match stream, latest score and rugby updates today
Steve Borthwick’s squad step up their Rugby World Cup preparations today in Cardiff in the first of two Tests. The head coach will on Monday name his 33-man squad for the tournament in France, so today certain players could either earn their place on the proverbial plane or find themselves left on the runway.
England have named three debutants in the starting line-up as flanker Tom Pearson looks to make an impression at the Principality Stadium. The same goes for Saracens pair no8 Tom Willis and hooker Theo Dan. Marcus Smith is understood to have already secured his place in the World Cup squad but will still want to impress given the competiton at fly-half. Ellis Genge is the captain.
Wales will travel to Twickenham this time next week, before England travel to Ireland and then host Fiji to complete their World Cup preparations. Follow the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis from Nick Purewal in Wales!
Live updates
Nick Purewal at Principality Stadium
Early set-piece dominance for England has been rewarded with two penalties at the scrum, allowing Marcus Smith to convert both for a 6-0 lead.
England had to reverse referees’ opinion of their scrummage across the Six Nations and are now looking to kick on under new specialist coach Tom Harrison.
PENALTY!
14min: And he makes no mistake.
13min: Wales concede a second scrum penalty and something is not quite right for the hosts so far.
Smith about 15 yards out.
Nick Purewal at Principality Stadium
Spare a thought for Wales hooker Ryan Elias, who damaged his hamstring after less than a minute here in Cardiff.
The Scarlets front-rower tried to carry on, but had to admit defeat with little more than five minutes on the clock. After more than two months of intense training, now his World Cup will be in doubt, only underscoring the knife-edge element of these warm-up matches.
Elliot Dee is on.
8min: First points on the board and they fall to England as Smith clears the posts from the halfway line with a penalty kick.
7min: A blow for Wales as Elias is forced off with a cut on his upper leg. He missed the Six Nations with an Achilles injury and now he’s off early here.
5min: Third time lucky and England win the battle, sending the ball first left to Pearson and then right but another fumble and Wales are in possession.
3min: A fumble by England and Wales pounce on the ball but it’s knocked on. Scrum time.
2min: Ludlam with the clean take before Care boots it high for Halfpenny to gobble up.
Kick-off!
1min: Here we go!
