England batter Wales at HQ

Lawrence Dallaglio scored one of six tries as England crushed Wales at Twickenham.

Lawrence Dallaglio marked his return to international rugby with a try as England got their Six Nations campaign off to the perfect start at Twickenham, crushing Wales 47-13.

In a culture clash between England's power and Wales' adventure, it was Andy Robinson's men who managed to find the cutting edge as the much-maligned back division finally offered some semblance of support to their awesome forwards.

Dallaglio's score was one of six on a superb afternoon for the world champions, whilst Martyn Williams offered the solitary reply for the visitors.

The contest really did develop into a game of two halves, as Wales more than matched their opposition in a terrifically entertaining first 40 minutes, before England simply blitzed their counterparts in the second period.

Mike Ruddock's fear ahead of the contest had been the sheer force of the England forwards, and his nightmares became reality as Wales collapsed during the gruelling final stages.

A typically thunderous opening saw Wales take the initiative as Mark Jones released two years of injury frustration to fly down the right flank, before he was eventually stopped by three England tacklers five yards short of the line.

The visitors went into the game without several key men, but they seemed to slip smoothly back into their 2005 groove early on, as Stephen Jones and Shane Williams began to dance around the England midfield.

A rather one-sided opening was only punctuated by the unexpected early introduction of Dallaglio, who entered the pitch to great roars as Joe Worsley exited with a blood injury.

However, the former England captain's presence did not halt Wales' early momentum, and they rocked the hosts onto the back foot once again as Charlie Hodgson was forced to scamper back to claim a Gareth Thomas chip-and-charge.

In a clear clash of styles, England were relying on their efficient game to set up attacking positions in the opening stages, but they suddenly exploded into life on 15 minutes as Jamie Noon rebuffed his critics.

The three quarter pairing of Mike Tindall and Noon has come under fire for their lack of creativity in previous outings, but the Newcastle man made a mockery of such a suggestion as he stepped sharply off his left foot to create the space for Cueto to cruise over from 25 yards.

A Charlie Hodgson conversion made the score 7-0, but it did not change the general pattern of play as Wales once again edged territorial matters whilst trying to keep ball in hand.

Stephen Jones partially rewarded their efforts with a penalty after Ellis was ruled offside, before England suffered a huge setback as Josh Lewsey left the field with a shoulder injury, with Tom Voyce his make-shift replacement.

Wales kept probing and they came within a whisker of a reply through the ever-dangerous Shane Williams, who nudged the ball past Voyce before Ben Cohen came to England's rescue.

However, once again it was England who showed a more clinical edge, and after a trademark Harry Ellis break had earned them a penalty, Martin Corry opted to apply the squeeze through England's dominant forwards by kicking to the corner.

The decision reaped maximum rewards at the second attempt, and it was Lewis Moody who emerged with the ball after a simply unstoppable catch-and-drive.

It looked as though England would continue in the ascendancy towards half time, but Dwayne Peel suddenly reminded the crowd of Wales' attacking instincts as he exploited Corry's lack of positional sense, before feeding Martyn Williams for a quick reply for the Welsh. Jones made no mistake from the conversion to draw his men within five at 15-10 before the interval.

Both sides could sense the importance of taking the initiative at the restart, and it was England who nearly claimed the perfect opening as Noon threw a clever dummy before putting too much on his pass to Danny Grewcock, who would have had the simple task of flopping over the line.

A penalty for slowing the ball did follow though, and Hodgson took the home side's tally to 18 as they stretched the Welsh in the opening stages of the second half.

However, Mike Ruddock's men were not about to lose their Grand Slam title without a fight, and they ran the ball right back at the heart of their opponents, but the usual cutting edge was missing without the first-choice centre partnership of Gavin Henson and Tom Shanklin.

Wales did claim a penalty as they built up a head of steam, but Martyn Williams then undid all their good work with some deliberate obstruction - earning him 10 minutes in the sin bin.

England immediately looked to make use of their forward advantage in the scrum, and Cueto was agonisingly short of his second try after a quick switch of play.

The host's pack had been the superior when eight had faced eight, but with Wales a man down Corry and co sensed a killer score, and it came through Tindall.

Drawing in the Welsh defenders just short of the line, Ellis made use of the quick ball to fire it out left, and three attackers queued up as Tindall did the honours for 26-13.

The game had effectively gone for the Grand Slam champions, and they cut the figure of a punchdrunk boxer as the fresh legs of Julian White and Dallaglio pummelled their tired bodies towards the end, with the latter marking his return to international rugby with a trademark individual drive at the line.

The rapidly-rising scoreline was harsh on a Wales side that had given a good account of themselves in the first half, but England's power clearly told towards the end, and Matt Dawson capitalised on more good scrummaging to scamper over late on.

By the final ten minutes, it was just a case of how many for the home side, and the answer was 47 as Voyce raced past two tackles to score.

On this evidence, Wales will still have a big part to play in the tournament - if only for their engrossing rugby, whilst England's more rounded display will have sent out a real warning to their Six Nations rivals.