Fraser Dingwall's second-half try and George Ford's second-half penalty helped England come from behind to beat Wales 16-14 in the Six Nations at Twickenham on Saturday.
It was far from a thrilling spectacle, but England ultimately got the job done and backed up last week's victory over Italy, making it two wins from two games so far in 2024.
Ben Earl scored another try for the hosts, Wales scored a penalty try and Alex Mann's cross, and Yoan Lloyd converted one for the visitors.
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For the first time in Six Nations history, Warren Gatland's side led 14-5 at the interval at the home of their great rivals.
However, the favorites fought back when Dingwall went over the left-hand corner, with Ford converting the decisive penalty in the 72nd minute, and the second half continued to improve.
England, who finished third in last year's World Cup, had seen their first match at Twickenham since rebuilding as an opportunity to reunite with their fans, but this stormy afternoon was too close for comfort.
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Wales will have to come to terms with an eight-game losing streak at Twickenham dating back to 2015 and a failure to pick up a point in the second half, but despite the result there was enough to encourage Gatland.
From the moment Freddie Steward burst through the visiting defense in the opening seconds, it looked like Wales were in for a long afternoon.
Only Rio Dyer's timely intervention stopped England at the right-hand corner, Elliot Daly raced clear and a crashing ball aimed at Henry Slade near the whitewash failed to find its target as the attack continued. could not.
However, despite their early dominance, goals were slow to come and the tide turned when Ollie Chetham was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle before Wales were awarded a penalty try.
Ethan Roots was singled out by referee James Doleman for bringing down a maul and was shown a yellow card as a result, reducing England to 13 men for five minutes.
Remarkably, when Earl powered over from the base of the scrum, the hosts quickly hit back, breaking four tackles before scoring a touchdown with outstretched arms.
A dramatic first quarter ended with Ford failing to convert as Wales chased the kick, even though England's fly-half had not yet started his run-up.
Ford was embarrassed by Doleman's decision in favor of the visitors, and England then had to endure long periods of defense, despite lacking the cutting edge technology to really trouble their opponents. There wasn't.
Long kicks from Daley and Slade eased the pressure on Steve Borthwick's side as they struggled to escape from their own half, but they were unable to stop Wales, who kicked into gear just before half-time.
Josh Adams set it up but the key moment came when the brilliant Tommy Leffell won the inside ball, breaking out of the tackle and allowing Tomos Williams to gather and send the man out.
England went into the second half with greater purpose and Daly almost hit the left corner, but Ford converted a penalty moments later.
Daley's defensive lapse saw Wales break through and almost score, but successive scrum penalties settled it for the home side, the second of which created the chance for a second try.
As the forwards carried on and weakened the Red Wall, the ball drifted to the left, allowing an unmarked Dingwall to cross.
Then the tide turned as Ford's deliberate knock-on and upstep sent Mason Grady to the cabinet, putting England ahead for the first time, with Wales defeated.
team
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ethan Daley. Roots, 5 Ollie Chetham, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacement: 16 Theo Dunn, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Danny Care, 22 Finn Smith, 23 Immanuel Fay-Waboso
Wales: 15 Cameron Wynnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Yoan Lloyd, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Leffell, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Keiron Assilatti, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacement: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Corey Domakowski, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Kai Evans, 23 Mason Grady
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand), Holly Davidson (Scotland)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
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