Rugby-Wales beat sloppy England 20-9 in World Cup warm-up

Second half tries from scrumhalf Gareth Davies and centre George North earned Wales a 20-9 victory over error-strewn England in their Rugby World Cup warm-up fixture in Cardiff on Saturday.

Second half tries from scrumhalf Gareth Davies and centre George North earned Wales a 20-9 victory over error-strewn England in their Rugby World Cup warm-up fixture in Cardiff on Saturday. England coach Steve Borthwick selected an unfamiliar team and gave several players, including flyhalf Marcus Smith, a chance to impress ahead of naming his World Cup squad on Monday, but few rose to the occasion.

The visitors led 9-6 at halftime and might have been further in front but a combination of poor execution in the Wales 22, not helped by 16 handling errors in the game, and some scrambling home defence kept them at bay. Wales were much improved in the second period and claimed a morale-boosting victory – their first in five tests in Cardiff – but there was plenty of rust from both sides a month before the start of the World Cup in France.

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