The meeting of the championship’s two most decorated sides opened the 2026 Six Nations at Allianz Stadium, and a Henry Arundell hat-trick settled it by half-time.
England opened the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations against Wales at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on Saturday 7 February 2026. They came into the first round on an 11-match winning run.
England and Wales sit together at the top of the championship’s all-time table. In 2012 Scott Williams stripped the ball at Twickenham and scored to win Wales a Triple Crown that became a Grand Slam.
At home England had won 11 of their 13 Six Nations meetings with Wales. The previous March they won 68 to 14 in Cardiff, their widest championship margin over Wales. Wales arrived on 11 straight championship defeats, under a new head coach, Steve Tandy.
Henry Arundell, on his first Test start since 2023, scored three tries before half-time. It was the first hat-trick by an England player in the championship since Jonny May’s against France in 2019.
Two Welsh forwards went to the sin bin inside the first half hour. Ben Earl added a try, and England led 29 to 0 at the interval. Tom Roebuck and Tommy Freeman scored after the break, Josh Adams replied for Wales, and the 48 to 7 win took England’s run to 12 matches.