London (AFP)
England qualified for the final of the Autumn Nations Cup by going to win Saturday (24-13) in Wales, after a rather controlled match.
After having already beaten Georgia (40-0), then Ireland (18-7), the XV de la Rose achieved a clear round in Pool A and will face in the final either Scotland, currently leading the Pool B, i.e. France, which will overtake it in the event of a home victory against Italy in the evening (20:10 GMT).
Eddie Jones' men only needed a small point to be mathematically qualified and they did not really tremble in this committed match where their physical superiority prevailed.
There was a small alert with the Welsh try at the very start of the match, on a low kick to be followed by Henry Slade countered by Dan Biggar and finally converted by Johnny Williams (7-0, 11th).
But by their kicking game and their domination in melee, the English quickly recovered from this twist of fate.
Slade made up for his mistake by scoring a try at the end of the line at the end of the first quarter of an hour (7-5, 15th), before Owen Farrell's boot twice (31st, 39th) allowed them to take the lead at the break (7-11).
A little reassured by their victory against Georgia (18-0) last week, which ended 6 defeats in a row, the Welsh were combative but much too limited in the use of the ball.
England widened the gap on a strength test from Mako Vunipola transformed by Farrell (7-18, 51st).
With two penalties (56th and 59th), Biggar maintained the dream of a feat for honor (13-18), since the Welsh would have needed a very large victory with an offensive bonus and without England scoring point, to have a chance to finish first.
But Farrell, author of 14 points in total, was responsible for giving the margin to his team on two penalties (67th, 73rd), for an end to the game without much thrill.
© 2020 AFP