England were heavily fancied to seal a rout in Bridgend. An inexperienced Welsh line-up, boasting an average age of less than 23, faced a daunting prospect as they faced an England side who are gearing up to face France, Australia and world champions New Zealand in the coming weeks.

Many foresaw a repeat of England's Doncaster hammering of last year, but Harris' Wales got off to an amazing start and took the lead after only two minutes to the surprise of the 3,249 Brewery Field crowd. The hosts were handed a fresh set of six after England spilled a long-range kick, and Wales, with the Prince of Wales's feathers back on their shirts, took advantage as Craig Kopczak spun over in Adrian Morley's tackle right in the corner.

Predictably, England quickly fought back. An error from promising youngster Elliot Kear saw England snatch the ball only yards from the line. Ben Westwood passed wide for Sam Tomkins and he powered over the line to restore parity.

Wales' valiant defending was let down by a handful of individual errors. The visitors were soon ahead with the superb Sam Tomkins cutting through the Welsh defence, showing full-back Kear a clean pair of heels to cross the white line underneath the posts.

Tomkins was in inspired form and he masterminded England's next two tries - setting up Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Sam Burgess, before Welshman Lloyd White banged over an impressive long-range penalty to make it 6-20 at the interval.

Having started the game so well, Wales then stunned everyone again by bagging the first try of the second period, with the conversion reducing the deficit to only eight points. Fox's knock-on gave Wales the ball in their own half, and then an offside call against England gave the hosts a fresh set from only yards out. England weren't ready; Ben Watson tapped the ball and charged over. Superb stuff, and White duly obliged with the boot.

Perhaps - just perhaps - the Welsh, handed a 56-point start by the bookmakers, sensed that one of the sport's biggest ever upsets could be on the cards. However, superior fitness eventually told and England slowly started to dominate proceedings on their way to racking up a further 28 points. Tony Smith's men wore down a tiring Wales and bossed the final twenty minutes.

The result was put beyond doubt when a neat move allowed Hull winger Tom Briscoe to cross, before further efforts from Sean O'Loughlin, Morley, Briscoe and Tomkins made the result comfortable.

Wales can be relatively pleased with their display. For an hour at least, Harris' men were extremely competitive and had England slightly worried at times. We must now build on this against Ireland at Sardis Road and hopefully secure an appearance in European Nations Cup final day at the Brewery Field on November 8^th.

Good effort Wales.

Full Time - Wales 12-48 England
Attendance - 3,249

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