England defeated in Summer Series Opener
By HQ
August 6 2023
Three first half penalties from Marcus Smith gave England a narrow lead at the break, but two second half tries from Gareth Davies and George North proved decisive for the home side as Steve Borthwick's men struggled to capitalise in their opposition's half
England took control in the early encounters, holding on to possession and working their way up the field from the Welsh kick off. It took Smith just seven minutes to get on the scoreboard, kicking a penalty from just inside the Wales half for an early advantage. He added a second soon afterwards to double the score.
The home team countered with six points of their own through Halfpenny. The full back opened the Welsh scoring account on the occasion of his 100th Test cap with two penalty kicks to level the scores.