England Under-20 had their Grand Slam dreams dashed by an inspired Wales performance as tempers frayed at a raucous Cardiff Arms Park.
Two mass shoving matches marked the end of a tenacious win for the hosts, who leant on relentless defence and a muscular maul to topple the world champions. Harry Thomas, the Wales hooker who amassed 20 tackles, was at the heart of a deserved victory.
Richard Whiffin’s team were also more clinical in attack, scoring twice either side of half-time through centre Steffan Emanuel and wing Harry Rees-Weldon. England, beset by handling mistakes and stunted at the breakdown, would suffer two yellow cards in the last 10 minutes as their challenge was snuffed out.