LONDON (AP) — England inflicted a 48-7 hiding on Wales to open its Six Nations title bid on Saturday at Twickenham.
England got a bonus-point seven tries, including three for winger Henry Arundell, in a 12th successive win dating to last year's Six Nations.
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England's Ben Earl breaks through during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Wales in London, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
England's Ben Earl scores a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Wales in London, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
England's Henry Arundell scores a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Wales in London, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
England's Ben Earl celebrates scoring a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Wales in London, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
The 41-point margin of victory was England's biggest against Wales at home since a 62-5 result in a 2007 Rugby World Cup warmup.
That scoreline looked reachable at halftime when England led 29-0 but the game lost its fizz and descended into errors and indiscipline.
Wales also became more competitive but received four yellow cards and went down to 13 men twice. England received two yellow cards, including one for Maro Itoje just seconds after he came off the bench in a Six Nations match for the first time since 2020.
Wales suffered a record-extending 12th straight loss in the championship dating to 2023 and returns to Cardiff next weekend to face France, the title favorite.
England goes to Scotland, where it hasn't won since 2020.
“To start the championship with that kind of result, we're very pleased,” England coach Steve Borthwick told the BBC.
“I thought we defended exceptionally well, we kicked really well and we scored some nice tries but I think we left a lot out there on the grass. We could do a lot better. Those are the things we need to step up next week.”
England was heavily favored on Saturday and stretched and stressed Wales, but the visitor gifted the home side territory and possession from basic errors, especially in the first half.
“England fought more than us, they were harder in the tackle than us, the rugby they played was beautiful,” Wales try-scorer Josh Adams told the BBC.
“Teams like England, the way they're playing, it’s hard enough with 15 players on the pitch. So with yellow card after yellow card it's impossible to stay in the game and the pressure keeps piling."
Sam Underhill charged down Wales fullback Louis Rees-Zammit — playing his first Six Nations game in three years after his NFL stint — and gave George Ford the opening points off the tee.
Two penalties against Wales, one for obstruction, gave England entry into the Wales 22 and Ford lined up Arundell for his first try.
After Wales front-rowers Nicky Smith and captain Dewi Lake were sin-binned within a minute of each other under tryline pressure, Arundell got his second try from a Ford kick-pass.
Wales conceded a second try while with 13 men when No. 8 Ben Earl carried Ellis Mee over the line.
Just before halftime, a dropped pass by Wales on its 22 was scooped by Fraser Dingwall who released Arundell for his third try, his 11th in 12 tests, and a first hat trick by England in the Six Nations since Jonny May against France in 2019.
“They were tap-ins but a hat trick is a hat trick,” Arundell told ITV.
Dingwall also laid on a try for Tom Roebuck, the late replacement for injured winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, to start the second half.
But at 36-0 in the 45th England went off the boil and Wales showed some pride.
Itoje, on the bench after grieving the death of his mother in December, entered to a loud cheer but went off seconds later when he offended with England on a yellow-card warning.
Wales scored immediately through an Adams try after quick rucks.
Wales center Ben Thomas made a try-saving tackle on Roebuck but was sin-binned for an illegal rip of prop Trevor Davison on the tryline. Taine Plumtree joined him two minutes later and reduced Wales to 13 men again.
Plumtree tackled Henry Pollock into touch over the tryline but his arm tackle around Pollock's neck earned him a yellow card and conceded a penalty try.
England finished the game with 14 after Tom Curry's yellow card but around that center Tommy Freeman had a try ruled out and a try given when he beat three defenders. Ford's sideline conversion hit the post, only his second miss from seven goalkicks.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
England's Ben Earl breaks through during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Wales in London, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
England's Ben Earl scores a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Wales in London, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
England's Henry Arundell scores a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Wales in London, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
England's Ben Earl celebrates scoring a try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Wales in London, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
BANGKOK (AP) — Voters in Thailand went to the polls Sunday in an early general election seen as a three-way race among competing visions of progressive, populist and old-fashioned patronage politics.
The battle for support from 53 million registered voters comes against a backdrop of slow economic growth and heightened nationalist sentiment. While more than 50 parties are contesting the polls, only three — the People’s Party, Bhumjaithai, and Pheu Thai — have the nationwide organization and popularity to gain a winning mandate.
A simple majority of the 500 elected lawmakers selects the next prime minister.
Local polls consistently project that no single party will gain a majority, necessitating the formation of a coalition government.
Although the progressive People’s Party is seen as favored to win a plurality, its reformist politics aren't shared by its leading rivals, which may freeze it out by joining forces to form a government.
The People’s Party, led by Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, is the successor to the Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in the House of Representatives in 2023, but was blocked from forming a government by conservative lawmakers and then forced to dissolve.
"I think we will get the mandate from the people, and we promised the people that we will form the people’s government to bring policies that benefit all, not a few in the country,” Natthaphong told reporters after casting his ballot in Bangkok soon after the polls opened at 8 a.m.
His party's platform continues to promise sweeping reforms of the military, police and judiciary, appealing to youth and urban voters. Legal constraints have led it to set aside demands for reform of a law that metes out harsh penalties for criticism of the monarchy, while putting new emphasis on economic issues.
Softening its politics risks weakening its core support, already at risk because the last election had positioned it squarely as the alternative to nine previous years of military-led government, a situation it can't fruitfully exploit this time.
At the same time, its positions critical of the military can be a political liability with the surge of patriotism that emerged during last year’s border clashes with Cambodia, said Napon Jatusripitak, director of the Center for Politics and Geopolitics at Thailand Future, a Bangkok-based think tank.
The Bhumjaithai Party, headed by incumbent Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, is seen as the main defender and preferred choice of the royalist-military establishment.
Anutin has been prime minister only since last September, after serving in the Cabinet of his immediate predecessor, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was forced out of office for an ethics violation regarding mishandling relations with Cambodia. He dissolved parliament in December to call a new election after he was threatened with a no-confidence vote.
Subsequent border clashes with Cambodia allowed Anutin to recast himself as a wartime leader after his popularity initially slipped because of floods and financial scandals. His campaign focuses on national security and economic stimulus.
“We have done everything that we had to, but we cannot force the mind of the people. We can only present ourselves, and hope that the people will have faith in us,” Anutin said after casting ballots in northeastern Buriram province, his party's stronghold.
Bhumjaithai, seen as the likeliest party to form the next government, benefits from an electoral strategy employing old-style patronage politics and a machine skilled at grassroots organizing in the vote-rich northeast.
The Pheu Thai Party is the latest political vehicle for billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin-backed parties staged repeated electoral comebacks, only to be ousted by conservative-leaning courts and state watchdog agencies.
It softened its politics enough by the 2023 election to be returned to power after being judged by the previously hostile royalist-military establishment as an acceptable alternative to the more progressive Move Forward party.
The conservative court system rounded on it anyway — ousting two of its prime ministers over two years and ordering Thaksin imprisoned on old charges. The party now campaigns on economic revival and populist pledges like cash handouts, nominating Thaksin’s nephew, Yodchanan Wongsawat, as its lead candidate for prime minister.
"I’m excited, because I think today will be another busy day for the country’s democracy,” Yodchanan told reporters after voting.
Sunday’s voting includes a referendum asking voters whether Thailand should replace its 2017 military-drafted constitution.
The vote isn't on a proposed draft, but rather to decide whether to authorize parliament to begin a formal drafting process, which would require many further steps before coming to fruition.
Pro-democracy groups view a new charter as a critical step toward reducing the influence of unelected institutions such as the military and judiciary, while conservatives warn that it could cause instability.
CORRECTS DATE TO 8, NOT 7 - Police officers and volunteers seal a ballot box at voting station before starting of Thailand's general election in Bangkok, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
CORRECTS DATE TO 8, NOT 7 - Police officers prepare for the general election at a voting station in Bangkok, on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
CORRECTS DATE TO 8, NOT 7 - Police officers and election volunteers prepare for the general election at a voting station in Bangkok, on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
CORRECTS DATE TO 8, NOT 7 - A voter casts his ballot at a polling station during general election in Bangkok, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
CORRECTS DATE TO 8, NOT 7 - Voters look at candidates listed on a display board before entering a voting station for the general election in Bangkok, on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Police officers and volunteers prepare at a voting station for the general election in Bangkok, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Volunteers check equipment and prepare ballot boxes for Sunday's general election in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A volunteer checks ballots for Sunday's general election in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Police officers and Volunteers check ballots for Sunday's general election in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
