My brother died recently. I was at Twickenham at the weekend to mark his death. Peter Squires won 29 caps on the wing for England back in the ‘70s and the RFU invited his widow Gail and a companion – in this case me – to the England v Wales game to commemorate his service.
The minute’s applause before kick-off for Peter and Tony Bond, the former England centre who died in December, was a generous and much-appreciated gesture.
Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of former England international, Peter Squires. pic.twitter.com/lyCByxi1Sa
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) January 22, 2026
It struck me afterwards that having spent his international career dealing with a Wales team which was virtually unstoppable, Peter would have relished the tide flowing in the other direction at the weekend. His record against Wales in the England team of that era was played six, lost five, broken arms one.
But as with most Englishmen with a genuine love of the game and appreciation of its history, Peter would have felt unease at the cripplingly low ebb Welsh rugby has hit.
One of the great rugby rivalries simply isn’t a rivalry at all at the moment – and that is no good for anyone.
Six Nations or no Six Nations, the absence of any form of jeopardy to Saturday’s contest reflected itself in an atmosphere which, while upbeat and enjoyable, was devoid of any tension.
In amongst the crowd at the Allianz Stadium for once, rather than in a Press Box, it felt like the anticipation was all for the entertainment not the contest. Amongst the home supporters, that is. The Welsh contingent were just hoping the scoreboard did not get out of hand. At 48-7, it just about didn’t. England did entertain with seven tries but they should really have hit 60.
The scale of the mis-match should place caveats on any instant Grand Slam ideas after round one of the championship.
That win does not guarantee anything at Murrayfield this weekend. Scotland, painful waterboarding in Rome or not, will be dancing to a different tune. They have had England’s number in recent years and should have beaten them at Twickenham last season as well. They will set England puzzles of a kind that Wales were just not equipped to do.
Still, the old adage has it that you can only beat what is in front of you and England comfortably did what was asked in that respect last weekend.
As a journalist, you are trained to look for ‘the line’, the nose to the story of the game. The headline-grabbing acts – Henry Arundell’s hat-trick and George Ford ringmastery which earned him the player of the match award – were straightforward enough for the scribes.
As a punter, what struck me from Row 22, Seat 249 were some of the contributions from the fringe – three moments in particular. Two were pieces of skill – a long-levered offload out of the tackle from Freddie Steward and a delayed pass assist by Fraser Dingwall – and the other was a lung-bursting slice of effort from the tireless Ollie Chessum that saw him chase down half the Wales backline in the last couple of minutes.
Chessum had an exceptional all-round game, at the lineout and in the loose, a contribution – in what was very likely his best game for England so far – which was rightly mentioned in dispatches.
Less attention was paid to Steward and Dingwall yet, from the not-so-cheap seats, both look to this observer to be evolving as international players.
Steward broke into the England side on the back of the security he offered as an outstanding high-ball operator and brave defender, attributes that are secure building blocks for any side. The Leicester full-back’s Test career stuttered though when England felt the need to develop their attack. He was dropped for the 2024 Six Nations game against Scotland. Steve Borthwick had decided he wasn’t the counter-attacking ball player they wanted.
Yet he has gone away and, if not reinvented himself, then certainly added to his armoury. In the Prem this season there have been clear signs of a new Steward. He ranks in the top five in terms of defenders beaten, metres gained and most carries.
To see him pull off that basketball-style slam-dunk offload to Chessum in heavy traffic just after the hour mark was to witness this more ambitious approach transferred to the international stage. There was also a try assist for Ben Earl with a pass that gave England’s back row chameleon the room to squeeze over in the corner.
Dingwall produced two, one for either wing. The first came when Ben Thomas generously coughed up possession to England as the first half drew to a close. Dingwall picked up the loose ball and did not think twice before handing the ball on to the greyhound to his left for Arundell to speed over for his hat-trick try. It was the second though early in the second half which caught the eye when he put Tom Roebuck in. The feint inwards and momentary delay drew in the last Wales defender and left Roebuck a clear path to the line.
It wasn’t incendiary but it was the sort of midfield efficiency that helps Northampton’s attack to purr so nicely, so often, transplanted into the Test arena. The rest of his game was quietly effective too.
Steward or Dingwall – shire horses rather than show ponies in England’s elevated parade ring – are not inked-in selections. They are on trial for their spots every time they play for the national side.
Steward has the cause celebre that is Marcus Smith circling at full-back – Smith replaced him for the closing stages against Wales – as well as Elliot Daly for company in the squad. George Furbank is also back with England after his injury troubles, albeit the Northampton man is officially down as rehabbing.
Dingwall has even more competition for the No 12 shirt with Seb Atkinson, Max Ojomoh, Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence all having worn it in the past 18 months. However Dingwall has started four of England’s five internationals this season, the odd game out being the Argentina Test in the autumn when he was injured.
One stroll in the park against a weak Wales will not end either debate – Scotland away will tell us a lot more this weekend – but as base camp markers for the remainder of this championship and the longer term, Steward and Dingwall have started this Six Nations strongly.
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It does feel like we are starting to pick 10/15 combinations for who plays best together, rather than individual players in each positions.
If you are starting George Ford at 10, who is the best tactical kicker, then it is almost inevitable that you would pick Freddie Steward at 15 to give you the best chance to retain those kicks.
However, switch Ford for Fin Smith at 10 and I suspect you will quickly see George Furbank at 15, running those outside channels they do so well for Saints.
It’s a mouth watering prospect this week with Fin Smith returning and looks like we will see the “All Saints” midfield of F Smith/Dingwall/Freeman to see what they can do together.
If they recreate the Saints attacking form (like last season), we may just have stumbled on our new attack but if not, I suspect Van Rensberg & Lawrence will be given their chances from November, who I think will be the longer term centre partnership for RWC 2027.
Interesting times - forwards & onwards to Murrayfield.