England rock Wales with sensational comeback to spark hopes of Six Nations glory

Supporters who crammed into HQ witnessed a tense England-Wales clash marred by controversy.

England were briefly reduced to 14 players after a TMO check showed Leicester lock Ollie Chessum making shoulder to head contact with Cardiff prop Keiron Assiratti.

Warren Gatland's youthful Welsh side soon made the pressure count as a driving maul was dragged down just short of the England line, leaving referee James Doleman little choice but to award a penalty try as Ethan Roots joined Chessum in the sin bin.

England cut the deficit almost immediately as Ben Earl, who was later named player of the match, crashed over from a scrum just five metres out from the Welsh line.

It should have been a simple task for George Ford to bring the scores level but the Sale Sharks fly-half was controversially unable to add the extras.

Ford was judged to have started his run-up to the ball, giving Wales the opportunity to knock the ball off the tee and prevent any shot for two-points.

Wales managed to slice through England's defence to send shockwaves around HQ just before the interval.

Tommy Reffell and Tomos Williams showed slick hands to give Alex Mann the chance of scoring his second try in his second test for Gatland's side.

Ioan Lloyd, who replaced Sam Costelow in the coveted Welsh 10 shirt, added the extras to give Wales a 14-5 lead at half-time.

England came out for the second-half with a mountain to climb but were stern in defence and made periods of pressure count.

Northampton Saints centre Fraser Dingwall managed to cut Wales' lead to just one-point as he crashed over in the corner with 63-minutes on the clock.

Despite Ford being unable to nail the touchline conversion, the 30-year-old kicked England into the lead with just nine-minutes left after replacement winger Mason Grady was sent to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on.

The result proved agonising for Wales as Gatland was hoping to end a lengthy losing streak of defeat on English soil.

Wales have now lost their past six matches away against England in the Six Nations.

Their most recent win in England came in the pool stage of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Responding to the result after receiving his player of the match award, Earl said: "That was a proper Test match. It came down to the fine margins, the ball was in play for a long time, the boys dug in and we are really pleased."

England captain Jamie George added: "Going down to 13 men we scrapped our way through, the control we showed there is huge - positive signs for me."

However, Wales' 21-year-old captain Dafydd Jenkins said: "Absolutely gutted, that game was there for us to win and we didn't take it. We weren't accurate enough, I am really disappointed.

"When you come to Twickenham you know it is going to be a physical battle and you have to match them, I don't think we did that.

"I don't think we can use being a young team as an excuse, if we are here, we are good enough. I think we've created the chances but we just weren't accurate when finishing."

Gatland added: "We are going to be a good team, it's just going to take us a little bit of time. Some players are learning about game management, and they learn it from experiences.

"We did some good things and things that we will tidy up going forward. It's disappointing but it's a young side that is going to continue to improve.

"I thought we showed some great character, and it was a game there for us to win and I am proud of the effort."

Borthwick also said: "It was a hard-fought game and I am pleased for the players.

"This is a team which stays in the fight, it is a young side and we have a lot to learn, but we will grow together."