Wales 27 England 18: Wales avoided a Six Nations whitewash and acclaimed a new hero when they closed the tournament with a James Hook-inspired victory over an England team who began the day dreaming of an unlikely title.

Wales blasted out of the blocks ferociously and took a deserved 15-0 lead with tries by 21-year-old flyhalf Hook and prop Chris Horsman but England somehow hung on to reach the break only 18-15 down after long-range scores for Harry Ellis and Jason Robinson.

The world champions, who needed an improbable 57-point victory to deny France the title, edged level early in the second half but Hook, playing at 10 in place of injured captain Stephen Jones, brought the buoyant Welsh home with two further penalties and a drop goal to end with a personal tally of 22.

The victory was enough to lift Wales above Scotland into fifth place in the standings on two points, while England had to settle for third behind Ireland and France on six.