Wales produced a storming second-half fightback to defeat England 20-9 in a World Cup warm-up friendly at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Following a stop-start first half, Gareth Davies and George North scored tries for Wales, who faced few threats to their advantage during the second 40 minutes.

Making his 100th appearance in Wales colours, Leigh Halfpenny had two penalties to his name before the half-time whistle blew, but a trio of efforts from Marcus Smith saw England enter the break 9-6 to the good.

Shortcomings in the scrum were plaguing Wales, who were arguably fortunate to only be facing a three-point deficit heading into the second period, but an early injury to Ryan Elias did not help their cause either.

However, Warren Gatland's side drew first blood in the third minute of the second half, as captain Jac Morgan embarked on a surging inside run before teeing up Davies for the first try of the match, but the move was sparked by a pinpoint Sam Costelow cross-field kick.

The Wales resurgence continued when North crossed the line in the 58th minute, and Steve Borthwick's side offered little to no hope of a late turnaround heading into the dying embers.

Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit briefly thought that he had notched his nation's third try late on, chipping the ball forward on the right before appearing to touch down right on the line, but the 22-year-old's impressive effort was chalked off by the narrowest of margins for separation.

Gatland and Borthwick now have a full week to dissect Saturday's affair before Wales and England renew hostilities in the second leg of their warm-up friendly at Twickenham on August 12. body check tags ::