Manu Tuilagi’s late red card for a dangerous tackle on George North was the one blemish for England on an afternoon when they won the triple crown after systematically destroying the defending champions, who went down to a third successive defeat in a Six Nations campaign for the first time since 2007. The scoreline suggested a close contest but two late tries by Wales when England were reduced to 13 players did not mask the deep divide between the sides.

Wales are in transition after 12 years under the relentless regime of Warren Gatland. If there is a sense of liberation in the way they are playing under Wayne Pivac, they have lost their pragmatism and become careless and disjointed. They were willing but wanting here, not just overpowered by opponents who base their game on forcing opponents into physical submission, but outplayed.

There was a composure and an authority about England that Wales lacked. Three attacking lineouts led to 17 of England’s 20 points in the opening half: two tries from simple moves that unpicked what last year was the championship’s meanest defence with surprising ease, plus the second of Owen Farrell’s three penalties.

In contrast, Wales squandered opportunities. North lost control of the ball after being tackled short of the line before Hadleigh Parkes knocked on after coming into the line at pace following a lineout. They scored three tries in the second half, the first a counterattacking gem 25 seconds after the restart, but the final two came when Ellis Genge was in the sin-bin for England’s persistent infringing and Tuilagi was reflecting on another layoff after leading with his shoulder as North neared England’s line and making contact with the wing’s head.

Anthony Watson scores a fine early try on his return to the side. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

When Tuilagi scored his side’s third try on the hour, England led 33-16 and were closing in on the bonus point they failed to secure in victory over Ireland in the previous round. It eluded them again as Wales picked themselves off the floor to enjoy their most sustained attacking period of the match. Mistakes continued to undermine them, Parkes again losing control of the ball close to the line, but England’s willingness to give away penalties in their mission to slow down possession cost them the presence of Genge and they played the final four minutes with 13 men.

It was England’s third victory after their opening round defeat in Paris, an afternoon when a team renowned for its fast starts paid for a passive first 40 minutes. Eddie Jones’s banter in the buildup amounted to faintly hot air, but he has been largely quiet since, allowing his side to do the talking and for an hour here they resembled the team that reached the World Cup final last year, unyielding and enterprising.

They gradually overpowered Wales up front, winning three penalties in the scrum, used the lineout to launch quick attacks and, through Courtney Lawes and Tom Curry especially, were forceful in the tackle. If England’s back row looked unbalanced with Curry at No 8, Mark Wilson on the open-side and Lawes also playing out of position, it worked, all-consuming and rampant. Factor in Maro Itoje and Kyle Sinckler and Wales were too often forced to play behind the gainline where they tried to live up to their new attacking ideal rather than relieve pressure and buy time.

Pivac lamented poor decision-making which was symptomatic of a side in transition. Wales conceded a try after two minutes here two years ago and were 16-0 down at half-time in 2016 and needed to make a strong start. They conceded the softest of tries after three minutes, Itoje winning an attacking lineout before Ben Youngs’ inside pass to Anthony Watson confounded a defence that failed to react.

Elliot Daly flies over for England’s second try. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Wales wasted an immediate chance to respond when North lost the ball on England’s line. Farrell nudged him to spark a scuffle that ended with a smirking Joe Marler grabbing the testicles of the Wales captain, Alun Wyn Jones, who reacted with open-mouthed surprise. The dust-up was reviewed and Farrell was penalised while the England wing Jonny May left the field for a head injury assessment and did not return, Henry Slade coming on at full-back and Elliot Daly moving to the left wing.

Daly scored England’s second try after Leigh Halfpenny had kicked two penalties to Farrell’s one. Sinckler won a scrum penalty, Farrell kicked into touch in Wales’s 22 and Itoje again won the throw cleanly. Two phases later George Ford stood at outside-centre, drawing North and giving Daly the room to score in the left-hand corner.

Farrell made it 20-6 with a penalty two minutes from half-time after another lineout but Dan Biggar, who played with his right knee heavily strapped and was a target for England’s tacklers from the off, replied with the final kick of the opening period. Wales had been a distant second, struggling against England’s sustained aggression, but within 25 seconds of the restart they had closed the gap to four points.

Ford’s kick-off saw Daly and George Kruis mess up the chase. Josh Navidi and the impressive Nick Tompkins exchanged passes before Tomos Williams arrived in support to send away Justin Tipuric on a 30-metre run under the posts. A year ago in Cardiff, England collapsed in the second half as they attempted to defend a lead and this was the moment for Wales to change the momentum again.

England’s reaction was impressive. Farrell and Ford kicked penalties to give them a cushion before Youngs broke from a ruck to start a move Tuilagi finished to put his side 17 points ahead. Wales, facing a ruinous defeat, clambered off the floor but did not score until they had a two-man advantage, tries from Biggar and Tipuric giving them a bonus point that was of little consolation.