Wales put in a colossal performance to triumph over a Red Rose side who were riding the crest of a wave after victories over Ireland and France.
But two second-half tries from Cory Hill and Josh Adams on top of 11 points from the boots of Gareth Anscombe and Dan Biggar was enough for Wales record their first victory over England since 2015.
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones was delighted with the result but warned his side to keep their feet on the ground ahead of their trip to Murrayfield to face Scotland in two weeks’ time.
“Hopefully there are a few more wins ahead but we’ll make sure we appreciate this victory and enjoy the next few hours,” said Jones.
“We spoke in the week about people and performance and I think the performance improved a little bit with the people we had and the boys who came off the bench stood up.
“We knew after that first half we had to match their level of emotion and that was the hardest thing. We did that, but credit must also go to England.
“We knew it would be a penalty or turnover which would decide the game. We have a rest week, but I’m sure we’d like to play again next week to try and maintain momentum.
“Having a week off is a dangerous thing. Scotland will be licking their wounds and looking forward to us going there.”
Despite winning their opening two games of the Championship against France and Italy respectively Gatland insists his players went to another level against Eddie Jones’ men.
And the Wales coach was quick to praise the effort his players have put in during the two weeks leading up to this test match.
“It was probably one of the best weeks that I’ve had with the team,” said Gatland.
“I’ve been involved with a lot of teams and yesterday’s captain’s run was as good as I’ve ever seen. I knew we were right mentally but we still have some improvements in our game.
“The message to the players was that there is no way anyone is training as hard as us. I think it paid dividends.
“Not necessarily from a physical point of view but from a mental point of view. We said before we left the hotel that we would win today because we’ve forgotten how to lose.
“I’m very proud of the boys and it was a great performance and they should enjoy their party tonight.”
There were heroes throughout the Wales team but full back Liam Williams was given the official man of the match award. And the Saracens flyer was proud of the performance and the victory.
“We’ve always known we’re a great team but we didn’t play good enough in our first two games,” he said.
“We’ve worked hard this week and really dug deep today. Last week against France we saw they kick a lot of ball so we’ve been working hard as a back three last week to diffuse their bombs.”
