Far too early to dub this a Six Nations decider but defeat for either England or Wales would see their silverware hopes take a major dent.
Two of the three unbeaten sides after Round One face off and, with Ireland hosting Italy looking for five points, England and Wales know a loss would leave them playing catch-up in a fascinating championship. The bookmakers expect that team to be Wales, who are 4/1 underdogs.
On last week’s performance those odds appear a good bet as both defensively and in possession Warren Gatland’s side were outstanding. The Scots could not penetrate the red wall and, despite plenty of experience missing, Wales looked deadly and deservedly ran out 34-7 winners.
England, meanwhile, were equally slick in Rome as they brushed aside Italy, racking up seven tries thanks to a confident attacking display. Those two performances will have stood these sides in good stead heading to Twickenham, which is fantastic news for the watching neutral.
We have also had the customary first mind-games of this year’s Six Nations as Eddie Jones looked to rattle Wales playmaker Rhys Patchell, which offers another subplot to keep an eye on. While Patchell showed his maturity and class last week, this Saturday is another step up.
“Every time Rhys Patchell looks up he’s going to see Jonathan Joseph in his vision – it is not a great sight,” said Jones. “Wales have to get the ball wide and Patchell hasn’t played much Test match rugby. He is a young guy, he is inexperienced and is their third-choice 10.”
The England head coach added: “It will be different to playing against Scotland. Scotland could not cope with the expectation and now he has got to cope with the expectation of playing well. Patchell will have to find guys around him to help as he will be under some heat.”
Shots fired from Jones then and how Patchell and Wales respond to those words should be interesting, with their Scarlets-filled backline showing no signs of being put off their game for the last 18 months. It’s bubbling nicely ahead of Saturday’s afternoon’s showdown.
Players to watch:
For England: Just the two changes for England and it’s no surprise our focus surrounds that duo. Danny Care and Jonathan Joseph will be hoping to nail down their respective starting shirts, with Care coming in for the injured Ben Youngs and Joseph getting the nod ahead of Ben Te’o who is rested. Care needs to mix his kicking and running game with good, quick service at the base in order to unleash the likes of Joseph, who looked in determined mood in Rome when he came on. If he finds holes or space to pierce Wales’ defence, they’re in trouble.
For Wales: Aaron Shingler has been consistently churning out high quality performances for both Scarlets and Wales and we expect another this Saturday at Twickenham. Such a rangy operator who has deceptive speed and power, England will need to contain this blindside flanker in the loose or risk damage being done. He combines so well with Josh Navidi in the back-row while Ross Moriarty is also critical to the Welsh hopes of victory. If those three gain the upper hand over their opposite numbers then Gareth Davies and Rhys Patchell can flourish.
Head-to-head: The performance of Alun Wyn Jones last week has somewhat slipped under the radar. The lock was outstanding against Scotland and will need to carry that form on to Twickenham, leading from the front in his battle with Maro Itoje and Joe Launchbury. Cory Hill is again alongside Jones – Bradley Davies looking set to come on in the second-half – and all three need to bring their best against England.
Previous results:
2017: England won 21-16 in Cardiff
2016: England won 27-13 at Twickenham
2016: England won 25-21 at Twickenham
2015: Wales won 28-25 at Twickenham
2015: England won 21-16 in Cardiff
2014: England won 29-18 at Twickenham
2013: Wales won 30-3 in Cardiff
2012: Wales won 19-12 at Twickenham
Prediction: Expect a high octane affair at Twickenham which will be a great advert for the Six Nations. Both benches are packed with talent too in a game we think will go right down to the wire. The hosts will just sneak it in our eyes, though. England by 5!
The teams:
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Ben Te’o, 23 Jack Nowell
Wales (revised): 15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Cory Hill, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Bradley Davies, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Owen Watkin, 23 George North
Date: Saturday, February 10
Venue: Twickenham
Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Nic Berry (Australia)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
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