Looking to Twickenham for another dose of Anglo-Welsh rivalry

A revered rivalry steeped in history will be observed this weekend as the red jerseys of the Welsh with clash with the white of England as the Twickenham crowd looks keenly on.  

 

England opened their campaign with a loss to the Scots at Murrayfield before their last action which saw them moving on to Italy where they downed the Azzurri 33-0 in Rome: 

 

 

 

Wales’ first performance was one Wayne Pivac and co. would rather forget, as they were taken apart by the Irish in Dublin. In Round 2, however, the Welsh dug deep and pulled back some pride against Scotland in Cardiff: 

 

 

 

A significant development in the Wales squad sees the return of stalwart number 8, Taulupe Faletau. Wales assistant coach Neil Jenkins is pleased with Faletau’s presence in the side again. 

 

“He is a class act. We know that. He is a fantastic player, his personality, who he is,” Jenkins said. 

 

“It is brilliant to have him back. You want your best players available, and he comes into that category. 

 

“We will see how he goes. He has been out for quite some time. We will see how he goes today, and Wayne (Pivac) will make the right call regarding him. 

 

“We will have a bit more about us today in training, and we will see where he is at. 

 

“It is just whether we feel his condition is right to go.” 

 

One of the English players catching the eye of late is number 8 Alex Dombrandt, who is relishing the opportunity before him and his team on Saturday, particularly his personal contest with Faletau. 

 

“He’s obviously a great player, who has played lots of games for Wales so if selected it will be a great test for me to go up against him,” Dombrandt said. 

 

“I think he is one of those No.8s that has got a great all-court game. He is good in defence and very good in attack. 

 

“I’ve watched him play a lot of games and picked up a few things from him.” 

  

Eddie Jones has named a formidable squad to do battle on their home turf, a squad which, notably, contained the name of Manu Tuilagi at centre before the 30 year old withdrew from the squad on Thursday evening after sustaining another injury.   

 

 

 

It will be a big day for scrumhalf Danny Care who, should he take the field off the bench, will become the most-capped English player of all time with his 115th appearance.  

 

Jones said: 

 

“We’ve prepared very well for this game, the squad have really come together on and off the pitch. 

 

“Wales are a good, tough side and Six Nations champions and it will make for an exciting Test match in front of a full Twickenham crowd. 

 

“We’ve got a talented, young, hungry squad who have trained with real intensity this week. We’re ready to go at them and can’t wait to play in front of our supporters again. 

 

“It will also be a special match with two significant milestones for Ben and Kyle, both of who have made outstanding contributions to English rugby so far in their careers. We congratulate them and we know there is more to come ahead for them.” 

 

 

Pivac made a few changes to his side from Round 2, the return of Faletau sees Ross Moriarty move to the side of the scrum, prompting Jac Morgan to drop the bench. Louis Rees-Zammit drops out of the squad completely and Josh Adams returns to the side, taking up a position on the wing. 

 

 

 

“We’re very pleased to have the experienced Toby Faletau back. He’s trained well during the week and got 80 minutes under his belt last week.    

 

“From our point of view he brings a lot of experience so we’re very excited to have Toby back. 

 

“I’m also really pleased for Alex Cuthbert to get fifty Tests for his country. It’s a massive achievement.   

 

“And it’s also great to have Josh Adams back from injury. They are two good players. That means Louis Rees-Zammit is the unfortunate one this week that misses out.  

 

“But we’ve looked at the opposition we’re playing and niggly injuries that players pick up from time to time and we think that in this particular match, the way the game will go, that Alex and Josh are the right selection. 

 

“Clearly everyone loves playing at home and it’s a first home game of the Guinness Six Nations for England. They will be tough opposition, they always are and both teams are still in this competition so there’s a lot at stake. 

 

“It’s a big game. We had a great result against them last year but we’re going to have to play very, very well to get the same result this year. 

 

“We played well against Scotland, but we’ve challenged the boys to make sure that we have that same effort away from home this week.” 

 

Interestingly, it will be a proud day for Northampton Saints as two stalwarts of the club, Courtney Lawes and Dan Biggar, will be captaining their respective teams.

“It is a very proud moment for the club in terms of us both captaining in a huge game on Saturday – England versus Wales,” said Biggar. 

 

“I think ‘Courts’ will probably be the more relaxed of the two of us on Saturday, I would imagine. His style will be a lot more laid-back than mine. 

 

“It’s a really special moment, actually. I’ve played with him over the last four years, and it will be really exciting on Saturday. 

 

“I think the biggest thing I’ve noticed with ‘Courts’ over the last few years is he has got the ability that when he speaks people tend to listen,” Biggar added. 

 

“You can have a lot people who speak a lot of the time, but it can be white noise. Certainly from my experience from playing with Courtney, when he has something to say people tend to tune in a little bit more closely and really focus in." 

 

Lawes said: 

 

“It’s awesome, it’s obviously great for the club. It’s great for us to get to play against each other and captain against each other. 

 

“I look forward to the banter at the coin toss and playing against a good friend.” 

 

The proud history behind this fixture will fuel both sides with huge motivation. Twickenham is never an easy place to play for visiting teams – and this clash will be no exception – but the Welsh have proved they have the character to throw down a significant challenge which will make for another great Six Nations spectacle.