Rob Evans ready to make leap from couch to pitch when Wales face England

Rob Evans was in his house "going nuts" the last time Wales beat England at Twickenham.

But next Saturday, less than six months later, he looks set to be right in the thick of things as Wales' first-choice loosehead prop for a game that will significantly influence the destiny of this season's RBS 6 Nations title.

A Wales victory would mean they could defeat Six Nations strugglers Italy at home the following Saturday to claim a third championship crown in five seasons.

An England win, though, and they will be on the verge of title glory, while also setting up a full-scale Grand Slam tilt against France in Paris seven days later.

Wales' 28-25 World Cup win on English soil last September pushed the tournament hosts towards pool-stage elimination, and Evans said: "I watched it in my house with my old man, my mate and my brother.

"When Lloyd (Williams) made the break down the left wing, kicked it inside and Gareth (Davies) scored, we were all going nuts. It was good."

Evans, 23, has certainly made up for lost time since missing out on World Cup selection, having started all three of Wales' Six Nations games this season - and he has made a considerable impression in each one.

He has kept Gethin Jenkins - Wales' record cap holder with 122 Test match appearances - on the bench, and shone as part of a Welsh set-piece game that has underpinned an unbeaten start to this season's Six Nations.

"When I did not make the World Cup squad, I refocused and wanted to get into the Six Nations squad," Scarlets forward Evans added.

"You hope to be involved. I kept my head down and worked hard. I was happy to get the start (against opening opponents Ireland).

"I would not say I have overtaken them (Jenkins and fellow Wales squad loosehead Paul James). It is more that I have been given a chance.

"It is awesome to be starting, but it is good to have them in the squad as well. They bring so much experience and knowledge, and to be fair, they both have been class in helping me in certain parts of the game.

"It is tough being in the squad (and not playing). All you want to do is have a chance, to get out on the field. It is great to get that chance, and I am enjoying it."

Haverfordwest-born Evans, an affable and popular character in the Wales squad, hails from a Pembrokeshire farming background, and that humour surfaces when asked about his conversations with team-mate Dan Lydiate, whose family run a 200-acre farm in mid-Wales.

"We have a chat now and again," Evans added. "But there is only so much you can talk about with tractors.

"We spent a few days, but you have a few weeks in camp! You can't talk about the same things on a tractor all the time. We just smile now and walk past each other."