England vs. Wales Preview - All you Need to Know!

With arguably the biggest game of any Six Nations, England against Wales, just a few days away, we at Talking Rugby Union wanted to bring you all the latest news and views from the camp ahead of the big game.

The big news from the Welsh camp is another contentious selection involving centre Jonathan Davies. The Scarlets back was questionably selected to start the final British and Irish Lions test ahead of Irish legend Brian O’Driscoll.

Davies, after playing just 105 minutes of rugby since last year’s autumn internationals, has been immediately selected to start in the centres at Twickenham on Sunday.

As a result, George North returns to his favoured wing position after briefly occupying the midfield against France two weeks ago, so Davies can re-join his long-time partner in crime Jamie Roberts.

The only other change to the starting side sees talismanic lock Alun-Wyn Jones return to the side from injury in place of Jake Ball, who debuted against France.

However, recent reports have told us that man-giant Luke Charteris has been injured in training and will be unfit to play in Sunday’s game. Therefore, Jake Ball returns to the starting line-up for his second cap.

On the other side of the border England have kept their changes to a minimum after the gritty 13-10 victory over Ireland at Twickenham two weeks ago.

Tom Johnson is the only new face to join the matchday 23 in place of the injured Billy Vunipola – who’s ‘go-forward’ is sure to sorely missed against a Lions dominated Welsh pack.

Ben Morgan, who has impressed greatly from the bench, is the only change to the starting line-up as he moves in for the injured Vunipola.

A large amount of the ‘pre-game talk’ has centred on fit-again Manu Tuilagi and Marland Yarde. The enigmatic pair of English backs have both recently returned to Aviva Premiership action for both Leicester and London Irish, respectively.

However, neither party, somewhat surprisingly, have been included in the selected 23. Tuilagi has continued training with the squad whilst Yarde has returned to the Exiles.

The pair of starting line-ups are as follows:

England: M Brown (Harlequins); J Nowell (Exeter), L Burrell (Northampton), B Twelvetrees (Gloucester), J May (Gloucester); O Farrell (Saracens), D Care (Harlequins); J Marler (Harlequins), D Hartley (Northampton), D Wilson (Bath), J Launchbury (Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton), T Wood (Northampton), C Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), B Morgan (Gloucester).

Replacements: T Youngs (Leicester), M Vunipola (Saracens), H Thomas (Sale), D Attwood (Bath), T Johnson (Exeter), L Dickson (Northampton), G Ford (Bath), A Goode (Saracens).

Wales: Leigh Halfpenny (Blues); Alex Cuthbert (Blues), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Jamie Roberts (Racing Metro), George North (Northampton); Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Rhys Webb (Ospreys); Gethin Jenkins (Blues), Richard Hibbard (Ospreys), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Racing Metro), Sam Warburton (Blues, capt), Taulupe Faletau (Dragons).

Replacements: Ken Owens (Scarlets), Paul James (Bath Rugby), Rhodri Jones (Scarlets), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Mike Phillips (Racing Metro), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Liam Williams (Scarlets).

The two sides have met an enormous 125 times in test-match rugby and have, incredibly, won 56 games each.

To get feed those rugby appetites, here are all the key stats you need to know before the big game:

 

 

Ahead of the clash, Welsh head coach Warren Gatland has labelled the showdown a ‘psychological’ game ahead of the looming 2015 World Cup.

Victory will keep one side in the Six Nations title race whilst the others dreams of silverware will be effectively ended.

But it will also provide an early pointer towards next year's World Cup, with England, Wales and Australia all drawn in the same pool.

"It's a big game psychologically for both teams because we have to go there (Twickenham) next year as well. That's going to be even bigger than this Sunday," said Gatland, who has recalled fit-again centre Jonathan Davies and lock Alun-Wyn Jones to his starting XV.

"We have two big games at Twickenham in the World Cup against England and Australia.

"If we can win on Sunday, that is four in a row (against England) and if we then win the Six Nations as well, you start having a few doubts.

"The (Wales) starting XV won't be too far off 1,000 caps when it comes to the World Cup, and it won't be too far off its peak in terms of the age profile."

Regarding his team selection for this weekend, Gatland said it was not a difficult decision to recall British and Irish Lions star Davies.

"He (Davies) has been training really hard," Gatland added. "He is a world-class player, so it wasn't difficult for us to make that call.

"Jonathan has been doing a lot of training in the last five weeks. He has probably been doing too much really. In terms of being fit, he is really sharp at the moment."

Four teams - Ireland, England, Wales and France - are currently locked on four points at the top of the Six Nations table.

Ireland's superior points difference means they are favourites to lift the title, although their final game on March 15 is against France in Paris.

The losers at Twickenham will effectively be out of title contention, which further raises the stakes for the 125th meeting between two fierce rivals. The countries are currently locked on 56 wins each, with 12 draws.

Wales, though, could have a mental edge after swamping England by a record 30-3 scoreline in Cardiff last season, giving Gatland's men the title and destroying English Grand Slam hopes.

"They (England) look like a young team that is playing with a little confidence and self-belief, and that's what makes them dangerous," Gatland said.

"Part of my job for this week is to build the players up to have the self-belief that we are good enough to go to Twickenham and win.

"It has definitely been a bridge too far for a number of Welsh players in the past, but we are not thinking like that. If we play well enough on the day then we are good enough to win.

"They (England) are all saying they have learnt some pretty harsh lessons from last year. All the talk is that the boys have turned into men and they have grown up and learned. Time will tell, won't it? We will see on Sunday.

"It's a big Test for all of us. These big occasions are what we all play and train for and put in the effort that people don't see.

"You get excited about playing in a full stadium with a lot at stake. We are really excited about going up there on Sunday as underdogs."

Responding to comments, meanwhile, by England wing Jack Nowell that the emotion Wales feel towards their next Six Nations opponents is one of "hate", Wales captain Sam Warburton said: "I don't think the boys talk about England games like that.

"They love it because the atmosphere is always so good. You sense the anticipation of the fans all week. The fans love it and we definitely feed off that.

"They are massive games to play in but hate is a very strong word."