Six Nations: Wales V England Preview

Picture a scene: the final whistle has been blown at the Millennium stadium. Men, women and children all dressed as daffodils sing and chant in unison as their counter parts dressed up like Richard the Lion heart make a quick exit out the stadium. A team stand centre stage holding yet another Six Nations trophy aloft for all to see after dispatching their old rivals at home, barely without getting past a canter in the process and cruelly snatching a grand slam away from them on top of that. Can you recall a sweeter feeling? Probably, if you're an England supporter. I for one have watched clips of child birth on telly and still been less perturbed by what I saw on the screen in comparison that night in the Welsh capital. 

Game on

What can we expect two years on from the same fixture? Both teams come into the first game of rugby's greatest championship after a disappointing Autumn series bar a pride restoring final fixture for each against a Southern Hemisphere foe. On top of that, both share a pool in eight months time and will be desperate to gain bragging rights when the prize steps up from Europe to the World. 

However, where the two teams start to differ is squad availability as Wales seemingly already benefitting from their newly established Central Player Contracts have a fully fit squad to draw from. The same most certainly cannot be said for England who limp into Cardiff with half of their preferred starting XV receiving medical treatment for one ailment or the other. That being said, a wounded lion is still a lion, capable of inflicting a mauling to an adversary who doesn't take it seriously. England, after all, claim the largest squad depth out of all the home nation teams and so where one player falls, likely clutching his knee or shoulder, another can step in to fill the gap.  

For this reason expect both sides to approach this game with the upmost respect and preparation regardless of circumstances. You only needed to pick up a newspaper this week to hear talk of Hymns and Arias omitting from Pennyhill Park, as well as the expected pre-game rhetoric from Warren Gatland. This i one of the fieriest rivalries in sport writing its most recent chapter in the most important of all years.

As mentioned above, Wales are capable of fielding a full strength team as opposed to a new look England side – in fact nearly 300 international caps separate the two teams. The scrum, however, is perhaps one place where England can claim a slight advantage as British and Irish Lion Dan Cole returns to the fold due to the late withdrawal of David Wilson. His opposite number Samson Lee is the man Gatland has tasked with the daunting challenge of taking over the mantel from Adam Jones as the lynchpin of the welsh pack. If the last two meetings of these sides has taught us anything, the scrum could go a long way to determining who comes out on top overall. 

Another key battle will be between the two number eights; the cousins who opted to play their rugger on different sides of the Severn Bridge will surely put all family ties to one side in what is primed to be an earth-shattering contest for the gain line. Taulupe Faletau is maturing into a truly top class backrow forward and is perhaps the first name on the team sheet, consistently influential and always top of the stat charts. Billy Vunipola, on the other hand, has been far from consistent since his international debut and all wearing white will be hoping his barnstorming performance against Munster wasn't simply a false dawn.

In the backs all eyes will be on Rhys Webb and George Ford as these are the two men tasked with providing some creative dynamism for their respective backlines. Webb seems to have finally ousted Mike Phillips for the scrum half position and hasn't looked back since. Currently in the form of his life, possessing a fizzing pass combined with a sharp eye for a break he'll certainly keep the English on their toes for the full 80. Ford too possesses sharp reflexes when attempting to pick apart defences and will be hoping his club form alongside team mate Joseph will translate effectively to the international stage. If his nerves hold and he kicks his goals an upset could well be on the cards.

Prediction: It really is hard to see past Wales for this one as Cardiff is starting to look a mightily daunting place to visit, especially for an injury plagued England side. As such it's the men in red's match to lose in the first fixture of 2015. Sam Warburton and co have issued an almighty call to arms this year and so expect a 70,000 strong Millennium stadium to answer it. Wales to win by 6

Match Information:

Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.

Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Paul James, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Liam Williams.

England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 George Kruis, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.

Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Nick Easter, 20 Tom Croft, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Billy Twelvetrees.

Date: Friday, February 6
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kickoff: 20:05 GMT

Referee: Jérôme Garcès (FFR)

Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (FFR), Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ire)

Article by Alex Dodd