Wales vs England. Need I say more?

I have always been a Wales fan. Though by blood I am half Welsh, half English, I can honestly say that my allegiance to Welsh rugby has never been tested. Not when Johnny kicked "that" drop-goal. Not when they thumped us 62-5 in August 2007. I have always stuck to my Mother's roots, and pulled on my red shirt when the two behemoths collided. However, I don't think I can recall a game where so much was on the line.

For Wales, it is a chance to finally stand up and say that they are the better rugby-playing side. For a country where Rugby is the national sport, this would be a monumental occasion. Since 2005, minus the blip aforementioned in 2007, Wales have been knocking on England's door, worrying them on more than one occasion. If the last two test matches the sides played last summer is anything to go by, Wales, though only winning one of them, played the better rugby in both, and it set them up perfectly for the World Cup. There is nothing that Wales like more than beating England, something that fly-half Phil Bennett could relate to in 1977. Before facing the English, he gave the team a famous pre-match pep talk, saying:

"Look what these bastards have done to Wales. They've taken our coal, our water, our steel. They buy our houses and only live in them for a fortnight every 12 months. What have they given us? Absolutely nothing. We've been exploited, raped, controlled and punished by the English - and that's who you're playing this afternoon"

As you can tell, there is no love lost there. And with Wales starting to build up a head of steam in this tournament, they look like recapturing the form that they had at the World Cup. Therefore it is no surprise that they start as favourites on Saturday.

For England, it is a chance to show the rest of the rugby world, and especially Wales, that they are still top six contenders. After a torrid World Cup, beset by off the field incidents and on the field dourness, England are a much changed side. A new coach in Stuart Lancaster, a new crop of players, England are going some-way to rebuild their reputation that was so badly tarnished in New Zealand. Even so, they do start the game as underdogs for the first time in a while, even though they have home-field advantage. This is mainly due to the fact that while Wales have been climbing the gears, England seem to be stuck in second. They were pushed close by Scotland at Murrayfield, before almost imploding against Italy. In fact, had Tobias Botes not left his kicking boots at home, England would have come away from Rome empty-handed. However, they need no motivation to play Wales, and this will definitely be a totally different side to those that have appeared so far in the tournament. Added to this, Wales have only beaten England once in the past 24 years at Twickenham, that victory coming in the Grand-Slam winning campaign of 2008. England therefore have just as much reason to be confident of getting the victory this time around too. 

As far as the teams go, Wales have the fit again Alun-Wyn Jones back at number 4, replacing Ryan Jones, who drops to the bench. Also captain Sam Warburton has finally shaken off the dead leg that kept him out of the Scotland game, and he comes in to replace the unlucky Aaron Shingler, who was formidable last week on his debut. Hooker Ken Owens comes in as well, replacing the injured Huw Bennett, with Matthew Rees still not fully fit.

England have powerful centre Manu Tuilagi back from a hamstring injury to replace their only try scorer Charlie Hodgson, with young Owen Farrell moving to fly-half. There are also starts for lock Ben Morgan, number 8 Geoff Parling, and scrum-half Lee Dickson, replacing Tom Palmer, Phil Dowson and Ben Youngs respectively. Palmer misses out on the squad altogether, while Dowson and Youngs are joined on the bench by the fit-again Toby Flood and Courtney Lawes. 

Wales' expansive back play is enough to worry any defence, and this could be the key for the victory, If England can contain Wales' backs, especially the sublime George North, then Wales will have to rely on their forward line to get them the win. For once though, Wales should win the battle up-front, with arguably the most impressive pack in the tournament. An area that England could target though is the line-out, especially with relative rookie Owens on the field. Wales have lost the ball 6 times on their own throw in the opening two games, but they do have A-W Jones back to try and steady the play.

For me, the game is too close to call. With my Welsh head on, I can only see a Wales victory. They are playing too well, and have the better squad on the pitch. However, this is England at Twickenham, and they know how to play Wales at home. There are only two guarantees. One, It will be a physical, absorbing game, as it always is. The other? For the victor, the satisfaction and bragging rights will be the sweetest reward of this tournament, bar nothing else. This is the game that both sets of teams and fans alike want to win, badly.

As a final bit of fun, here is David Mitchell talking about his mixed heritage, and Wales and England's rivalry. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bOqY2xSD6U

Wales:

Backs: Halfpenny; Cuthbert, J Davies, Roberts, North; Priestland, Phillips.

Fowards: Jenkins, Owens, A Jones, A-W Jones, Evans, Lydiate, Warburton (c), Faletau.

Replacements: Hibbard, James, R Jones, Tipuric, L Williams, S Jones, S Williams.

England:

Backs: Foden; Ashton, Tuilagi, Barritt, Strettle; Farrell, Dickson.

Fowards: Corbisiero, Hartley, Cole, Botha, Parling, Croft, Robshaw (c), Morgan.

Replacements: Webber, Stevens, Lawes, Dowson, Youngs, Flood, Brown.

Dewch ar Cymru!