Jones slams Welsh skipper ahead clash

Wales coach Warren Gatland names the same starting XI that beat Scotland in their Six Nations opener for Saturday’s meeting with England at Twickenham. Robert Rees looks at how each side will attack the match.

Care will become England’s most capped scrum-half when he makes his 78th Red Rose appearance to move past 2003 Rugby World Cup victor Matt Dawson. He gains his starting spot following Ben Youngs’ campaign-ending injury.

Alternatively, Gatland could move Rhys Patchell, under fire from Eddie Jones this week, back to full-back and put Anscombe in at 10.

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones has shrugged off criticism from England coach Eddie Jones after the outspoken Australian fired off a verbal volley in the build-up to their Six Nations showdown.

The outcome of the Six Nations clash at Twickenham will be decided not by the pre-match comments of either coach, but by the actions over 80 minutes of the 46 players on the field, and quite possibly the man with the whistle in the middle of it all. He’s a young guy, he’s inexperienced, and is their third-choice No. 10. He is going to be under expectation to play it wide. With such a strong Scarlets presence in the Welsh squad and the backline in particular, it’s sure to be an open game. Evans had a fine game in Cardiff and if England defend as narrowly as they did against Italy, he could be in the frame to have a big game. You learn as much as you possibly can from everyone.

“They played well but it’s going to be different on Saturday”, Jones says of Wales.

“So it’ll be interesting to see what they then do, if they’re not getting those quick balls”. They are one of the best few sides in the world and this will be a proper test for Wales – but one I think they can overcome.

“But the first game I don’t remember too much of it, I just remember the camps and the weeks really”.

“We were very happy with Te’o last week, but it’s also his second game back”. Missed tackles could well be the key to victory/defeat. “They had no expectation on them last Saturday”.

There are a lot of guys in this squad who will go there with a lot of confidence.

There were signs of weakness in midfield, especially with Te’o early on. There are others up there – winning the league with the Scarlets previous year, that famous (European Champions Cup) win against Bath a few weeks ago. With Jones able to bring on Jonathan Joseph and Jack Nowell from the bench, it is clear England have still got a wealth of quality options available to them.

15 Mike Brown (Harlequins 65 caps). “England are one of the form teams in the world and we’re expecting a massive challenge”, said Davies.

“He was someone I looked up to and aspired to be like one day; I loved the way he played the game”. Not being intimidated by the Twickenham factor at all.