Rugby’s most pulsating rivalry with so much on the line  

This Saturday in the Principality Stadium (formerly Millennium Stadium) will see the two best sides in the Rugby Northern Hemisphere collide in the Six Nations In the second weekend of the championship in what is always an encounter that all Rugby neutrals watch.

England’s Grand Slam mission: 

England the current Grand Slam champions and undefeated for the last year head to Cardiff coming off a very gritty win against France which coach Eddie Jones will privately admit wasn’t their best performance. England haven’t had luck on the injury front with the Vunipola brothers Billy and Mako both out injured as well as Chris Robshaw and George Kruise, but in the midst of that England and Jones have still managed to win and still look great so that’ll be an encouraging sign to fans that England aren’t reliable on certain players. What England will want in this game is to up the tempo which was at times against France slow and lethargic until Danny Care replaced Ben Youngs in the second half, England will need to have a strong mentality especially when the Welsh crowd sing their anthem Land of my Fathers they’ll also need to face up to Wales physically as well with Wales known over the last few years for their physicality. For England a win in Cardiff convincingly would help bring more confidence to the squad and the rest of the teams would take notice if Jones’s team can win but not look bad doing then it will set a precedent for the rest of the tournament. The key players for England and Jones will most likely be Dylan Hartley (Captain), Maro Itoje, Nathan Hughes, Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell, George Ford and Elliot Daly. If these guys can all kick in the big game then the Welsh will have a lot to fear in their backyard.

Wales big game that they don’t want to lose: 

For Wales a nation built on the sport of rugby, this is the game that every Welsh rugby fan waits for on the calendar. The Wales team is a bit different this year with coach Warren Gatland taking a year away from the team to focus on his British & Irish Lions duties this year with Rob Howley once again taking the reigns temporarily.  One thing that Howley has changed is his captain after a few years in the job Sam Warburton hands over to Alun Wyn Jones who has been a regular in the team for years so he ain’t a new guy who has to get to know the team. In their last game Wales struggled in the first half against Italy and it could have been worse had it not been for the boot of Leigh Halfpenny, it wasn’t until the second half when Wales came alive but that was after Italy went down to 14 men so Wales had the advantage and took it as they ran the tries through but struggling until Italy went down to 14 men will have questions being asked about whether they can beat a 15 man team but we’ll see. The key players for the Welsh side will be George North, Dan Biggar, Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Webb. If these players can be on their game then England will be in for a hard one in Cardiff which isn’t an easy place to go for any side.

Who nees to win more?  

In terms of who needs to win this game more it’s a near hard one to argue but we can try and answer this. If you look at it from Wales perspective ending the old rivals unbeaten run would put a marker down for the tournament and send a few shockwaves through the Rugby world and with England also chasing the New Zealand record of 18 straight wins whilst on 15 wins. For Wales they’ll also want to cement their championship credentials and what better then a win over the old enemy.

For England a win would be another huge step for them in terms of building more belief that a second Grand Slam can be achieved. Coach Eddie Jones will want this a lot as he has been using his words to get under the Welsh camps skin so a win will make him think that his words worked. England have been on a wave of momentum since winning the Grand Slam last year and dominating every team in their path since. England will also have a point to prove that they can do what the best teams do by winning big in a rivals back yard which would put a marker down for the the rest of the championship.

The Verdict:  

In terms of how I see this game because it’s in Wales I can picture the Welsh side coming out the quicker side in the first 25 minutes but after that I can only forsee an England domination but Wales will hold strong. I see this being a close game but I’m going for an England victory.

Wales 17-26 England