Looking to end their Six Nations title drought, Steve Borthwick’s excellent England team get their campaign up and running against old foes Wales at Allianz Stadium Twickenham in the opening round on Saturday.
Match context
England reached another level under Steve Borthwick in 2025, playing some incredible rugby and winning their last 11 games in succession heading into this weekend’s tournament opener against the Dragons. For the first time in a long time, it genuinely feels like the Roses are title contenders after having last won the competition back in 2020, and supporters of the side have been singing their praises in the build-up to the showpiece.
And rightly so. After a slow start under Borthwick, the team has well and truly hit its straps and will be frothing at the chance to measure themselves against the likes of France and Ireland in the weeks ahead. But with many calling them the true World No 2s, they certainly won’t be flying under the radar.
With their clashes with Scotland and France both away, starting strongly will be even more important for England and picking up anything less than a full house of log points in round one could be massive in the context of the competition.
That’s unlikely to happen though given the much-publicised current state of Welsh rugby. The side have won just two of their last 23 internationals and remain well and truly at the lowest ebb since the game went pro. With new coach Steve Tandy taking the reins for his first Six Nations campaign, they remain something of an unknown quantity, but will somehow have to find ways to compete first up against this confident English team at home.
To be honest, the result for Wales may not be as important as simply showing signs of improvement and cohesion in key areas, with the players seemingly on different wavelengths for so long at international level.
Though the result does seem inevitable, it can offer Wales the chance to begin to build a foundation under their new coach.
Players to watch
Fraser Dingwall (England)
Believed by many to be a growing force for England, 26-year-old Dingwall continues his centre partnership with Northampton Saints teammate Tommy Freeman, who’ve appeared just twice together in Test matches but are familiar with one another at club level.
This relationship could bring out the best in Dingwall, who can truly lay down a marker early on in the tournament with another consistent performance on Saturday. He’ll be one to keep a close eye on outside of Georgie Ford at flyhalf.
Alex Mann (Wales)
The Cardiff flanker has been vocal midweek about his enjoyment of getting under the skin of opposition – something to which Eben Etzebeth could attest given the Bok legend’s rather severe reaction to some of Mann’s antics in the Test between the nations in November, during which Etzebeth received his infamous 12-week ban for eye gouging. If the Welshman is on the pitch at the same time as England’s Henry Pollock, there could be plenty of fisticuffs.
The 24-year-old was on the scoresheet when Wales were narrowly beaten 16-14 by the English in London in 2024 and will be hoping to get a similar opportunity this weekend, albeit against a much more dominant and cohesive version of the Roses.
Mann has been a big part of his club’s successes in the URC this season, with Cardiff doing superbly to head into the break placed fifth overall, and the loosie will be doing all he can to replicate that level of performance from the get-go in round one.
Tactical overview
For the first time in seven years, England will play a Six Nations match without Maro Itoje as a starter after the British & Irish Lions skipper was named on the bench following a personal bereavement. The 31-year-old is joined on the wood by fellow Lions Marcus Smith, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Curry and Henry Pollock in a world class list of replacements that will cause plenty of concern for Welsh fans.
If England dominate proceedings in the first-half, odds are that the second-half could be even worse for Wales, whose depth pales in comparison to that of the hosts.
It’s difficult to know what to expect from the visitors given we haven’t seen that much of Tandy’s Wales, but if England are as on-song as they were at the backend of last year, during which they downed the All Blacks 33-19, it may not matter all that much.
When these sides met in Cardiff last year, Wales were on the receiving end of a 14-68 thrashing, but the hope is that Tandy’s influence will lift them to a much improved display here.
Prediction
England to add to their winning streak by picking up another hefty win over Wales to get their championship campaign off to the best possible start in London.
