2021 Six Nations Championship – Wales vs England Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Wales vs England taking place? Saturday 27th February, 2021 – 16:45
Where is Wales vs England taking place? Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Where can I get tickets for Wales vs England? Visit this link for ticket information
What channel is Wales vs England on? BBC
Where can I stream Wales vs England? Wales vs England can be streamed via BBC iPlayer
THE TEAM NEWS
WALES
- Wales upset the odds with an incredible Six Nations classic at Murrayfield as they beat Scotland 24-25 on Saturday, with 20-year-old rising star Louis Rees-Zammit scoring two tries.
- Wales have benefitted from a red card for their opponents in each of their Six Nations matches so far but their character is blossoming again under previously under-fire head coach Wayne Pivac and will be playing for the Triple Crown against rivals England here.
- George North becomes the youngest player in the world to make the 100-cap mark internationally in this crunch match against England whilst Josh Navidi returns to the back row.
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Cory Hill, 20 James Botham, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Uilisi Halaholo
ENGLAND
- England bounced back from a disappointing opening Six Nations loss to Scotland with a vibrant, if still rather dodgy, 41-18 victory at home to Italy, scoring six tries.
- It was a bittersweet Six Nations debut for Wasps back row Jack WIllis, who came on in the second half to almost immediately score his first try for England only to be severely injured by Italy’s Sebastian Negri.
- Northampton forward Courtney Lawes was particularly impressive against Italy and would have been integral to head cpah Eddie Jones’ plans this week but he suffered an unspecified injury in training on Wednesday to see Mark Wilson come in as replacement.
England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 George Martin, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Dan Robson, 23 Max Malins
THE PREDICTION
Wales could be in for some early silverware in this unpredictable Six Nations Championship as they target the Triple Crown with a victory over visiting England. The hosts won their previous Six Nations title in 2019 due in no small part to a memorable 21-13 result at the Millennium Stadium almost exactly two years ago to the date of this fixture and after two surprising wins over Ireland and Scotland the momentum is with them here. A lack of fans is a real shame for this unofficial national day of celebration in Wales but Wayne Pivac’s side are growing in confidence at a time when it seems every other team but France can be quite easily got at. Italy put 18 points past an offensively impressive if slightly reckless England last time out and Eddie Jones’ side will be glad of the two week break to work on tightening up their defensive strategies. Wales were many experts’ also-rans this season, above perennially rock-bottom Italy of course, but momentum is all-too important in this tournament and a home tie in this historic fixture has been the difference in recent years. It should be tighter with the two-week training break but Wales are in form out of nowhere and can make the most of this fractured England squad by covering -3 at the Millennium Stadium.
