England and Wales clash in a crucial Six Nations meeting at Twickenham this afternoon.
Neither rival can afford another loss if they want to stay in the hunt for championship glory, with both having opened the 2022 tournament with defeats before bouncing back in round two.
Eddie Jones’ England were bested by auld enemies Scotland once again at Murrayfield after a late meltdown, but recovered to east past perennial wooden spoon recipients Italy 33-0 in Rome last time out.
Wayne Pivac’s injury-plagued Wales, meanwhile, opened their title defence with a 29-7 loss to Ireland in Dublin, though then showed tremendous determination to sneak past Scotland 20-17 in Cardiff courtesy of stand-in captain Dan Biggar’s late drop goal.
With France looking so ominous in their pursuit of a Grand Slam triumph and each nation still to play Les Bleus next month, both sides will be desperate to keep their title hopes alive with another victory here.
England vs Wales date, kick-off time and venue
England vs Wales is scheduled for a 4.45pm GMT kick-off today, on Saturday February 26, 2022.
The Six Nations contest will take place at Twickenham Stadium in south-west London.
How to watch England vs Wales
TV channel: England vs Wales is being broadcast live free-to-air on ITV, with coverage beginning at 4pm.
Live stream: Fans can also watch the game unfold live online via the ITV website or ITV Hub.
Live blog: You can also follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE match blog, with expert analysis from Will Macpherson at Twickenham.
England vs Wales team news
England have been boosted by the return of Courtney Lawes, but Manu Tuilagi’s injury misery continues. He was initially named to start his first Six Nations contest for almost two years, only to withdraw on Thursday evening due to what has been described as a low-grade hamstring issue.
Joe Marchant has now returned to the squad, with England naming Elliot Daly as their replacement at outside centre for Tuilagi around 90 minutes before kick-off this afternoon.
Jones has also opted for the pace of Harry Randall ahead of the experience of Ben Youngs at scrum-half after the Bristol 9’s superb display in Rome.
If Youngs gets off the bench, he will overtake Jason Leonard for the outright record number of England men’s international caps with 115.
Elsewhere, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Kyle Sinckler return to the front row in place of Jamie George and Will Stuart, with Sinckler set to earn his 50th cap. Alex Dombrandt retains his spot ahead of Sam Simmonds at No8.
Maro Itoje returns to the second row as Lawes comes in on the blindside and also takes over captaincy duties from Tom Curry, with Nick Isiekwe dropping to the bench.
As for Wales, Pivac has dropped star young wing Louis Rees-Zammit, who will be available for Gloucester against Leicester at the weekend instead.
The fit-again Josh Adams will start instead on one wing, with renaissance man Alex Cuthbert earning his 50th senior cap on the opposite flank.
Experienced No8 Taulupe Faletau is also recalled after recovering from a long-term ankle injury, but the likes of influential skipper Alun Wyn Jones, George North, Ken Owens and Justin Tipuric all remain sidelined.
England vs Wales lineups
England XV: Steward; Malins, Slade, Daly, Nowell; Smith, Randall; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Sinckler, Ewels, Itoje, Lawes (C), Curry, Dombrandt.
Replacements: George, Marler, Stuart, Isiekwe, Simmonds, Youngs, Ford, Marchant.
Wales XV: L Williams; Cuthbert, Watkin, Tompkins, Adams; Biggar (C), T Williams; W Jones, Elias, Francis, Rowlands, Beard, Moriarty, Basham, Faletau.
Replacements: Lake, G Thomas, Brown, S Davies, Morgan, Hardy, Anscombe, J Davies.
England vs Wales head to head (h2h) history and results
These two rivals have met on 137 previous occasions, with England winning 65 of those contests and Wales 60, plus 12 draws.
England have won three of the last five, though lost 40-24 in a dramatic clash at the Principality Stadium last year as Wales sealed a Triple Crown.
England vs Wales prediction
England impressed for 40 minutes against Italy, but the second half was mostly a notably disjointed affair that increased concerns over how far they currently are off the planet’s top teams with the World Cup looming large in France next year.
Marcus Smith was excellent again in Rome and formed a great axis with the electric Randall and Dombrandt, but it remains to be seen if that trio will remain intact here with Jones likely to turn back to the greater experience offered by the likes of Ben Youngs.
Much will depend on Smith again both in an attacking sense and from the tee, but he always seems to rise to the occasion completely unfazed.
Wales will no doubt battle valiantly once more, but they are hamstrung by the players unavailable.
England to win an attritional contest by seven points.
England vs Wales betting odds
England win: 1/6
Wales win: 9/2
Draw: 25/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
