Big miss: England will take on Wales without Manu Tuilagi at Twickenham
(Picture: PA)Tomorrow we have another Six Nations Saturday that fills me — and so many other rugby fans — with so much excitement.
First, Scotland host France, then Wales travel to Twickenham. They are two belting fixtures in what feels such an open competition with five well-matched sides this year. Hopefully, in years to come, that will become six well-matched sides, but I don’t expect Italy’s winless run to end in Dublin on Sunday.
Tomorrow is a reminder to me of why we love this tournament so much. I know there has been some chatter about other teams getting involved, but my view is that the Six Nations ain’t broke, so don’t fix it!
A trip to Murrayfield is a major test of France’s credentials as title winners and indeed World Cup contenders next year. It would be a mistake for France to think that by overcoming Ireland they have come through their toughest test of the tournament. England were served a reminder of what a tough place Edinburgh is to visit, and France cannot make the same error. Scotland have won the last two meetings between the sides, and France have a habit of finding a way to slip up in this tournament. Are they too good for that now?
This year, we have already seen what an important factor home advantage is in this tournament, so England will be buzzing to get back in front of the Twickenham crowd for the first time in the Six Nations for two years. Wales have not won there for a decade in the Championship.
England against Wales is such a special fixture. It was always right up among my favourites and I have so many fond memories of it. I think I played Wales 10 times in my career and only lost once, at Wembley in 1999, but weirdly that is the only one that gets mentioned when I cross the Severn Bridge!
It goes without saying that the Welsh get very excited and wound up about playing against England. As an England player you are used to being every team’s worst enemy, but you could really feel it in this fixture. And, for this Englishman at least, it was a real motivating factor. The history of the fixture, the passion among the fans, the fact that so many great players had been involved really elevated it.
There were some encouraging signs in the win over Italy, but this will be a huge step up for England. I expect them to acknowledge that and produce a huge performance. Wales had a horrible start to the Championship against Ireland but were much better against Scotland, and will be boosted hugely by the return of Taulupe Faletau, who is just such a wonderfully talented footballer. He has had his injury problems but is looking good for Bath and provides a huge challenge for Alex Dombrandt in their head-to-head battle at No8.
It is an enormous blow that Manu Tuilagi has been ruled out again. It’s no coincidence that he has been involved in England’s best moments under Eddie Jones and I was so excited to watch him again. Through the disappointment I will add that Manu is worth the wait. He is a total game-changer and hopefully we see him later in the tournament. His absence will make life harder for England, but the return of the phenomenal Courtney Lawes is huge.
He made his debut back in 2009 and will win his 91st cap tomorrow, but has not always seemed an obvious leader. He has grown so much, though, and I like his style at the head of a leadership group featuring the likes of Tom Curry and Ellis Genge that is improving all the time.
Kyle Sinckler wins his 50th cap and Ben Youngs will overtake Jason Leonard as the most-capped Englishman with 115 when he comes off the bench. They are just two of many reasons why this is a very big day for England.
