England clashes with Wales in the third round of the 2020 Autumn Nations Cup – here’s how the two teams shape up, including the England vs Ireland pack weights.
MOST CAPS IN XV:
- ENGLAND: Ben Youngs – 102
- WALES: Alun Wyn Jones – 150
TOTAL CAPS:
- ENGLAND: 916 caps
- WALES: 785 caps
HEAVIEST PLAYER:
- ENGLAND: Billy Vunipola – 126kg/ 19st 6lbs
- WALES: Alun Wyn Jones – 122kg/ 19st 11lbs
LIGHTEST PLAYER:
- ENGLAND: George Ford – 84kg/ 13st 2lbs
- WALES: Nick Tompkins – 85kg/ 13st 3lbs
ENGLAND VS WALES PACK WEIGHT:
- ENGLAND: 942kg
- WALES: 920 kg
Average age of XV:
- ENGLAND: 28.2-years-old
- WALES: 27.5-years-old
When is Wales vs England taking place? Saturday 28th November, 2020 – 16:00
Where is Wales vs England taking place? Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Where can I get tickets for Wales vs England? This match will be played without spectators
THE TEAM NEWS
WALES
Starting line-up:15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 James Botham, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Owen Watkin.
ENGLAND
Starting line-up:15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jonathan Joseph, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Joe Launchbury, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Jack Willis, 22 Dan Robson, 23 Anthony Watson
Worst Ever: Fans pick an XV of the Biggest Flops to Have Played for England
There was plenty of competition for places.
BACK-THREE
Fullback: Mark Van Gisbergen: Yes, he has a cap – only a fleeting one, as a late replacement for Mark Cueto against Australia in 2005 – but he does boast a 100% winning ratio in international colours, so you can’t knock that. His main strengths were dropping the high ball under limited pressure and getting gassed on the outside.
Winger: Barrie-Jon Mather: He became the first player to represent Great Britain in Rugby League and England in Union. His move to union was part funded by the RFU, who were embarking on a strategy of converting some of leagues best talent. However, Mather struggled to make an impact with Sale and moved back to Castleford in 2000. In spite of his poor form with Sale, Clive Woodward gave Mather his debut against Wales in the famous Grand Slam decider in 1999. However, Mather never played for England again after Wales won the game 32-31, following Scott Gibbs’ superb try.
Winger: Lesley Vanikolo: The Volcano’ stormed onto the scene for Gloucester, doing something ridiculous like scoring five tries on his debut against Leeds, before qualifying for England on residency grounds. International honours followed, with Vainikolo making his England debut against Wales in 2008. However, he failed to bring his try-scoring form to the international scene and was quickly dropped from Martin Johnston’s squad after winning five caps.
CENTRES:
Centre: Joel Tomkins – He began his League career with Wigan in 2005 and outside of a short stint with the Widnes Vikings in 2007, played with the Warriors until moving to Saracens in 2011. While Tomkins initially struggled to adapt to union, but his form during the beginning of the 2013/14 season saw him earn an England cap against Australia in November 2013. Although he went on to make two further international appearances, he looked completely out of his depth and returned to league soon after.
Centre: Sam Burgess: England, who fast-tracked Burgess into their World Cup squad in defiance of logic, Bath and the player himself each shoulder varying degrees of blame for arguably the greatest cross-code flop in history. We’re not saying he was an awful player, but the whole thing was a complete disaster.
