WALES vs. ENGLAND
Now before I begin I need to drop this statistic in here because it is utterly ridiculous. This Saturday will be Alun Wyn Jones’s 18th test match against England… that truly is the stuff of legends but 18?!?! Give that man a medal.
Game of the weekend goes to the showdown in Cardiff. No doubt. Wales against England is like the Manchester United versus Liverpool of rugby. Pride, history, passion, and most importantly, some seriously good ruggers. They’re the first things I think of when this fixture comes up, but the build-up hasn’t been this good since the 30-3 title win for Wales in 2013.
Ultimately, this one decides if England
Last year’s result was underwhelming as it finished 12-6 in London and struggled to ever really get going, but Wales have completely turned themselves round in the 12 months since then, and despite people thinking their streak has been underwhelming with only a handful of significant wins over top tier nations, they’ve pulled themselves through some pretty tough contests and are worthy of their winning run.
With that said, this weekend will be the biggest test of all, especially for Gareth Anscombe who will need to step up big time if he wants to guide his side to victory. England losing Mako Vunipola and Chris Ashton won’t exactly make things any easier for them either, as Ben Moon and Jack Nowell are worthy replacements who can get the result Eddie Jones needs.
“It’s hard to look past Jonny May. He’s really difficult to defend against. Just raw pace, raw finishing ability.”@TISSOT Ambassador @TomShanklin thinks Jonny May is the player Wales must stop in Cardiff! #WALvENG #GuinnessSixNations https://t.co/FTJ5LOE9zS … pic.twitter.com/1jXAAqyVAM
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 22, 2019
Ultimately though, and whether Jonny May has scored 12 in 12 or not, or whether George North as returned to fever-pitch form, the big battle will be at the breakdown, as the northern hemispheres biggest behemoths collide up front, and that’s not just any old pile up.
This one could seriously outline which way the trophy goes, and as well as England have played, I don’t think they’re going to be anywhere near as comfortable as they’ve looked all tournament. But given that we’ve seen two Welsh performances that weren’t exactly ones for the highlight reel, I feel England might just pull one out the bag in a similar fashion to the last time they went along the M4.