England vs Wales preview: 2026 Six Nations kicks off at Twickenham

BY CHARLOTTE NEWELL

England have won their last 11 Test matches, attesting to the team’s good form over the past year. Wales, however, only recently broke an 18-game losing streak following their victory over Japan last July. Looking back to the 2025 tournament, England beat Wales 68–14, yet the home side are preparing for a competitive and much-changed Welsh team.

Watch the Guinness Six Nations at your local Greene King sports pub.

Steve Tandy was appointed as Wales’ new head coach in July 2025 after Warren Gatland left the role. England scrum coach Tom Harrison is prepared for Tandy to bring a new look to the Welsh side. He said:
“Steve Tandy has been around for a while, and you understand how much time he puts into his defence. I’d expect their defence is going to be significantly better.

“England v Wales is always going to be a ferocious contest up front, so I’m expecting that. I’m expecting them to have a strong kicking game.”

As well as appointing a new head coach, Wales have also welcomed back Louis Rees-Zammit, who returned to rugby after not playing since October 2023, following his move to the NFL. He will start at fullback and has the potential to revitalise the team.

England’s Sam Underhill made it clear that the squad are focusing on themselves rather than the expectation of a home win. He said:
“If you allow yourself to be influenced by external voices when they are positive, you also allow yourself to be influenced by external voices when they are negative. As players, you’ve got to be focused ultimately on your teammates, your coaches and your camp. Anyone outside of that is a voice you don’t want to be listening to because it’s distracting.”

He acknowledged that regardless of England’s impressive form, anything could happen on the day.
“One of the beauties of rugby is that on any given day, anything could happen. I don’t think when it comes to Test rugby that form necessarily matters that much. Ultimately, you must turn up on the day and do what you have set out to do. We are expecting a competitive game, and we must be at our best to get the result we want.”

While Underhill remains positive, he is approaching the match without focusing on the momentum the team built over the last year. He added:
“Momentum is a weird one because we haven’t been together for a bit of time now. It’s always different — every camp is different, every squad is different in some way.”

England appear hopeful ahead of their Six Nations opener against Wales on 7 February, but still anticipate a strong challenge from their opponents.

England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has been withdrawn from the matchday squad following an injury sustained in training. He has been replaced by Tom Roebuck, who has recently returned from injury himself.

Tom Harrison is not concerned by the change, explaining that he prepares the squad for “what ifs” to ensure players are ready to step in when needed. However, he did express a wish that Roebuck had more recovery time.

“In an ideal world, he would have an extra week, but the world isn’t ideal, as we know. He trained fully yesterday, and the way he’s been around the squad has been exceptional. I’m really excited to see him go.”

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George (c), 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Alex Coles, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Guy Pepper, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Ben Earl.

16 Liam Belcher, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Ben Carter, 20 Taine Plumtree, 21 Harri Deaves, 22 Kieran Hardy, 23 Mason Grady.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Marcus Smith.

Wales: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Eddie James, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Tomos Williams; 1 Nicky Smith, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 3 Archie Griffin, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 5 Adam Beard, 6 Alex Mann, 7 Josh Macleod, 8 Aaron Wainwright.