Wales beat England under a closed roof in 2013 but lost to their arch-rivals when it was kept open two years ago.
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Southgate was sharing some wisdom with England’s rugby coaching staff after the team scraped a 19 – 16 win against France in the first round of the Six Nations.
“The Italians are ever improving, so we are expecting another tough encounter, particularly up front, where they made life hard for Wales last week”.
Wales sit at the head of the Six Nations table thanks to the points advantage accrued at the Stadio Olimpico, but England’s Six Nations title defence would enjoy a major boost with victory in Cardiff, Wales.
On two occasions this week Jones has apologised to his players en masse, confessing that he failed to prepare them properly against Les Blues, and in the build-up to Saturday’s Principality Stadium showdown he has been busy working on their psyches. We need to play a really smart game.
England will face Wales at a hostile Principality Stadium with a rookie back row that sees Jack Clifford replace Tom Wood.
In an otherwise unchanged starting line-up from the side which triumphed 27-5 over Italy in Milan last Friday, Wales coach Jason Strange brings in second-row duo, former U18 captain Callum Bradbury and Pontypridd’s Sean Moore, for their U20 debuts.
Victory for England would make it their ninth Six Nations win in a row, equaling their longest ever streak since Italy joined the competition (nine wins, 2002-2004). “He has done everything we’ve asked him to do, but we’ve got contingency plans in place”, said assistant coach Robin McBryde.
Wales took their talents to Rome where they started slowly but after the arrival of nippy replacement five eighths Sam Davies got their game together and spanked Italy.
“We were disappointed with how we played against France because we wanted to start the tournament with a bang”.
Big-hitters George North and Dan Biggar, meanwhile, have been given the chance to prove their fitness after being named in the Wales XV for the tussle. “And I feel his running skills this week will suit us better than Jonny”.
“They’re two vital players for us”. We came out of the changing rooms that day, they turned all the lights off and we had a bit of a stand-off in the tunnel and everything that comes with that.
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“Players get anxious, they get very routine-based and I do think it’s a challenge for a professional player that they can be adaptable in different circumstances, so they can still start well and cope”.
