Wales Vs England Head to Head

Wales vs England
15. James Hook - Ben Foden
14. George North - Chris Ashton
13. Jamie Roberts - Mike Tindall
12. Gavin Henson - Shontayne Hape
11. Shane Williams - Mark Cueto
10. Rhys Priestland - Toby Flood
9. Mike Phillips - Richard Wrigglesworth
8. Toby Faletau - Nick Eastrer
7. Sam Warburton - Hendre Fourie
6. Dan Lydiate - Tom Wood
5. AW Jones - Courtney Lawes
4. Luke Charteris - Louis Deacon
3. Craig Mitchell - Dan Cole
2. Lloyd Burns - Steve Thompson
1. Paul James - Alex Corbisero


So after last week Wales opt for continuity whilst England make 13 changes, Certainly the inclusion of Foden and Ashton in the back three gives England much more potent attacking weapons despite how well Armitage showed up last week. The inclusion of Hook for Wales at full back is contentious given his lacklustre showings there previously. However Rhys Priestland it seems is being considered as a genuine contender for the #10 Jersey.

Wales potentially have a devestating centre partnership, if Gavin Henson can show his 2008 form and link well with 2009 lions man of the series Jamie Roberts. Tindall and Hape are no mugs however and how Henson plays is key to what happens in the centre for both sides. If he has a nightmare Hape and Tindall will munch him.

Toby Flood must be feeling the pressure after Wilkinsons performance last week however he does bring somthing extra to the English attack and along with Foden and Ashton makes England more dangerous. If Wrigglesworth can get the ball away quickly the English backs can do damage. Id expect teh Welsh backrow to target the #9 link to try and slow English ball down which leads to another interesting tussle in the backrow where once again Wales have pace but England have the power.

Wales in the last game rarely tried to counter ruck and prefferrd to fan out into the defensive line taking away some of Englands advantage in the power stakes. Perhaps England need to flood the breakdown with their hulking forwards in order to counter welsh possession however they then risk being caught out wide with less players in the defensive line. Warburton was outstanding last week and Fourie will be expected to use his pace and challenge Sam at the breakdown which will be an interesting test for the welsh #7 but Fourie is unlikely to be Englands first choice come september.

England again have dominance in the tight five and should contain the welsh scrum however Charteris has been picked with Lloyd Burns in an effort to bolster wales' lineout and hopefully challenge the England throw. Adam jones is being wrapped in cotton wool until the world cup underlining his importance to wales. Both sides should win their own setpiece ball but expect Wales to be in trouble in the scrum at some point.

On balance the English bench looks a better pick. Ryan Jones calf means Wales have no second row backup but Brew gets a chance off the bench after Stoddarts injury. With only fifteen backs left in the training squad one from Henson Brew or Scott Williams wont be going to the world cup so all need to show somthing in this game. Englands bench has both structure and experience compared to Wales young guns.

My prediction Wales by 4 points, Priestland to prove himself first choice #10, Henson to confound the doubters. I think continuity will be key for Wales here, Johnson has a win under his belt and is building towards a world cup so looking at all of his players is the most important exercise whilst Wales run the risk of some key players such as Byrne Adam Jones, and Stephen Jones being seriously undercooked by the time the World Cup comes around.

I reckon England by 8.

On current form

I would go

Foden over Hook
Ashton n North pretty much equal
Roberts over Tindall
Hape over Henson
Williams over Cueto

Flood over Priestland
Phillips over Wigglesworth

England front row over ours

Lydiate and Warburton over Wood and Fourie
Easter over Toby

2nd row England

Wales vs England
15. James Hook OMG not a FB poor defence and positioning - Ben Foden good defence, attacking flair ENGLAND
14. George North - Chris Ashton EVENS
13. Jamie Roberts played great with Davies, Hopefully Henson will provide the same platform - Mike Tindall could be rusty WALES
12. Gavin Henson based on his last two Wales matches he must improve drastically - Shontayne Hape ENGLAND
11. Shane Williams - Mark Cueto WALES
10. Rhys Priestland with that game under his belt he could really shine - Toby Flood EVENS
9. Mike Phillips - Richard Wrigglesworth WALES
8. Toby Faletau - Nick Easter ENGLAND
7. Sam Warburton - Hendre Fourie WALES
6. Dan Lydiate - Tom Wood ENGLAND
5. AW Jones - Courtney Lawes ENGLAND
4. Luke Charteris - Louis Deacon WALES
3. Craig Mitchell - Dan Cole ENGLAND
2. Lloyd Burns - Steve Thompson WALES
1. Paul James - Alex Corbisero EVENS

fly,

I went for England on mass in the front row due to Thompsons experience and James having poor game last week.

front five england
back row wales
half backs even
centres even
back 3 wales

result wales 20 england 28

reasons for english win front five.

bedfordwelsh wrote:fly,

I went for England on mass in the front row due to Thompsons experience and James having poor game last week.

Kinda agree with you to an extent, only reason I went even is I thought young Burns played very well, and won't be so nervous and his youth over Thompsons experience. James usually is a very good scrum technician and surely can't have another mare, I'll take him to repay Gatlands faith by having a stormer

mr-bryns-attitude wrote:front five england
back row wales
half backs even
centres even
back 3 wales

result wales 20 england 28

reasons for english win front five.

Putting centres even is surely a massive leap of faith towards the Orange One?
I would also put back 3 even as Hook has not achieved at FB.

Agree with the rest though including result.

You know you have doubts about your 12 when you reckon Hape has the edge over him...

Difficult to see how you rate Wales back 3 as clearly ahead - Foden is so much better a full back than Hook that it more than off-set's Cueto's inferiority to either of North or Shane (and Shane looked rusty last week)

Front 5 England are miles better, and I'd say evens at 6, Easter the better 8 (at international level) but Warburton better than Fourie, so not much to choose in the back row

15. James Hook - Ben Foden - England
14. George North - Chris Ashton - Evens
13. Jamie Roberts - Mike Tindall - Wales
12. Gavin Henson - Shontayne Hape - Evens (we are either playing at international level!)
11. Shane Williams - Mark Cueto - Wales
10. Rhys Priestland - Toby Flood - England
9. Mike Phillips - Richard Wrigglesworth - England (by virtue Wiggy can actually pass)
8. Toby Faletau - Nick Easter - England
7. Sam Warburton - Hendre Fourie - Wales
6. Dan Lydiate - Tom Wood - Wales (but only just)
5. AW Jones - Courtney Lawes - England
4. Luke Charteris - Louis Deacon - England
3. Craig Mitchell - Dan Cole - England
2. Lloyd Burns - Steve Thompson - England
1. Paul James - Alex Corbisero - Wales (as bad as James was last week Corbs was worse)

England - 8
Wales - 5
Evens - 2

Yet I have the feeling Wales might just win this one as long as the tight five don't completely fall apart. England will dominate the set pieces but depending on the ref I think Wales could undo the English defence in the loose.

C'mon Wales you can do it!

If you had those 30 players to select one team, only Roberts, Williams and Warburton would grab a start (possibly Lydiate over Wood).

England should have too much ball not to win. We will need a few breaks against the run of play to get a result.

If you had 30 this would be the team

15. Ben Foden - England
14. George North -
13. Jamie Roberts
12. Hook
11. Ashton
10. Toby Flood - England
9. Mike Phillips
8. Toby Faletau
7. Sam Warburton
6. Tom Wood
5. Courtney Lawes - England
4. AWJ
3. Dan Cole - England
2. Steve Thompson - England
1. Alex Corbisero

biltongbek wrote:C'mon Wales you can do it!

I'd like to think so, but let's face it. Based on last week's performance and the players returning Wales should get a pasting.

I don't think it will be a pasting, most England V Wales games recently have been fairly close.

I would be suprised if Wales won though, I think the English pack will be too dominant with us missing our 1st choice front row plus Fly half and full back

TheGreyGhost wrote:

biltongbek wrote:C'mon Wales you can do it!

I'd like to think so, but let's face it. Based on last week's performance and the players returning Wales should get a pasting.

i dont think it will be a pasting as it's being playing at the MS.

15. James Hook - Ben Foden – England, Hook is out of psition.
14. George North - Chris Ashton- Evens, Ashton hasn’t played in a while.
13. Jamie Roberts - Mike Tindall- Wales. Just Wales.
12. Gavin Henson - Shontayne Hape- Evens, wonder if henson is match ready.
11. Shane Williams - Mark Cueto- Wales
10. Rhys Priestland - Toby Flood- England, although depends on Flood’s form.
9. Mike Phillips - Richard Wrigglesworth- Evens
8. Toby Faletau - Nick Easter- England if the lad plays like he did last week, it’s no contest.
7. Sam Warburton - Hendre Fourie- Wales, I like the look of Warburton.
6. Dan Lydiate - Tom Wood- England. Wood was one of England’s best players in the six nations.
5. AW Jones - Courtney Lawes- England, Lawes is vital for Eng in my opinion, we missed him.
4. Luke Charteris - Louis Deacon- England, Leicester club captain and too underrated.
3. Craig Mitchell - Dan Cole- England- Cole shades
2. Lloyd Burns - Steve Thompson- England, the old pro has been there and done it.
1. Paul James - Alex Corbisero- Wales, James shades it on experience.