| Venue: Cardiff Arms Park Date: Saturday, 15 April Kick-off: 14:15 BST |
| Protection: Watch reside on BBC Two, iPlayer, BBC Sport web site and app; additionally take heed to BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 5 Stay; textual content commentary on BBC Sport web site. |
Wales are aiming to beat England for less than a 3rd time in Ladies’s Six Nations historical past after they tackle the Pink Roses on Saturday.
It’s a top-of-the-table match between groups who’ve received their opening two video games with bonus factors.
For Wales, having overwhelmed Eire and Scotland, the Triple Crown is inside their grasp in entrance of a sell-out Cardiff Arms Park crowd.
Greater than 8,000 tickets have been bought for the encounter within the Welsh capital.
Wales have made two changes as they appear to maintain momentum, Hannah Bluck replaces injured centre Kerin Lake whereas Lowri Norkett makes her first Six Nations begin on the wing. She is available in for Carys Williams-Morris, who’s away taking part in for the RAF.
England had 19 gamers unavailable earlier than their convincing second-round win over Italy, however welcome again 4 gamers from damage, together with Alex Matthews at quantity eight.
Full-back Emma Sing makes her first Red Roses start.
Two gamers are set to win first caps from the bench, Bryonie King for Wales and Might Campbell for England.
England are high of World Rugby’s rankings and are on a 21-match successful streak within the Six Nations.
Wales have risen to eighth on the earth and might be trying to repeat the heroics of the category of 2015 after they ran out 13-0 winners at St Helen’s, Swansea.
A couple of faces nonetheless stay within the squad from that day, together with Elinor Snowsill, Sioned Harries, Carys Phillips, Caryl Thomas, Keira Bevan and Robyn Wilkins.
The 2 sides met in September in a World Cup warm-up recreation at Ashton Gate, Bristol, the place England ran in 11 tries in a 73-7 demolition of Wales.
That victory additionally noticed them turn into the primary crew in historical past to win 25 Assessments in a row, a successful streak that continued all the way in which to the ultimate of the World Cup, the place they misplaced to hosts New Zealand.
View from the camps
Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham stated: “We perceive the place we’re on our journey and we realise the place England are.
“We have now come a good distance, however now we have obtained such an extended method to go as nicely.
“You have a look at England – they’re primary on the earth, 32 video games on the bounce earlier than the ultimate. They common 65 factors a recreation and solely concede 5.
“Their home league might be the very best on the earth so we put that into perspective, however we’re additionally making large strides ourselves and we’re excited by the problem.
“It is a Triple Crown recreation at residence in Cardiff with a sell-out crowd, so we won’t wait.”
England head coach Simon Middleton stated: “Their intention might be to win. You at all times imagine that. I believe their ambitions might be sky-high and rightly so.
“It is an excellent take a look at for us as nicely. We’re creating our squad. They’ve stated will probably be a mark of the place they’re at and we’re on the identical strains.
“As a crew they really feel very collectively, very linked and really robust.
“Whereas earlier than now we have been in a position to overpower them, like now we have with a variety of groups due to the bodily factor that comes with full-time contracts, that will not be there to the extent that it has been beforehand.
“It will likely be an ongoing arm-wrestle, which is nice as a result of then it comes all the way down to techniques.”
Line-ups
Wales: Keight; Neumann, H Jones (capt), Bluck, Norkett; Snowsill, Bevan; Pyrs, Okay Jones, Tuipulotu, Fleming, G Evans, B Lewis, Callender, Harries.
Replacements: C Phillips, Hope, Hale, John, Okay Williams, King, F Lewis, Wilkins.
England: Sing; Breach, Tuima, Heard, Dow; Aitchison, L Packer; Carson, Davies, Bern, Aldcroft, O’Donnell, Kabeya, M Packer (capt), Matthews.
Replacements: Campbell, Botterman, Muir, Burns, Beckett, Wyrwas, McKenna, Kildunne.
Match details
Face to face
- England have received 11 of their previous 12 Six Nations matches in opposition to Wales (L1) together with every of their previous six and have scored greater than 50 factors in every of their previous 5, stopping Wales from scoring a single level in two of these video games.
- Wales have received twice in opposition to England within the Six Nations with each of these victories approaching residence soil, most lately a 13-0 win in 2015 – one in all simply two events that England have been stored scoreless within the Championship (additionally v Eire in 2013) – in addition to a 16-15 victory in 2009 when Wales went on to safe the Triple Crown.
Wales
- Wales beat Eire of their most up-to-date residence recreation (31-5), their greatest victory on residence soil within the Championship since 2003 (44-0 v Spain); Wales now have the chance to win back-to-back residence video games within the Six Nations for the primary time since 2016 (v Scotland and France).
- Solely France (78) have gained extra metres from mauls than Wales (65) on this yr’s Six Nations, whereas England have scored twice as many maul tries as each different crew within the Championship mixed (6 – Wales – 2, Scotland – 1, France, Eire and Italy – 0).
- Welsh duo Beth Lewis (5) and Georgia Evans (4) are two of simply three gamers to have made greater than three dominant tackles on this yr’s Six Nations, whereas solely Eire’s Neve Jones (35) has made extra tackles with out lacking any than Wales’ Alex Callender (30).
England
- Because the starting of 2016, England have received 15 of their 17 away matches within the Six Nations (L2), with their solely defeats in that run each coming in France; the Pink Roses have received their previous 9 away video games and yet one more victory would equal the file for many consecutive away wins within the Championship, set by England themselves after they received 10 in a row between 2005 and 2008.
- England (355) and Wales (274) rank first and second respectively for carries made within the Six Nations this yr, whereas additionally they have the very best gainline success charges this marketing campaign (England – 68%, Wales – 67%).
- Solely three gamers have scored 4 or extra tries on this yr’s Ladies’s Six Nations, all of whom play for England; Marlie Packer (5), Abby Dow (4) and Claudia MacDonald (4).
Match officers
Referee: Pleasure Neville (IRFU)
Assistants: Beatrice Benvenuti (FIR), Maria Pacifico (FIR)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)