ENGLAND v WALES: Rugby World Cup Pool A

26.09.2015

Venue: Twickenham

Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	TF	TA	BP	PT
WALES	1	1	0	0	54	9	45	8	0	1	5
ENGLAND	1	1	0	0	35	11	24	4	1	1	5
AUSTRALIA	1	1	0	0	28	13	15	3	1	0	4
FIJI	2	0	0	2	24	63	-39	2	7	0	0
URUGUAY	1	0	0	1	9	54	-45	0	8	0	0

Preview
It doesn’t get bigger than this game in Rugby World Cup Pool play. Two of Europe’s fiercest rivals will square off in the pool of death. Apart from the France-Ireland clash in Pool D this is one of THE crucial games before the quarter finals. Both teams have everything to win and an awful lot to lose from the outcome.

England were shaky in their 35-11 win over Fiji in the opening game of this tournament. They did enough but didn’t impress against a tough Fijian side who played a part of that game with 14 men. Their second game in front of their home crowd will see a huge improvement.

Wales’ preparation for this game was an easy win over Uruguay, hardly ideal before such a crucial game. Their lead up form was impressive during the warm up games which included, like England, a win over 6 Nations Champion Ireland.

So this is it. The first BIG clash of the tournament. It at the home of rugby and it will be in front of a packed house. What an atmosphere! What a game!

Last Five Encounters  W 3, E 2
06.02.2015 England 21-16 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
09.03.2014 England 29, Wales 18 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
16.03.2013 Wales 30-3 at Cardiff (6 Nations)
25.02.2012 Wales 19-12 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
13.08.2011 Wales 19-9 in Cardiff (World Cup Warm-up)

Previous Rugby World Cups
08.06.1987 Wales 16-3 in Brisbane (World Cup)

England Last Five P 5, W 3, L 2
05.09.2015 v Ireland W 21-13 at Twickenham (World Cup Warm Up)
22.08.2015 v France L 20-25 in Paris (World Cup Warm Up)
15.08.2015 v France W 19-15 at Twickenham (World Cup Warm Up)
14.03.2015 v Scotland W 25-13 at Twickenham (6 Nations;Calcutta Cup)
01.03.2015 v Ireland L 9-19 in Dublin (6 Nations)

Wales Last Five P 5, W 4, L 1
05.09.2015 v Italy W 23-19 in Cardiff (World Cup Warm Up)
29.08.2015 v Ireland W 16-10 in Dublin (World Cup warm Up)
08.08.2015 v Ireland L 21-35 in Cardiff (World Cup Warm Up)
21.03.2015 v Italy W 61-20 in Rome (6 Nations)
14.03.2015 v Ireland W 23-16 in Cardiff (6 Nations)

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: Wales 1st, England 2nd

World Rugby Ranking Points
England 85.04, wales 84.63

Data from www.rugbyinternational.net

Prediction: England by 6 points. Score 29-23

TEAMS

England
15 Michael Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Bradley Barritt, 12 Samuel Burgess, 11 Jonathon May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Benjamin Youngs, 8 William Vunipola, 7 Christopher Robshaw (Capt.), 6 Thomas Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Geoffrey Parling, 3 Daniel Cole, 2 Thomas Youngs, 1 Joseph Marler
Replacements
16 Robert Webber, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Joseph Launchbury, 20 James Haskell, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 George Ford,
23 Alexander Goode

Head Coach: Stuart Lancaster

Wales
15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 James Roberts,
11 Hallam Amos, 10 Daniel Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau,
7 Samuel Warburton (Capt.), 6 Daniel Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements
16 Kenneth Owens, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Luke Charteris,
20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Alexander Cuthbert

Head Coach: Warren Gatland