So many words, so much emotion, so little middle ground
whenever England meet Wales at rugby union whose side are you on? For the players, even the emerging daffodils up the drive of their Surrey hotel serve as a timely reminder of who is heading to Twickenham tomorrow.
Outcome matters
The outcome matters hugely for all kinds of reasons, ancient and modern. It is not simply the winners could yet lift this year's wide-open Six Nations title.
The next time these teams collide at this stadium will be in the pool stages of next year’s World Cup. This weekend’s losers will have to drag around a wearisome amount of psychological baggage, just as England have done this past year since their 30-3 defeat in Cardiff.
“Tasty” was the pre-game forecast from home prop Joe Marler and few would disagree.
Significantly, perhaps, Marler also chose Thursday night to watch a replay of the Millennium Stadium mauling in its entirety for the first time.
“I was interested in watching it and seeing how it felt to watch it. At one point I was thinking: ‘We’re in this’, but then we weren’t. I don’t think I’d enjoy a repeat experience.”
He and his fellow England forwards will need no further motivation to get stuck in, with the clear objective of replicating their outstanding performance against Ireland.
Revenge for Cardiff
There is no reason why the hosts cannot extract some sweet, if belated, revenge forCardiff. When Warren Gatland wondered aloud in midweek whether England's "boys have turned into men", he was perfectly aware home locks Joe Launchbury and Courtney Lawes have developed into a world-class threat, even before the late withdrawal of Luke Charteris with a neck injury.
Charteris's English-born replacement Jake Ball is an interesting character – with his extravagant beard it is not hard to spot this particular Ball – but the Welsh lineout can creak and England's jumpers will scarcely mourn the absence of Charteris or Ian Evans.
The scrum will also be a critical area, given how badly England struggled there a year ago. French referee Romain Poite is renowned for favouring the stronger scrummage but England have now learned not to lose their cool if decisions start going against them.
Wales know how to win at Twickenham, although most people tend to recall Scott Williams' dramatic late score in 2012 more readily than David Strettle's controversial disallowed effort.
Attacking questions
Lancaster's England are asking far more attacking questions now and, in Mike Brown, have a key player in the form of his life. If a Lions tour party was being named next month he would feature. The next tour is not until 2017 but that minor detail will not prevent anyone putting down an early marker for their rivals to ponder.
Graham Rowntree reckons the "Harts v Hibs" hooker duel between Dylan Hartley and Richard Hibbard will be worth the admission price alone, while Danny Care and Chris Robshaw both have a point to prove following their absence from last year's Lions party.
Wales are also seeking back-to-back victories at Twickenham for the first time since 1978. But brute force alone will not be enough this time.
England are seeking a first Triple Crown since 2003.
"There hasn't been any talk about needing to win this to get an edge in the World Cup," said Marler. "It's been very much about trying to win this competition. Their backline are bigger than a lot of our forwards so it's going to be a hell of a game." –
Guardian Service
