England vs. Wales: Preview, Live Stream, TV Info for Rugby World Cup Game
It’s crunch time for England and Wales as they clash at Twickenham, London, in the biggest game of the Rugby World Cup 2015 so far.
Just one week in, the presence of these two and Australia in Pool A has brought the section to a boil already, with the loser of today’s contest potentially facing an early exit.
That would be unthinkable for Stuart Lancaster’s England side, second favourites to win the Webb Ellis Cup and hosting the tournament for the first time in 24 years.
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But it seems equally inconceivable that Wales should be heading for the M4 before the knockout stages. Warren Gatland’s men were semi-finalists in 2011 and have a squad stuffed full of British and Irish Lions, even allowing for the loss of injury victims Jonathan Davies and Leigh Halfpenny, as well as the live wire scrum-half Rhys Webb.
England still carry the scars of their 2013 drubbing at Welsh hands, when a feverish Millennium Stadium swallowed their Six Nations Grand Slam ambitions in a 30-3 demolition. They have since returned to the scene of that darkest of days during the Lancaster era and beaten Wales—a 16-21 win in this year’s competition.
But injuries, selection and the heightened tension that comes with World Cup rugby have served to elevate this evening’s contest to a whole new level.
Wales skipper Sam Warburton–who has led the Lions to a series victory and played in that 2011 semi-final (albeit briefly)–has described this as the biggest game of his life, per WalesOnline.
Match Details
Date: Saturday, September 26
Time: 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. EST
Venue: Twickenham, London, England
TV Info: UK, ITV1; Australia, Fox Sports; NZ, SkySports; South Africa, SuperSports
Live Stream: ITV Player (UK only), Universal Sports (U.S. only)
Last Five Matches
Both sides showed their ability to open up and score tries for fun on the final day of the Six Nations, but their form since has been mixed.
England both beat and lost to France before delivering a far better display to defeat Ireland. Their World Cup opener was a stuttering affair against Fiji and will not have given Wales many nightmares.
The Welsh looked to be coming to the boil nicely after avenging a home loss against Ireland by turning them over on their home turf in Dublin.
Then a disastrous afternoon against Italy robbed them of Halfpenny and Webb, and further injuries were sustained in their handsome win over Uruguay to kick their campaign off to a bittersweet start.
Both teams have their problems.
| September 18 | England 35-11 Fiji |
| September 5 | England 21-13 Ireland |
| August 22 | France 25-20 England |
| August 15 | England 19-14 France |
| March 21 | England 55-35 France |
| September 20 | Wales 54-9 Uruguay |
| September 5 | Wales 23-19 Italy |
| August 29 | Ireland 10-16 Wales |
| August 8 | Wales 21-35 Ireland |
| March 21 | Italy 20-61 Wales |
Team Lineups
England have made significant changes to their back line that could shape whether or not Stuart Lancaster stays in the job beyond this World Cup.
Fly-half George Ford—whose presence in the side has coincided with an uptick in the Red Rose Brigade’s try-scoring rate since winning the shirt last autumn—has been replaced with Owen Farrell for this fixture, the man he originally uprooted.
The decision looks to have been based on Ford’s lesser physicality, which was highlighted by the giant Fijian Nemani Nadolo at Twickenham last Friday night. Farrell brings more solidity, but has England’s newfound creativity been sacrificed on the altar of defensive strength?
Lancaster says not, per the Guardian: "We’ve got to get away from the stereotype of what sort of attacking player Owen Farrell is. People are trying to say we can’t play any attacking rugby with a different lineup but I don’t see it that way."
But the paper's Robert Kitson identified what Lancaster truly sees as the three key reasons for the switch: "Farrell’s ability to kick pressure goals, the lingering image of last May’s Premiership final when Farrell’s Saracens squashed Ford’s Bath, and a preference for players unfazed by the occasion."
The other much-debated selection is that of Sam Burgess at inside centre. Injury to outside centre Jonathan Joseph has seen Brad Barritt shuffle out to the spot vacated by the Bath man and opened up the No. 12 slot for Burgess.
The former rugby league man, 10 months into his career as a union player, put in an eye-catching display as a replacement against Fiji, but 19 minutes against the tired Pacific islanders is a different kettle of fish to facing Lions hero Jamie Roberts.
It’s sink or swim time for the ex-Rabbitohs man.
Another enforced change sees Billy Vunipola step in at No. 8 after Ben Morgan failed to recover from a knee knock.
Big Billy was another to make significant impact as a replacement on opening night, burrowing over for the critical fourth try that earned England a bonus point.
Burgess and Vunipola will both need to bring that direct, uncompromising philosophy that served a previously lateral England so well against their first opponents. Lancaster is banking on it.
Wales have gone with more size than speed in the choice of Dan Lydiate over Justin Tipuric in their back row.
Ospreys man Tipuric has been in scorching form of late and looked to have forced skipper Warburton out of his preferred No. 7 shirt. But the captain resumes that jersey, with the more physical attributes of Lydiate preferred at blindside.
Having seen England’s struggles at the breakdown against Fiji, it is surprising to note that the "double seven" option of Warburton and Tipuric has been eschewed, but we will doubtless see them in tandem at some point during the evening.
England might sense a chance to get at the Welsh scrum, with first-choice tighthead Samson Lee only fit enough to take a place on the bench and the inexperienced Tomas Francis picked to pack down against Joe Marler.
Gethin Jenkins makes up for the lack of caps with over a ton to his name, but the Cardiff man has unpleasant memories of his last outing at Twickenham, when he was scrummaged off the field and eventually shown to his seat by the referee by way of a yellow card.
In the backs, it’s hard not to class this Welsh line as diminished by the absence of Davies and Halfpenny, but Roberts, George North and Scott Williams have enough firepower to put England’s 14th midfield combination since Lancaster assumed control under duress.
England: Mike Brown; Anthony Watson, Brad Barritt, Sam Burgess, Jonny May, Owen Farrell, Ben Youngs; Joe Marler, Tom Youngs, Dan Cole, Geoff Parling, Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, Chris Robshaw, Billy Vunipola.
Wales: Liam Williams; George North, Scott Williams, Jamie Roberts, Hallam Amos; Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Gethin Jenkins, Scott Baldwin, Tomas Francis, Bradley Davies, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton, Taulupe Faletau.
Players to Watch
Owen Farrell
Stuart Lancaster has insisted he has picked an in-form and confident player at No. 10 for this game, per the Independent. What George Ford will take from that is anyone’s guess, and it is still likely that we will see the Bath youngster at some point on Saturday.
But Owen Farrell has been handed the job of running a completely reworked England midfield, from marshaling the inexperienced Sam Burgess outside him to coping himself with anything Wales send down his channel.
Add to that the goal-kicking, place-kicking and attacking calls and Farrell Jr.’s plate is certainly full. It perhaps begins to make sense when you consider that workload.
George Ford has never been asked to nurse a player whose positional sense may still need some work, and he may well have been too preoccupied with his own role to look after anyone else. Farrell, already with a Lions tour behind him, perhaps has the personality to deal with all that more successfully that his rival.
Whatever the reasons for his insertion into the team, this is the biggest night of Farrell’s England career. Back in the saddle after being dropped last autumn, if he has a match to remember for all the right reasons, can anyone see Lancaster dropping him for the big games to come?
Gethin Jenkins
Wales’ loosehead prop has displayed a longevity that few men in his position can ever muster. The demands on the body of a modern-day prop would have lesser mortals reaching for the walking frame before they hit their mid-30s. Jenkins has withstood the punishment in a 13-year international career, and he still plays such a crucial role for Wales.
The demands of Wales defensive guru Shaun Edwards are notoriously high, but Jenkins has risen to them, delivering a huge tackle count and often acting as an extra back-row player at the breakdown. The occasions have been rare that his scrummaging has been found wanting, but one of them was against England the last time Wales played at Twickenham.
After being sin-binned during the 2014 29-18 defeat, Jenkins signalled to his bench that he was being picked on by the official and told his coach to substitute him, per the Express.
This is the area Jenkins must address first tonight before his other work comes to the fore. Give England an edge in the set piece and the result will not be pleasant for Wales and their front-row centurion.
Prediction
England by five
Odds (via Oddschecker)
England: 1-3
Wales: 31-10
Draw: 25-1
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