Wales vs England Prediction: Wales make thorny opponents for Red Rose

Wales will be desperate to avoid a second wooden spoon in a row and Saturday’s home clash (16:45, live on BBC One) with England offers them an opportunity to play spoiler to their old foes’ Six Nations title hopes.

Read on for my Wales vs England predictions, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Rugby Union Odds

Results went the Red Rose’s way last week as England beat Italy after France’s win in Dublin to give Steve Borthwick’s men a legitimate shot at winning a first Six Nations title since 2020 on ‘Super Saturday’.

Ollie Sleightholme bagged a brace of tries as England racked up almost 50 points on the Azzurri to make it three wins in a row at Twickenham.

Wales remain winless in the tournament after last Saturday’s 35-29 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield, but again there were positives to take from the performance.

Interim head coach Matt Sherratt hailed the "maturity" of the effort to claim two losing bonus points and his players will be determined to end their 16-match losing streak in front of a passionate home crowd.

Their Six Nations matches against England in Cardiff have been split 3-3 since 2013 and seldom are they decided by more than a handful of points.

Team News

Sherratt has made two changes to his starting XV from last week's narrow defeat in Edinburgh. Aaron Wainwright comes into the back row at blindside flanker, with captain Jac Morgan moving to openside.

Scarlets centre Joe Roberts is handed his first start of the championship on the left wing, with Ellis Mee shifting over to the right.

Playing with one day less rest than the Welsh and with a greater array of options, England have made twice as many changes than their hosts, with Borthwick recalling Marcus Smith at full-back.

Luke Cowan-Dickie starts at hooker, while Tom Roebuck makes his first start of the championship on the right wing, with Elliot Daly moving to the left.

In the back row, the Curry twins reunite as Ben joins Tom, with Ben Earl starting at number eight.

Wales vs England Odds

England are 1/4 favourites to clinch victory in Cardiff, with Wales 3/1 to salvage some pride from a difficult campaign and the tie at 25/1.

It’s 10/11 for the visitors to cover a 10-point handicap, with Wales a similar price to avoid defeat by that number.

Wales +9 @ 21/20

A small tweak of that handicap sees Wales at better than evens to stay within nine points of their cross-border rivals and that looks achievable for the hosts.

Recent history suggests it could be a closely fought encounter. The last five meetings between these sides have been decided by 11 points or fewer, with England only just overhauling a spirited Wales side 16-14 at Twickenham when they last crossed swords.

Despite their record-setting losing streak, Wales have shown signs of improvement since Sherratt took over from Warren Gatland.

They pushed both Ireland and Scotland close in their last two matches, losing by just nine and six points respectively.

And the electric atmosphere at the Principality Stadium will surely inspire Wales further as they bid to emerge from their recent slump.

Key to Wales' chances will be the performance of their pack, particularly at the breakdown.

If they can disrupt England's ball and provide a platform for their backs to play, they could frustrate Borthwick's attack-minded team and keep the score within single digits.

Tomos Williams anytime tryscorer @ 5/4

Tomos Williams has been a bright spark for Wales throughout a difficult campaign. The scrum-half's quick thinking and eye for a gap make him a constant threat around the fringes of the ruck and maul.

Williams has shown his international try-scoring ability in the past, scoring against the English in a pre-2023 World Cup warm-up at Twickenham.

He is probably due another, having not grabbed an international try since that tournament in France and, with Wales likely to adopt a more expansive game plan in front of their home crowd, Williams could find opportunities to snipe over from close range or support line breaks.

Offers

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