2 minutes England are looking to build on their opening weekend win at Italy whilst Wales are hoping to bounce back from their narrow loss at home to Scotland
The second Six Nations fixture of the weekend will see England take on Wales at Twickenham. England are looking to build on their opening weekend win at Italy whilst Wales are hoping to bounce back from their narrow loss at home to Scotland. Looking ahead to the fixture, here at betting.bet we’ll ensure you have all the match insights, including form, team news and betting tips to make an informed selection. Free bet offers and match odds come from our popular betting partners at Sportingbet.
Week one recap
England were unconvincing in their opening weekend fixture away at Italy yet they left Rome with a hard-fought 27-24 win. Italy raced into a 17-14 half-time lead but England started the second half with 13 unanswered points.
At the Principality Stadium last Saturday, Wales found themselves 27-0 down with barely 50 minutes on the clock. A spirited fightback saw them close to within a point of Scotland but were eventually defeated 27-26. Wales did earn a losing bonus point.
Team news
England have named an unchanged team for the first time in four years with the XV that started the win against Italy set to take on Wales. Jamie George captains the side at Twickenham for the first time whilst vice-captain, Ellis Genge will be amongst the substitutes.
Wales have made wholesale changes to the side downed by Scotland with seven new faces in the Welsh starting lineup. Inevitably, George North makes an immediate return to the XV now he’s fit again. North will be joined in the back line by Tomos Williams and Ioan Lloyd who impressed off the bench in Cardiff last weekend. Alex Mann will start at flanker whilst coach, Warren Gatland has opted for a new front row, drafting in Gareth Thomas, Elliott Dee and Keiron Assiratti.
Betting tips
There were concerns going into this year’s Six Nations that Wales could endure a difficult tournament as they begin life without several recently-departed national team stalwarts and their defeat against Scotland did not do too much to ease these concerns. All of Wales’ 26 points were scored whilst Scotland were playing with 14 men and it could be another difficult afternoon for Wales on Saturday. England look good value for the win at 2/9.
However, this England side is far from the finished article and the handicappers have been a little generous in giving them a ten-point swing. Wales +10 at 10/11 should be snapped up!
Both nations found themselves behind at the break in their respective Six Nations fixtures last weekend and should be expected to keep it tight in the opening exchanges on Saturday. Under 21.5 first half points looks like a steal at 17/20.
Match odds
- England: 2/9
- Draw: 22/1
- Wales: 7/2