Paul Rees speculates as to how many England players would force their way in to the Wales side as the old enemies prepare to go toe-to-toe at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday in his blog for The Guardian.
"It was not all that long ago that voices were calling for both England and France to pull out of the Six Nations and join forces with the major southern hemisphere nations on the grounds that the Celtic nations were so hopelessly weak that they were an impediment to progress.
"The argument no longer holds true. England arrive in Cardiff today stung at being reviled in the media despite a 25-point victory over Italy last Saturday, the wide game they adopted last autumn having been shunted into the sidings, replaced by a familiar model. Their emphasis, once again, is not on winning but avoiding defeat.
"Some in Wales see Saturday's result in Cardiff as a foregone conclusion. Wales are the grand slam champions and have won their last seven Six Nations matches, while England have gone 11 months without defeating a nation ranked in the top eight and, on paper, Martin Johnson's side is as exciting as a wet weekend in Whitland.
"How many of the team, after all, would make the Wales side? Five may be from Wasps, the club of Shaun Edwards and the former home of Warren Gatland and Rob Howley, three of the four senior figures on the Wales management, but England's style is markedly different from the Adams Park club's. Saturday's game will offer the contrast of the epic Wasps-Leicester encounters when Gatland was involved with Edwards in Wycombe and Martin Johnson, John Wells and Graham Rowntree were with the Tigers."
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