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The last time Steve Borthwick rose from the head coach’s seat at Twickenham his walk was soundtracked by a cacophony of boos after a pre World Cup defeat to Fiji. After that difficult afternoon England reached the semis of the big tournament, including vanquishing the islanders in the return fixture in France. Borthwick would probably point out his team is developing still and (mostly) wins when it matters. They need to win today.
Despite their 26 point near comeback last week, Wales remain a team with issues. Significant player turnover, either from retirement or injury, has resulted in a squad of callow experience with too many members still to demonstrate whether they are good enough for this level. Gatland’s mitigation of this risk was the rudimentary gameplan that failed spectacularly in the opening forty minutes v Scotland and while the second half was great fun, how reliable a strategy is “chuck Ioan Lloyd in at 10 and give it a lash”? We may find out today.