The final of this year’s Six Nations will take place this Saturday, March 16th at 17pm at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff between Wales and England.
England will face the 2012 champions Wales and just like last year, the match will decide the Grand Slam. Last year, Wales was the only team able to beat England with 12-19 at the Twickenham Stadium. This year, England is leading the table with 8 points after beating Scotland (38-18), Ireland (6-12), France (23-13) and Italy (18-11). Wales, on the other side, is second with 6 points and only lost to Ireland with 22-30 in the opening week.
For England, it would be the first Grand Slam in an decade. However, Lancaster’s team only wins the Grand Slam if they beat Wales, if they lose by not more than 6 points or of they lose by 7 points and outscore Wales by 3 tries. Wales will regain the title if they beat England by 7 points or more and stay ahead on tournament tries.
For England is well prepared and recalled Youngs, Farrell, Croft and Marler in the starting line-up. Top scorer Farrell will replace Flood after missing the match against Italy with an thigh injury. Farrell knows what to expect and says: “Wales have been there and done itl. They have been a tremendous side over the years. They have a lot of experience and won Grand Slams. But we don’t mind a bit of adversity. It is where we have been good in our short time together. Experience has to start somewhere and we have to be challenging to win our first trophy.”
In a full packed Millennium stadium, the game between the two rivals is sure to be a classic with the decider of the six nations on the line in a game that is literately an “all to play for” match – likely to be spoken about for years to come.
Line-Up:
England team: A Goode (Saracens); C Ashton (Saracens), M Tuilagi (Leicester), B Barritt (Saracens), M Brown (Harlequins); O Farrell (Saracens), B Youngs (Leicester); J Marler (Harlequins), T Youngs (Leicester), D Cole (Leicester), J Launchbury (Wasps), G Parling (Leicester), T Croft (Leicester), C Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), T Wood (Northampton).
Replacements: D Hartley (Northampton), D Wilson (Bath), M Vunipola (Saracens), C Lawes (Northampton), J Haskell (Wasps), D Care (Harlequins), T Flood (Leicester), B Twelvetrees (Gloucester).
