“We can’t be having that, can we?” Dafydd Jenkins smirked, the Wales lock stoking the fires when asked about the prospect of England winning a Six Nations title in Cardiff. The plight of the home side may mean a meeting that, on paper, looks more lopsided than this encounter ever should but this rivalry still burns as brightly and intense as any that this championship has to offer.
Over the Severn Bridge England travel needing a favour from another auld foe to have a hope. France will need to lose to Scotland to give Steve Borthwick’s side a shot at hoisting the trophy late on Saturday night, but England dare not be preoccupied by the permutations, nor overlook the task at hand. Taking care of their own business is a prerequisite to any mathematics that may follow; it may be 16 consecutive defeats for Wales but a win at the Principality never comes easy.
