England v Wales: Six Nations match betting preview, TV details and free tips

Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for England v Wales in the Six Nations.

Where to watch

ITV, 4.45pm Saturday

Best bets

England to win by one to 12 points
2pts 17-10 bet365

Forward to score first try
2pts 7-4 Betfair, Paddy Power

Match preview

The postponement of two matches has put a slight dampener on conclusion of the Six Nations but England against Wales is always a fierce contest in its own right whether there's a title to be played for or not.

England looked back to their ruthless best against Ireland last time out having opened with a defeat in France and narrow win over Scotland in tough conditions.

And we can expect more of the same from the hosts as coach Eddie Jones has again gone for a six-two split between forwards and backs on the replacements bench.

England were dominant up front and at the breakdown so it looks likely that the forwards will again take the lead and another close-fought battle could be on the cards.

When Wayne Pivac took the reins for Wales after the World Cup, a move away from the hard carrying game dubbed Warrenball towards a more open, attacking style was expected.

That hasn't fully clicked yet and the hard-working England defence are sure to be up for the challenge of closing down space, but there should still be room for plenty of close-quarters action.

England's starting forwards made 37 carries between them against Ireland last time out, but for the Wales pack against France the figure was 64, with Ross Moriarty, Ken Owens and Taulupe Faletau all in double figures.

England enjoyed a big win over Wales in a Six Nations warm-up in August but the last five Six Nations clashes between these two have been settled by a single-figure margin and just one of the last nine meetings has featured more than three tries.

The handicap has been pushed up from ten points to 12 this week, and Wales haven't suffered a Six Nations defeat of that scale since going down 26-13 to Scotland at Murrayfield in 2017, a game in which the Welsh looked on top in the first half.

Even in last summer's World Cup warm-up, comfortably won by a stronger England team, the margin was 14 points, and Wales have rewarded their handicap backers in nine of their last 13 Six Nations matches away from home.

Given England's strong record at Twickenham and their impressive performance against Ireland it's probably worth taking the odds-against about an England win by no more than 12 points rather than going for Wales on the handicap.

And at a similar price, go for the opening try of the match to be scored by a forward. There could be a cagey start with both teams playing for territory and both packs are likely to take on plenty of ball-carrying.

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