Wales face arguably biggest task in sport - stopping England

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Wales face arguably biggest task in sport - stopping England - Image 1
Wales face arguably biggest task in sport - stopping England - Image 2
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Wales face arguably biggest task in sport - stopping England

Saturday's Six Nations action pits a team that has forgotten how to lose against a team that cannot remember how to win.

Wales face arguably biggest task in sport - stopping England

Saturday's Six Nations action pits a team that has forgotten how to lose against a team that cannot remember how to win.

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Image source, Huw Evans/Getty ImagesImage caption, Wales captain Bethan Lewis and England captain Meg Jones are both fluent Welsh speakers

England against Wales - one team that has forgotten how to lose against a team that cannot remember how to win.

The Red Roses are not only the best women's rugby team in the world, but one of the most successful teams in any sport.

They are on a 35-Test winning streak - chasing a fifth straight Grand Slam - and few expect that run to end on Saturday.

Wales, in stark contrast, head to a sold-out Ashton Gate with just one victory in 12 Tests under Sean Lynn and without a win in the Six Nations since 2024.

Despite a so-called injury crisis, England swept aside Scotland with a 12-try demolition last weekend in Edinburgh.

And while Wales were praised for showing grit in the defeat by France, they will need a near-superhuman effort to contain a side full of household names who run in tries for fun.

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Wales head coach Sean Lynn has lost two of his most experienced players this week, including ex-captain Hannah Dallavalle on Friday.

Her groin injury means Jenna De Vera - who only made her Test debut last week as a replacement against France - now starts the biggest game of her brief career while Freya Bell could now also win her first cap off the bench.

Lynn, already without flanker Alex Callender, also lost captain Kate Williams from his back-row following a calf injury.

It opens the door for Branwen Metcalfe to make her first Test start while Bethan Lewis takes over the armband.

That also frees up a spot on the bench for Alisha Joyce, who will make her comeback just five months after giving birth.

The 28-year-old flanker has only had half an hour of rugby in the Celtic Challenge this season, but has impressed in training.

The experience of Keira Bevan is preferred to Seren Lockwood at scrum-half.

Bevan and Joyce's Bristol Bears team mate Millie David will make her England debut on the wing as John Mitchell once again shakes up his selection.

Claudia Moloney-MacDonald starts on the other wing, with Ellie Kildunne, who scored a hat-trick against Wales last year, returning to full-back.

Abi Burton and Delaney Burns make up a fourth-choice second row combination, while props MacKenzie Carson and Sarah Bern are promoted off the bench along with flanker Marlie Packer. Holly Aitchison returns at fly-half.

Dad's poor geography leads to De Vera's Wales debut

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