Wales v England live: score and latest updates from the Six Nations

The Principality faithful will be pleased, after one of Welsh rugby’s most traumatic weeks, to see that their side are still in with a shout at half-time.

England have been superior in the first 40 minutes – and, yet, Wales asked some questions as half-time approached and might be upset to have not come away with some points for their efforts. Given there are only five points between the sides – thanks to some suspect Owen Farrell goal-kicking – if the hosts can channel that momentum in the first 10 minutes of the second half, they stand a real chance of ending this game the victors.

England will feel they should be ahead by more than just the five points. This is a tight encounter and Farrell’s missed penalty could well come back to haunt him and the visitors. There was enough to encourage Wales in the last 10 minutes of the half but slow ball meant they twice visited the England 22 without scoring.

Wales have a scrum inside the England half, they move the ball down the line looking to go wide sooner this time. Gareth Thomas, the loosehead, of all people barges a hole through the England defence. After nine phases, though, Wales are again penalised inside the visitors’ 22. Having madke the hard yards the ball was just too slow, that, combined with good England defence, means Wales again visit the 22 without earning any points.

This time Wales win a penalty at the scrum, Francis getting the better of Genge. Owen Williams kicks for touch. From the line out the hosts move the ball in field, they get quick ball and flirt with getting into the England 22. After 10 phases Wales aren’t making huge ground. Wales are being patient, however,  and through the pace of Rees-Zammit they finally get into the England 22. But after 20 phases they are penalised for holding on. Visits to the Scotland 22 without scoring cost the Welsh dear two weeks ago and it could well cost them here too.

Freddie Steward has been impressive under the high ball as he again collects a box kick from Williams. The Wales kicking game continues to be poor, they keep kicking to the best full-back under the high ball in world rugby – it’s not that hard…

England decide to go for the posts but Farrell pushes his kick wide from about 34 yards out from the right-hand side of the posts. That was poor from the fly-half.

An England knock-on gives the Welsh a scrum – this is verging on becoming a bit of scrappy affair. From the set piece England get the penalty, good sign for the visitors, worrying for the hosts as Genge gets the better of Francis.

England decide to kick for touch and from the resulting line out Alun-Wyn Jones steals the ball. But England soo have possession and Van Poortvliet puts in a box kick that Wales deal with well. The kicking from hand hasn’t been great from either side so far.

Slade kicks long and Halfpenny collects and makes yards into the England half. The Welsh win a penalty and instead of going for goal Tomos Williams taps and goes. There might well in an inquiry as to why they didn’t go for goal as the hosts are penalised for holding on and it’s a penalty for England.

This is a great try from the visitors.

Wales 3-8 England

They haven’t been in the game but they are on the scoreboard after an England error from the restart gifts a penalty to the hosts. Halfpenny makes no mistake and it’s a five-point match.

Wales 0-8 England

England have dominated so far and get the try they deserve. Lawrence barges another hole in the midfield, after a great inside ball from Farrell to Malins opens Wales up. England get get ball away quickly and from the moment the ball leaves the ruck and is moved left a try is on. The visitors show a good set of hands as Watson scores in the left corner. Farrell hits the upright from the conversion and it’s 8-0 rather than 10-0.

England are winning the aerial battle at the moment as the Wales kicking is less than impressive. All the play has been in the Wales half and the hosts, if they are as it seems, are going to kick a lot they need to do more than kick aimlessly.

Line out for England inside the Wales half. From the set piece the visitors set up the Lawrence crash ball, they are moving the ball through the hands and the hosts defence holds up well.

It’s clear Wales are only going to play in the England half, they’re being cagey in possession when in their half. There’s a bit of kick tennis as a result and it’s a bit monotonous.

Wales 0-3 England

England have had all the pressure so far and win a penalty as Wales are penalised at the breakdown. The hosts decide to go for the points and Farrell slots home from hear the halfway line. A deserved early lead for Borthwick’s side.

From the scrum the Welsh move the ball wide before Grady stabs the ball through conceding possession in the process. Gareth Thomas, meanwhile, has hurt himself as he tackled Chessum.

This is a breathless passage of play that comes to an end that’s to great Welsh defence forcing the knock-on.

England are in the Wales half a moving through the phases with some slick handling. After eight phases Faletau turns the ball over and that’s great work from the No 8.

Scrum for Wales and the hosts are penalised for early engagement. England have a free-kick and that is wasteful from the hosts. They need parity up front to have a chance here.

Van Poortvliet kicks into touch. From the line out Owen Williams puts up a huge up and under which Steward deals with well. From there Wales, the form of Faletau, charge down a Farrell kick and the No 8 is very nearly in as the England full-back is again called into action.

The roof is open but it doesn’t seem to have dimmed the atmosphere as play gets under way in Cardiff.

And after a minute’s silence marking the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine we have the national anthems. God Save the King comes before Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, otherwise known as Land of my Fathers. It’s one of the great national anthems and would, you suspect, easily make the semis in any National Anthem World Cup.

Enter Sandman playing as the Prince and Princess of Wales take their seats at the Peincipality Stadium. Not sure whether that was a coincidence or not.

So during the action get your queries into us in the comments section below.

Steve Borthwick, Kevin Sinfield and the rest of the England set-up have talked a great deal about the value of Courtney Lawes. The other day, Owen Farrell explained that his vice-captain is particularly valuable when it comes to staying level-headed after errors on the field. Another, more primitive, advantage, which is apparent from watching the warm-ups, is that Lawes is pretty imposing. You would probably walk taller next to the 34-year-old. Whenever he comes off the bench, Lawes is sure to boost England.

Maro Itoje has played in a number of England vs Wales games and he certainly enjoys playing at the Principality.

Ollie Lawrence looks ready and raring to go. Just 20 minutes until kick-off.

England Head Coach Steve Borthwick has admitted his side need to be conditioned better going forward but acknowledges that it will take time.

“If it was as straightforward as one thing, it would be brilliant. There are different aspects.

“The conditioning, to get conditioned to how we want to play, because it is different to how it’s been done previously.

“It’s different to players from different clubs. So I think there is a condition aspect, that is going to come with time. You can’t fix that quickly, all you can do is keep training at the intensity required, ready for the Test matches.

“I think there were some things tactically as well that we needed to adjust in both games so we have looked at those closely, to make sure we are tactically smarter and also conditioned better.

After a tumultuous week for Welsh rugby, the team have arrived at the Principality ready to take on England.

England captain Owen Farrell leading his men into the changing rooms at the Principality for this afternoon’s huge game.

A reminder that Steve Borthwick has requested the Principality Stadium’s roof to remain open.

Telegraph Sport revealed this week that England asked for the roof to be open while strike talks between the Welsh Rugby Union and the Wales players were ongoing at the Vale Resort on Wednesday.

After riding out that contractual storm, Warren Gatland played ball with more traditional pre-match rivalries, suggesting that England had not done their homework and that his side have a better win record when the roof is open.

“They’ve asked for the roof to be open so it’s open. We’d have preferred for it to be closed so whether that dampens down the atmosphere a little, I’m not sure. The ironic thing is that when you look at the numbers, we’ve a better win record than when it’s closed. I don’t know if they have done their homework on that.

“The crowd is massive and the focus is on starting better and keeping the crowd involved. I don’t think the roof is going to make a huge amount of difference. Obviously [England] do. If they had looked at the percentage when it is open to when it is closed, they would probably have decided to close it.”

While we count down to kick-off, watch some of the most iconic moments from a fixture steeped in history…

England XV: F Steward (Leicester Tigers); M Malins (Saracens), H Slade (Exeter Chiefs), O Lawrence (Bath), A Watson (Leicester Tigers); O Farrell (Saracens), J van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers); E Genge (Bristol Bears), J George (Saracens), K Sinckler (Bristol Bears); M Itoje (Saracens), O Chessum (Leicester Tigers); L Ludlam (Northampton Saints), J Willis (Toulouse), A Dombrandt (Harlequins).

Replacements: J Walker (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), B Curry (Sale Sharks), A Mitchell (Northampton Saints), M Smith (Harlequins), H Arundell (London Irish).

—–

Wales XV: L Halfpenny (Scarlets); J Adams (Cardiff), M Grady (Cardiff), J Hawkins (Ospreys), L Rees-Zammit (Gloucester); O Williams (Ospreys), T Williams (Cardiff); G Thomas (Ospreys), K Owens (Scarlets), T Francis (Ospreys); A Beard (Ospreys), A Wyn Jones (Ospreys); C Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs), J Tipuric (Ospreys), T Faletau (Cardiff).

Replacements: B Roberts (Dragons), R Carre (Cardiff), D Lewis (Cardiff), D Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs), T Reffell (Leicester Tigers), K Hardy (Scarlets), D Biggar (Toulon), N Tompkins (Saracens).

As preparation for a huge match goes it’s fair to say Wales’ build up for today’s match against England has been far from perfect. That’s putting it mildly, of course, as the very-real threat of a player strike over contract issues was only withdrawn on Wednesday.

Wales captain Ken Owens described the preparation as ‘horrendous’ and coach Warren Gatland said in his exclusive Telegraph Sport column that it had been the ‘toughest week of his coaching career’.

But if anything can galvanise Wales and make them put their off-field troubles to one side it’s a home match against England. And Owens hopes that, for 80 minutes at least, the side can come together as they go in search of their first win of this year’s tournament.

“It has been an horrendous two weeks,” said Owens. “We need to focus on getting a result to put some pride back into the shirt, and trying to finish this saga on a positive.

“There were a lot of tough conversations and meetings, everyone voiced their opinion and everyone backed the decision that the team and the squad have made,” Owens added. “It has definitely galvanised us and that has shown the unity of the actions that were taken.

“It [the strike threat] was a last resort and the frustrations that have built up over a year, not just the last six weeks, brought it to this.

“The squad has come together and I’m sure you will see that on Saturday.”

Such has been the run up to the match, and the fact that Wales have been far from impressive in this year’s tournament so far, that few give them much of a chance of victory today.

Steve Borthwick, however, is well aware that Wales will provide a stern test of his England side.

“We know this is an incredible challenge, because Wales have got Test caps galore. We are going to have to be very, very good.” the England coach said.

Regardless of the far-from-ideal build up one thing is for sure – this is a meeting of two sides who need to win today. England have won four of their past 12 Tests. Of their past 13, Wales have won three.

“For both of us, this game is absolutely massive,” said Gatland, who has never lost three matches in a row in the same Six Nations. Stay here for all the pre-match build up and action from Cardiff.

The Principality faithful will be pleased, after one of Welsh rugby’s most traumatic weeks, to see that their side are still in with a shout at half-time.

England have been superior in the first 40 minutes – and, yet, Wales asked some questions as half-time approached and might be upset to have not come away with some points for their efforts. Given there are only five points between the sides – thanks to some suspect Owen Farrell goal-kicking – if the hosts can channel that momentum in the first 10 minutes of the second half, they stand a real chance of ending this game the victors.

England will feel they should be ahead by more than just the five points. This is a tight encounter and Farrell’s missed penalty could well come back to haunt him and the visitors. There was enough to encourage Wales in the last 10 minutes of the half but slow ball meant they twice visited the England 22 without scoring.

Wales have a scrum inside the England half, they move the ball down the line looking to go wide sooner this time. Gareth Thomas, the loosehead, of all people barges a hole through the England defence. After nine phases, though, Wales are again penalised inside the visitors’ 22. Having madke the hard yards the ball was just too slow, that, combined with good England defence, means Wales again visit the 22 without earning any points.

This time Wales win a penalty at the scrum, Francis getting the better of Genge. Owen Williams kicks for touch. From the line out the hosts move the ball in field, they get quick ball and flirt with getting into the England 22. After 10 phases Wales aren’t making huge ground. Wales are being patient, however,  and through the pace of Rees-Zammit they finally get into the England 22. But after 20 phases they are penalised for holding on. Visits to the Scotland 22 without scoring cost the Welsh dear two weeks ago and it could well cost them here too.

Freddie Steward has been impressive under the high ball as he again collects a box kick from Williams. The Wales kicking game continues to be poor, they keep kicking to the best full-back under the high ball in world rugby – it’s not that hard…

England decide to go for the posts but Farrell pushes his kick wide from about 34 yards out from the right-hand side of the posts. That was poor from the fly-half.

An England knock-on gives the Welsh a scrum – this is verging on becoming a bit of scrappy affair. From the set piece England get the penalty, good sign for the visitors, worrying for the hosts as Genge gets the better of Francis.

England decide to kick for touch and from the resulting line out Alun-Wyn Jones steals the ball. But England soo have possession and Van Poortvliet puts in a box kick that Wales deal with well. The kicking from hand hasn’t been great from either side so far.

Slade kicks long and Halfpenny collects and makes yards into the England half. The Welsh win a penalty and instead of going for goal Tomos Williams taps and goes. There might well in an inquiry as to why they didn’t go for goal as the hosts are penalised for holding on and it’s a penalty for England.

This is a great try from the visitors.

Wales 3-8 England

They haven’t been in the game but they are on the scoreboard after an England error from the restart gifts a penalty to the hosts. Halfpenny makes no mistake and it’s a five-point match.

Wales 0-8 England

England have dominated so far and get the try they deserve. Lawrence barges another hole in the midfield, after a great inside ball from Farrell to Malins opens Wales up. England get get ball away quickly and from the moment the ball leaves the ruck and is moved left a try is on. The visitors show a good set of hands as Watson scores in the left corner. Farrell hits the upright from the conversion and it’s 8-0 rather than 10-0.

England are winning the aerial battle at the moment as the Wales kicking is less than impressive. All the play has been in the Wales half and the hosts, if they are as it seems, are going to kick a lot they need to do more than kick aimlessly.

Line out for England inside the Wales half. From the set piece the visitors set up the Lawrence crash ball, they are moving the ball through the hands and the hosts defence holds up well.

It’s clear Wales are only going to play in the England half, they’re being cagey in possession when in their half. There’s a bit of kick tennis as a result and it’s a bit monotonous.

Wales 0-3 England

England have had all the pressure so far and win a penalty as Wales are penalised at the breakdown. The hosts decide to go for the points and Farrell slots home from hear the halfway line. A deserved early lead for Borthwick’s side.

From the scrum the Welsh move the ball wide before Grady stabs the ball through conceding possession in the process. Gareth Thomas, meanwhile, has hurt himself as he tackled Chessum.

This is a breathless passage of play that comes to an end that’s to great Welsh defence forcing the knock-on.

England are in the Wales half a moving through the phases with some slick handling. After eight phases Faletau turns the ball over and that’s great work from the No 8.

Scrum for Wales and the hosts are penalised for early engagement. England have a free-kick and that is wasteful from the hosts. They need parity up front to have a chance here.

Van Poortvliet kicks into touch. From the line out Owen Williams puts up a huge up and under which Steward deals with well. From there Wales, the form of Faletau, charge down a Farrell kick and the No 8 is very nearly in as the England full-back is again called into action.

The roof is open but it doesn’t seem to have dimmed the atmosphere as play gets under way in Cardiff.

And after a minute’s silence marking the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine we have the national anthems. God Save the King comes before Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, otherwise known as Land of my Fathers. It’s one of the great national anthems and would, you suspect, easily make the semis in any National Anthem World Cup.

Enter Sandman playing as the Prince and Princess of Wales take their seats at the Peincipality Stadium. Not sure whether that was a coincidence or not.

So during the action get your queries into us in the comments section below.

Steve Borthwick, Kevin Sinfield and the rest of the England set-up have talked a great deal about the value of Courtney Lawes. The other day, Owen Farrell explained that his vice-captain is particularly valuable when it comes to staying level-headed after errors on the field. Another, more primitive, advantage, which is apparent from watching the warm-ups, is that Lawes is pretty imposing. You would probably walk taller next to the 34-year-old. Whenever he comes off the bench, Lawes is sure to boost England.

Maro Itoje has played in a number of England vs Wales games and he certainly enjoys playing at the Principality.

Ollie Lawrence looks ready and raring to go. Just 20 minutes until kick-off.

England Head Coach Steve Borthwick has admitted his side need to be conditioned better going forward but acknowledges that it will take time.

“If it was as straightforward as one thing, it would be brilliant. There are different aspects.

“The conditioning, to get conditioned to how we want to play, because it is different to how it’s been done previously.

“It’s different to players from different clubs. So I think there is a condition aspect, that is going to come with time. You can’t fix that quickly, all you can do is keep training at the intensity required, ready for the Test matches.

“I think there were some things tactically as well that we needed to adjust in both games so we have looked at those closely, to make sure we are tactically smarter and also conditioned better.

After a tumultuous week for Welsh rugby, the team have arrived at the Principality ready to take on England.

England captain Owen Farrell leading his men into the changing rooms at the Principality for this afternoon’s huge game.

A reminder that Steve Borthwick has requested the Principality Stadium’s roof to remain open.

Telegraph Sport revealed this week that England asked for the roof to be open while strike talks between the Welsh Rugby Union and the Wales players were ongoing at the Vale Resort on Wednesday.

After riding out that contractual storm, Warren Gatland played ball with more traditional pre-match rivalries, suggesting that England had not done their homework and that his side have a better win record when the roof is open.

“They’ve asked for the roof to be open so it’s open. We’d have preferred for it to be closed so whether that dampens down the atmosphere a little, I’m not sure. The ironic thing is that when you look at the numbers, we’ve a better win record than when it’s closed. I don’t know if they have done their homework on that.

“The crowd is massive and the focus is on starting better and keeping the crowd involved. I don’t think the roof is going to make a huge amount of difference. Obviously [England] do. If they had looked at the percentage when it is open to when it is closed, they would probably have decided to close it.”

While we count down to kick-off, watch some of the most iconic moments from a fixture steeped in history…

England XV: F Steward (Leicester Tigers); M Malins (Saracens), H Slade (Exeter Chiefs), O Lawrence (Bath), A Watson (Leicester Tigers); O Farrell (Saracens), J van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers); E Genge (Bristol Bears), J George (Saracens), K Sinckler (Bristol Bears); M Itoje (Saracens), O Chessum (Leicester Tigers); L Ludlam (Northampton Saints), J Willis (Toulouse), A Dombrandt (Harlequins).

Replacements: J Walker (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), B Curry (Sale Sharks), A Mitchell (Northampton Saints), M Smith (Harlequins), H Arundell (London Irish).

—–

Wales XV: L Halfpenny (Scarlets); J Adams (Cardiff), M Grady (Cardiff), J Hawkins (Ospreys), L Rees-Zammit (Gloucester); O Williams (Ospreys), T Williams (Cardiff); G Thomas (Ospreys), K Owens (Scarlets), T Francis (Ospreys); A Beard (Ospreys), A Wyn Jones (Ospreys); C Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs), J Tipuric (Ospreys), T Faletau (Cardiff).

Replacements: B Roberts (Dragons), R Carre (Cardiff), D Lewis (Cardiff), D Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs), T Reffell (Leicester Tigers), K Hardy (Scarlets), D Biggar (Toulon), N Tompkins (Saracens).

As preparation for a huge match goes it’s fair to say Wales’ build up for today’s match against England has been far from perfect. That’s putting it mildly, of course, as the very-real threat of a player strike over contract issues was only withdrawn on Wednesday.

Wales captain Ken Owens described the preparation as ‘horrendous’ and coach Warren Gatland said in his exclusive Telegraph Sport column that it had been the ‘toughest week of his coaching career’.

But if anything can galvanise Wales and make them put their off-field troubles to one side it’s a home match against England. And Owens hopes that, for 80 minutes at least, the side can come together as they go in search of their first win of this year’s tournament.

“It has been an horrendous two weeks,” said Owens. “We need to focus on getting a result to put some pride back into the shirt, and trying to finish this saga on a positive.

“There were a lot of tough conversations and meetings, everyone voiced their opinion and everyone backed the decision that the team and the squad have made,” Owens added. “It has definitely galvanised us and that has shown the unity of the actions that were taken.

“It [the strike threat] was a last resort and the frustrations that have built up over a year, not just the last six weeks, brought it to this.

“The squad has come together and I’m sure you will see that on Saturday.”

Such has been the run up to the match, and the fact that Wales have been far from impressive in this year’s tournament so far, that few give them much of a chance of victory today.

Steve Borthwick, however, is well aware that Wales will provide a stern test of his England side.

“We know this is an incredible challenge, because Wales have got Test caps galore. We are going to have to be very, very good.” the England coach said.

Regardless of the far-from-ideal build up one thing is for sure – this is a meeting of two sides who need to win today. England have won four of their past 12 Tests. Of their past 13, Wales have won three.

“For both of us, this game is absolutely massive,” said Gatland, who has never lost three matches in a row in the same Six Nations. Stay here for all the pre-match build up and action from Cardiff.

The Principality faithful will be pleased, after one of Welsh rugby’s most traumatic weeks, to see that their side are still in with a shout at half-time.

England have been superior in the first 40 minutes – and, yet, Wales asked some questions as half-time approached and might be upset to have not come away with some points for their efforts. Given there are only five points between the sides – thanks to some suspect Owen Farrell goal-kicking – if the hosts can channel that momentum in the first 10 minutes of the second half, they stand a real chance of ending this game the victors.

England will feel they should be ahead by more than just the five points. This is a tight encounter and Farrell’s missed penalty could well come back to haunt him and the visitors. There was enough to encourage Wales in the last 10 minutes of the half but slow ball meant they twice visited the England 22 without scoring.

Wales have a scrum inside the England half, they move the ball down the line looking to go wide sooner this time. Gareth Thomas, the loosehead, of all people barges a hole through the England defence. After nine phases, though, Wales are again penalised inside the visitors’ 22. Having madke the hard yards the ball was just too slow, that, combined with good England defence, means Wales again visit the 22 without earning any points.

This time Wales win a penalty at the scrum, Francis getting the better of Genge. Owen Williams kicks for touch. From the line out the hosts move the ball in field, they get quick ball and flirt with getting into the England 22. After 10 phases Wales aren’t making huge ground. Wales are being patient, however,  and through the pace of Rees-Zammit they finally get into the England 22. But after 20 phases they are penalised for holding on. Visits to the Scotland 22 without scoring cost the Welsh dear two weeks ago and it could well cost them here too.

Freddie Steward has been impressive under the high ball as he again collects a box kick from Williams. The Wales kicking game continues to be poor, they keep kicking to the best full-back under the high ball in world rugby – it’s not that hard…

England decide to go for the posts but Farrell pushes his kick wide from about 34 yards out from the right-hand side of the posts. That was poor from the fly-half.

An England knock-on gives the Welsh a scrum – this is verging on becoming a bit of scrappy affair. From the set piece England get the penalty, good sign for the visitors, worrying for the hosts as Genge gets the better of Francis.

England decide to kick for touch and from the resulting line out Alun-Wyn Jones steals the ball. But England soo have possession and Van Poortvliet puts in a box kick that Wales deal with well. The kicking from hand hasn’t been great from either side so far.

Slade kicks long and Halfpenny collects and makes yards into the England half. The Welsh win a penalty and instead of going for goal Tomos Williams taps and goes. There might well in an inquiry as to why they didn’t go for goal as the hosts are penalised for holding on and it’s a penalty for England.

This is a great try from the visitors.

Wales 3-8 England

They haven’t been in the game but they are on the scoreboard after an England error from the restart gifts a penalty to the hosts. Halfpenny makes no mistake and it’s a five-point match.

Wales 0-8 England

England have dominated so far and get the try they deserve. Lawrence barges another hole in the midfield, after a great inside ball from Farrell to Malins opens Wales up. England get get ball away quickly and from the moment the ball leaves the ruck and is moved left a try is on. The visitors show a good set of hands as Watson scores in the left corner. Farrell hits the upright from the conversion and it’s 8-0 rather than 10-0.

England are winning the aerial battle at the moment as the Wales kicking is less than impressive. All the play has been in the Wales half and the hosts, if they are as it seems, are going to kick a lot they need to do more than kick aimlessly.

Line out for England inside the Wales half. From the set piece the visitors set up the Lawrence crash ball, they are moving the ball through the hands and the hosts defence holds up well.

It’s clear Wales are only going to play in the England half, they’re being cagey in possession when in their half. There’s a bit of kick tennis as a result and it’s a bit monotonous.

Wales 0-3 England

England have had all the pressure so far and win a penalty as Wales are penalised at the breakdown. The hosts decide to go for the points and Farrell slots home from hear the halfway line. A deserved early lead for Borthwick’s side.

From the scrum the Welsh move the ball wide before Grady stabs the ball through conceding possession in the process. Gareth Thomas, meanwhile, has hurt himself as he tackled Chessum.

This is a breathless passage of play that comes to an end that’s to great Welsh defence forcing the knock-on.

England are in the Wales half a moving through the phases with some slick handling. After eight phases Faletau turns the ball over and that’s great work from the No 8.

Scrum for Wales and the hosts are penalised for early engagement. England have a free-kick and that is wasteful from the hosts. They need parity up front to have a chance here.

Van Poortvliet kicks into touch. From the line out Owen Williams puts up a huge up and under which Steward deals with well. From there Wales, the form of Faletau, charge down a Farrell kick and the No 8 is very nearly in as the England full-back is again called into action.

The roof is open but it doesn’t seem to have dimmed the atmosphere as play gets under way in Cardiff.

And after a minute’s silence marking the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine we have the national anthems. God Save the King comes before Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, otherwise known as Land of my Fathers. It’s one of the great national anthems and would, you suspect, easily make the semis in any National Anthem World Cup.

Enter Sandman playing as the Prince and Princess of Wales take their seats at the Peincipality Stadium. Not sure whether that was a coincidence or not.

So during the action get your queries into us in the comments section below.

Steve Borthwick, Kevin Sinfield and the rest of the England set-up have talked a great deal about the value of Courtney Lawes. The other day, Owen Farrell explained that his vice-captain is particularly valuable when it comes to staying level-headed after errors on the field. Another, more primitive, advantage, which is apparent from watching the warm-ups, is that Lawes is pretty imposing. You would probably walk taller next to the 34-year-old. Whenever he comes off the bench, Lawes is sure to boost England.

Maro Itoje has played in a number of England vs Wales games and he certainly enjoys playing at the Principality.

Ollie Lawrence looks ready and raring to go. Just 20 minutes until kick-off.

England Head Coach Steve Borthwick has admitted his side need to be conditioned better going forward but acknowledges that it will take time.

“If it was as straightforward as one thing, it would be brilliant. There are different aspects.

“The conditioning, to get conditioned to how we want to play, because it is different to how it’s been done previously.

“It’s different to players from different clubs. So I think there is a condition aspect, that is going to come with time. You can’t fix that quickly, all you can do is keep training at the intensity required, ready for the Test matches.

“I think there were some things tactically as well that we needed to adjust in both games so we have looked at those closely, to make sure we are tactically smarter and also conditioned better.

After a tumultuous week for Welsh rugby, the team have arrived at the Principality ready to take on England.

England captain Owen Farrell leading his men into the changing rooms at the Principality for this afternoon’s huge game.

A reminder that Steve Borthwick has requested the Principality Stadium’s roof to remain open.

Telegraph Sport revealed this week that England asked for the roof to be open while strike talks between the Welsh Rugby Union and the Wales players were ongoing at the Vale Resort on Wednesday.

After riding out that contractual storm, Warren Gatland played ball with more traditional pre-match rivalries, suggesting that England had not done their homework and that his side have a better win record when the roof is open.

“They’ve asked for the roof to be open so it’s open. We’d have preferred for it to be closed so whether that dampens down the atmosphere a little, I’m not sure. The ironic thing is that when you look at the numbers, we’ve a better win record than when it’s closed. I don’t know if they have done their homework on that.

“The crowd is massive and the focus is on starting better and keeping the crowd involved. I don’t think the roof is going to make a huge amount of difference. Obviously [England] do. If they had looked at the percentage when it is open to when it is closed, they would probably have decided to close it.”

While we count down to kick-off, watch some of the most iconic moments from a fixture steeped in history…

England XV: F Steward (Leicester Tigers); M Malins (Saracens), H Slade (Exeter Chiefs), O Lawrence (Bath), A Watson (Leicester Tigers); O Farrell (Saracens), J van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers); E Genge (Bristol Bears), J George (Saracens), K Sinckler (Bristol Bears); M Itoje (Saracens), O Chessum (Leicester Tigers); L Ludlam (Northampton Saints), J Willis (Toulouse), A Dombrandt (Harlequins).

Replacements: J Walker (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), B Curry (Sale Sharks), A Mitchell (Northampton Saints), M Smith (Harlequins), H Arundell (London Irish).

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Wales XV: L Halfpenny (Scarlets); J Adams (Cardiff), M Grady (Cardiff), J Hawkins (Ospreys), L Rees-Zammit (Gloucester); O Williams (Ospreys), T Williams (Cardiff); G Thomas (Ospreys), K Owens (Scarlets), T Francis (Ospreys); A Beard (Ospreys), A Wyn Jones (Ospreys); C Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs), J Tipuric (Ospreys), T Faletau (Cardiff).

Replacements: B Roberts (Dragons), R Carre (Cardiff), D Lewis (Cardiff), D Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs), T Reffell (Leicester Tigers), K Hardy (Scarlets), D Biggar (Toulon), N Tompkins (Saracens).

As preparation for a huge match goes it’s fair to say Wales’ build up for today’s match against England has been far from perfect. That’s putting it mildly, of course, as the very-real threat of a player strike over contract issues was only withdrawn on Wednesday.

Wales captain Ken Owens described the preparation as ‘horrendous’ and coach Warren Gatland said in his exclusive Telegraph Sport column that it had been the ‘toughest week of his coaching career’.

But if anything can galvanise Wales and make them put their off-field troubles to one side it’s a home match against England. And Owens hopes that, for 80 minutes at least, the side can come together as they go in search of their first win of this year’s tournament.

“It has been an horrendous two weeks,” said Owens. “We need to focus on getting a result to put some pride back into the shirt, and trying to finish this saga on a positive.

“There were a lot of tough conversations and meetings, everyone voiced their opinion and everyone backed the decision that the team and the squad have made,” Owens added. “It has definitely galvanised us and that has shown the unity of the actions that were taken.

“It [the strike threat] was a last resort and the frustrations that have built up over a year, not just the last six weeks, brought it to this.

“The squad has come together and I’m sure you will see that on Saturday.”

Such has been the run up to the match, and the fact that Wales have been far from impressive in this year’s tournament so far, that few give them much of a chance of victory today.

Steve Borthwick, however, is well aware that Wales will provide a stern test of his England side.

“We know this is an incredible challenge, because Wales have got Test caps galore. We are going to have to be very, very good.” the England coach said.

Regardless of the far-from-ideal build up one thing is for sure – this is a meeting of two sides who need to win today. England have won four of their past 12 Tests. Of their past 13, Wales have won three.

“For both of us, this game is absolutely massive,” said Gatland, who has never lost three matches in a row in the same Six Nations. Stay here for all the pre-match build up and action from Cardiff.

The Principality faithful will be pleased, after one of Welsh rugby’s most traumatic weeks, to see that their side are still in with a shout at half-time.

England have been superior in the first 40 minutes – and, yet, Wales asked some questions as half-time approached and might be upset to have not come away with some points for their efforts. Given there are only five points between the sides – thanks to some suspect Owen Farrell goal-kicking – if the hosts can channel that momentum in the first 10 minutes of the second half, they stand a real chance of ending this game the victors.

England will feel they should be ahead by more than just the five points. This is a tight encounter and Farrell’s missed penalty could well come back to haunt him and the visitors. There was enough to encourage Wales in the last 10 minutes of the half but slow ball meant they twice visited the England 22 without scoring.

Wales have a scrum inside the England half, they move the ball down the line looking to go wide sooner this time. Gareth Thomas, the loosehead, of all people barges a hole through the England defence. After nine phases, though, Wales are again penalised inside the visitors’ 22. Having madke the hard yards the ball was just too slow, that, combined with good England defence, means Wales again visit the 22 without earning any points.

This time Wales win a penalty at the scrum, Francis getting the better of Genge. Owen Williams kicks for touch. From the line out the hosts move the ball in field, they get quick ball and flirt with getting into the England 22. After 10 phases Wales aren’t making huge ground. Wales are being patient, however,  and through the pace of Rees-Zammit they finally get into the England 22. But after 20 phases they are penalised for holding on. Visits to the Scotland 22 without scoring cost the Welsh dear two weeks ago and it could well cost them here too.

Freddie Steward has been impressive under the high ball as he again collects a box kick from Williams. The Wales kicking game continues to be poor, they keep kicking to the best full-back under the high ball in world rugby – it’s not that hard…

England decide to go for the posts but Farrell pushes his kick wide from about 34 yards out from the right-hand side of the posts. That was poor from the fly-half.

An England knock-on gives the Welsh a scrum – this is verging on becoming a bit of scrappy affair. From the set piece England get the penalty, good sign for the visitors, worrying for the hosts as Genge gets the better of Francis.

England decide to kick for touch and from the resulting line out Alun-Wyn Jones steals the ball. But England soo have possession and Van Poortvliet puts in a box kick that Wales deal with well. The kicking from hand hasn’t been great from either side so far.

Slade kicks long and Halfpenny collects and makes yards into the England half. The Welsh win a penalty and instead of going for goal Tomos Williams taps and goes. There might well in an inquiry as to why they didn’t go for goal as the hosts are penalised for holding on and it’s a penalty for England.

This is a great try from the visitors.

Wales 3-8 England

They haven’t been in the game but they are on the scoreboard after an England error from the restart gifts a penalty to the hosts. Halfpenny makes no mistake and it’s a five-point match.

Wales 0-8 England

England have dominated so far and get the try they deserve. Lawrence barges another hole in the midfield, after a great inside ball from Farrell to Malins opens Wales up. England get get ball away quickly and from the moment the ball leaves the ruck and is moved left a try is on. The visitors show a good set of hands as Watson scores in the left corner. Farrell hits the upright from the conversion and it’s 8-0 rather than 10-0.

England are winning the aerial battle at the moment as the Wales kicking is less than impressive. All the play has been in the Wales half and the hosts, if they are as it seems, are going to kick a lot they need to do more than kick aimlessly.

Line out for England inside the Wales half. From the set piece the visitors set up the Lawrence crash ball, they are moving the ball through the hands and the hosts defence holds up well.

It’s clear Wales are only going to play in the England half, they’re being cagey in possession when in their half. There’s a bit of kick tennis as a result and it’s a bit monotonous.

Wales 0-3 England

England have had all the pressure so far and win a penalty as Wales are penalised at the breakdown. The hosts decide to go for the points and Farrell slots home from hear the halfway line. A deserved early lead for Borthwick’s side.

From the scrum the Welsh move the ball wide before Grady stabs the ball through conceding possession in the process. Gareth Thomas, meanwhile, has hurt himself as he tackled Chessum.

This is a breathless passage of play that comes to an end that’s to great Welsh defence forcing the knock-on.

England are in the Wales half a moving through the phases with some slick handling. After eight phases Faletau turns the ball over and that’s great work from the No 8.

Scrum for Wales and the hosts are penalised for early engagement. England have a free-kick and that is wasteful from the hosts. They need parity up front to have a chance here.

Van Poortvliet kicks into touch. From the line out Owen Williams puts up a huge up and under which Steward deals with well. From there Wales, the form of Faletau, charge down a Farrell kick and the No 8 is very nearly in as the England full-back is again called into action.

The roof is open but it doesn’t seem to have dimmed the atmosphere as play gets under way in Cardiff.

And after a minute’s silence marking the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine we have the national anthems. God Save the King comes before Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, otherwise known as Land of my Fathers. It’s one of the great national anthems and would, you suspect, easily make the semis in any National Anthem World Cup.

Enter Sandman playing as the Prince and Princess of Wales take their seats at the Peincipality Stadium. Not sure whether that was a coincidence or not.

So during the action get your queries into us in the comments section below.

Steve Borthwick, Kevin Sinfield and the rest of the England set-up have talked a great deal about the value of Courtney Lawes. The other day, Owen Farrell explained that his vice-captain is particularly valuable when it comes to staying level-headed after errors on the field. Another, more primitive, advantage, which is apparent from watching the warm-ups, is that Lawes is pretty imposing. You would probably walk taller next to the 34-year-old. Whenever he comes off the bench, Lawes is sure to boost England.

Maro Itoje has played in a number of England vs Wales games and he certainly enjoys playing at the Principality.

Ollie Lawrence looks ready and raring to go. Just 20 minutes until kick-off.

England Head Coach Steve Borthwick has admitted his side need to be conditioned better going forward but acknowledges that it will take time.

“If it was as straightforward as one thing, it would be brilliant. There are different aspects.

“The conditioning, to get conditioned to how we want to play, because it is different to how it’s been done previously.

“It’s different to players from different clubs. So I think there is a condition aspect, that is going to come with time. You can’t fix that quickly, all you can do is keep training at the intensity required, ready for the Test matches.

“I think there were some things tactically as well that we needed to adjust in both games so we have looked at those closely, to make sure we are tactically smarter and also conditioned better.

After a tumultuous week for Welsh rugby, the team have arrived at the Principality ready to take on England.

England captain Owen Farrell leading his men into the changing rooms at the Principality for this afternoon’s huge game.

A reminder that Steve Borthwick has requested the Principality Stadium’s roof to remain open.

Telegraph Sport revealed this week that England asked for the roof to be open while strike talks between the Welsh Rugby Union and the Wales players were ongoing at the Vale Resort on Wednesday.

After riding out that contractual storm, Warren Gatland played ball with more traditional pre-match rivalries, suggesting that England had not done their homework and that his side have a better win record when the roof is open.

“They’ve asked for the roof to be open so it’s open. We’d have preferred for it to be closed so whether that dampens down the atmosphere a little, I’m not sure. The ironic thing is that when you look at the numbers, we’ve a better win record than when it’s closed. I don’t know if they have done their homework on that.

“The crowd is massive and the focus is on starting better and keeping the crowd involved. I don’t think the roof is going to make a huge amount of difference. Obviously [England] do. If they had looked at the percentage when it is open to when it is closed, they would probably have decided to close it.”

While we count down to kick-off, watch some of the most iconic moments from a fixture steeped in history…

England XV: F Steward (Leicester Tigers); M Malins (Saracens), H Slade (Exeter Chiefs), O Lawrence (Bath), A Watson (Leicester Tigers); O Farrell (Saracens), J van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers); E Genge (Bristol Bears), J George (Saracens), K Sinckler (Bristol Bears); M Itoje (Saracens), O Chessum (Leicester Tigers); L Ludlam (Northampton Saints), J Willis (Toulouse), A Dombrandt (Harlequins).

Replacements: J Walker (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), B Curry (Sale Sharks), A Mitchell (Northampton Saints), M Smith (Harlequins), H Arundell (London Irish).

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Wales XV: L Halfpenny (Scarlets); J Adams (Cardiff), M Grady (Cardiff), J Hawkins (Ospreys), L Rees-Zammit (Gloucester); O Williams (Ospreys), T Williams (Cardiff); G Thomas (Ospreys), K Owens (Scarlets), T Francis (Ospreys); A Beard (Ospreys), A Wyn Jones (Ospreys); C Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs), J Tipuric (Ospreys), T Faletau (Cardiff).

Replacements: B Roberts (Dragons), R Carre (Cardiff), D Lewis (Cardiff), D Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs), T Reffell (Leicester Tigers), K Hardy (Scarlets), D Biggar (Toulon), N Tompkins (Saracens).

As preparation for a huge match goes it’s fair to say Wales’ build up for today’s match against England has been far from perfect. That’s putting it mildly, of course, as the very-real threat of a player strike over contract issues was only withdrawn on Wednesday.

Wales captain Ken Owens described the preparation as ‘horrendous’ and coach Warren Gatland said in his exclusive Telegraph Sport column that it had been the ‘toughest week of his coaching career’.

But if anything can galvanise Wales and make them put their off-field troubles to one side it’s a home match against England. And Owens hopes that, for 80 minutes at least, the side can come together as they go in search of their first win of this year’s tournament.

“It has been an horrendous two weeks,” said Owens. “We need to focus on getting a result to put some pride back into the shirt, and trying to finish this saga on a positive.

“There were a lot of tough conversations and meetings, everyone voiced their opinion and everyone backed the decision that the team and the squad have made,” Owens added. “It has definitely galvanised us and that has shown the unity of the actions that were taken.

“It [the strike threat] was a last resort and the frustrations that have built up over a year, not just the last six weeks, brought it to this.

“The squad has come together and I’m sure you will see that on Saturday.”

Such has been the run up to the match, and the fact that Wales have been far from impressive in this year’s tournament so far, that few give them much of a chance of victory today.

Steve Borthwick, however, is well aware that Wales will provide a stern test of his England side.

“We know this is an incredible challenge, because Wales have got Test caps galore. We are going to have to be very, very good.” the England coach said.

Regardless of the far-from-ideal build up one thing is for sure – this is a meeting of two sides who need to win today. England have won four of their past 12 Tests. Of their past 13, Wales have won three.

“For both of us, this game is absolutely massive,” said Gatland, who has never lost three matches in a row in the same Six Nations. Stay here for all the pre-match build up and action from Cardiff.