Six Nations 2018: Wales looking to defy the odds to overcome injury crisis and leave England stunned once again

Warren Gatland cannot call on six British and Irish Lions players and could lose a seventh after Leigh Halfpenny was struck down by illness, but that hasn't knocked his confidence one bit

Gatland is looking to repeat Wales' 2015 victory over England at Twickenham (Getty)

No Sam Warburton, no Taulupe Faletau. Rhys Webb and Dan Biggar, they’re missing too, as is Jonathan Davies and Liam Williams. That’s six British and Irish Lions players unavailable for Wales Rugby through injury, and even George North is only fit enough for a place among the replacements.

Perhaps it’s testament to the number of exceptional players that Wales have produced of late that Warren Gatland has still named four Lions in his starting XV with captain Alun Wyn Jones joined by Ken Owens, Ross Moriarty and Leigh Halfpenny – himself a doubt due to illness - but without six certain starters, surely Wales can’t repeat their incredible Rugby World Cup victory over England at Twickenham of three years ago?

On that occasion, a depleted Wales finished the match with a disjointed back line that featured Saturday’s starting scrum-half, Gareth Davis, on the wing. It was Davies that scored the match-winning try, and in effect triggered the decisive defeat that cost Stuart Lancaster his job – one the defeat by Australia confirmed England’s exit – brought the arrival of Eddie Jones and started England’s most dominant run of results in their history.

The way that the Wales camp have spoken this week though and the way that they dispatched Scotland so comfortably last week, you get the impression that they truly believe that they can repeat that victory at the home of English rugby.

Jones though has no such ideas.

“I think they [Wales] played well, and they are definitely confident and cocky. They definitely believe in the way they are playing, but it will be different on Saturday in front of 82,000 people at Twickenham. Those 82,000 have been great supporters for us in the past and will be great for us on Saturday.

“We are hoping that those 82,000 people have the best prevention that they can as supporters – they will make a hell of a difference. And young guys like [Rhys] Patchell playing in front of that crowd with boys like [Sam] Simmonds and [Chris] Robshaw and [Owen] Farrell running at him, it will be one hell of an experience for the kid. So I hope he has the bottle on Saturday.”

It’s these comments about Patchell that have caused so much controversy in the lead up until kick-off. The Australian also went after the Wales captain, Alun Wyn Jones, but at 32 years old and 114 Test caps for his country, the veteran lock is not one to be easily intimidated. Neither is Patchell by the looks of it – and he actually has two more caps than England’s young back-rower Simmonds – and if the fly-half’s performance for the Scarlets last month in completely unravelling Bath in the European Champions Cup is anything to go by, his “bottle” is just fine.

But it’s very possible that Jones’s comments were more for display than effect, as the message that came from one of his more experienced players in Courtney Lawes was very different. “He’s [Patchell’s] a good player. He’s quick and he’s got some skills but as a team we’ll put him under pressure and make it very difficult for him.”

Lawes added: “We’re hunting Wales this week. It honestly doesn’t matter who is running down my channel or who is in front of me, I’m there to do my job and make an effective tackle.

“Getting after is the wrong word. I’m not going to fly out of the line and try to make a difference myself. That’s not what the team needs from me. We’re going to get off the line and hunt Wales as a team.”

Courtney Lawes insists England are hunting Wales, not Rhys Patchell (Getty)

That was the plan three years ago too, but Wales somehow found a way to claw their way back into the fight and snatch on of the most stunning victories seen at Twickenham. That said, their injury problems that day were nowhere near as bad as they are this weekend, and if Gatland can once again construct the downfall of English rugby, it may just be their biggest victory yet over their noisy rivals.