THE FUSE

England and Wales will renew a 145-year rivalry when they face each other in their opening Six Nations game at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on Saturday.

Under Steve Borthwick, England are Six Nations title contenders as they chase their first title since 2020 and a first Grand Slam in 10 years.

Wales head coach Steve Tandy is preparing for his first tournament in charge with his nation chasing a first Six Nations victory in almost three years.

The match kicks off at 16:40 GMT and there will be live audio commentary on BBC Sounds via BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru.

The commentary will also be available on the BBC Sport website where you can follow blow-by-blow action with our live text commentary.

The match is being televised on ITV1 and S4C.

For all the build-up and analysis, follow the rugby union section on the BBC Sport website.

A confident and settled England side named their team on Monday.

England will play a Six Nations match without lock Maro Itoje on the pitch for the first time in seven years after the captain was named on the bench.

Itoje has been ever-present for England in the tournament since the start of 2020, playing all 80 minutes in 30 successive matches.

The British and Irish Lions lock missed the start of England's preparations for the tournament in Girona to attend the funeral of his mother Florence in Nigeria.

Northampton duo Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman have won the race to start at centres, while Bath wing Henry Arundell makes his first start since the 2023 World Cup.

Wales will wait until the more traditional Thursday slot to unveil Tandy's first Six Nations squad.

England: Freddie Steward; Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall, Henry Arundell; George Ford, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (capt), Joe Heyes, Alex Coles, Ollie Chessum, Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Bevan Rodd, Trevor Davison, Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock, Ben Spencer, Marcus Smith.

Wales: tbc

Replacements: tbc

French referee Pierre Brousset will be the man in the middle and will be assisted by Australian Nic Berry and South African Morné Ferreira.

Frenchman Tual Trainini is the television match official (TMO), with Australian Brett Cronan in charge of the foul play review process (FPRO).

The two sides are coming into the current tournament with contrasting fortunes.

England have won their past 11 internationals, including four victories in the autumn campaign, which has lifted them to third in the world.

In contrast, Wales have lost 21 out of 23 internationals with the only victories against Japan in Kobe and Cardiff in 2025.

The run of defeats included an unprecedented 18-match successive Test losing sequence and record home losses against England (68-14), Argentina (52-26) and South Africa (73-0).

Wales have not won a Six Nations match since March 2023 against Italy in Rome, with the record of 11 successive defeats resulting in two winless tournaments where they have picked up consecutive wooden spoons for finishing bottom of the table.

The first meeting between the two nations was played in 1881 at Blackheath's Richardson's Field, which England won.

There have been 143 games with 70 wins for England, 61 victories for Wales and 12 draws.

The two sides last faced each other in Cardiff in March 2025 when England humbled their hosts with a 10-try victory.

Wales have not won in the Six Nations at Twickenham since 2012 when a Scott Williams try clinched the Triple Crown.

The previous victory for Wales at England's home came in the 2015 World Cup when Dan Biggar kicked the winning penalty.