Dylan Hartley and Sam Warburton
Hartley and Warburton are within touching distance of getting their hands on the Six Nations title. Getty Images

England and Wales clash at Twickenham in a pivotal game that will determine the destination of the Six Nations title. Both sides are unbeaten after three rounds of matches, with Eddie Jones' side on course for the grand slam with a 100% win record.

Where to watch

England vs Wales kicks off at 4.00pm GMT on Saturday 12 March. Live coverage is available on ITV from 3.30pm and on BBC Radio 5 live.

Preview

England and Wales will be seeking to put one hand on the Six Nations title when they clash at Twickenham, in what is expected to be the defining game of this year's championship. After three rounds of matches both teams are unbeaten, with Eddie Jones' side on course for a first grand slam since 2003.

The match is a repeat of the thrilling Rugby World Cup pool match when Wales came from behind to all but send England out of their home tournament. A second straight win at Twickenham would be a significant blow to Jones' reign as England coach, which has begun with victories over Scotland, Italy and Ireland.

The encounter between the Aussie Jones and Kiwi Warren Gatland had been devoid of the verbal jousting that has often defined the build-up to these matche,s until the England man took aim at what he calls an illegal Welsh scrum. Wales' forwards coach Robin McBryde has since pointed the finger at Joe Marler and says the Harlequins man will be targeted, leaving referee Craig Joubert with a daunting task ahead.

Joe Marler
Wales have pledged to target Marler at the scrum. Getty Images

The match pits the most improve team since the World Cup against the best equipped. England carry the best form into the game – but can they cope with Wales' big match experience? Sam Warburton, George North and Gareth Davies are just some of the players who tasted victory over England six months ago, and there is little reason why they can't inflict more damage.

The subtext to this classic fixture is provided on each bench, where the contest is likely to be won or lost. England have recalled Joe Launchbury but it is Manu Tuilagi's inclusion – 21 months on from his last international appearance – that provides the most interest. For Wales, they can call upon the services of Rhys Webb who, after returning for the Ospreys, is now back to give Davies competition at scrum-half. Either man could prove the difference on a match that is likely to take place on a knife edge.

Teams:

England: 15. Mike Brown, Anthony Watson, 13. Jonathan Joseph, 12. Owen Farrell, 11. Jack Nowell, 10. George Ford, 9. Ben Youngs; 1. Joe Marler, 2. Dylan Hartley, 3. Dan Cole, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. George Kruis, 6. Chris Robshaw, 7. James Haskell, 8. Billy Vunipola.

Replacements: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Kieran Brookes, 19. Joe Launchbury, 20. Jack Clifford, 21. Danny Care, 22. Manu Tuilagi, 23. Elliot Daly.

Wales: 15. Liam Williams, 14. Alex Cuthbert, 13. Jonathan Davies, 12. Jamie Roberts, 11. George North, 10. Dan Biggar, 9. Gareth Davies; 1. Rob Evans, 2. Scott Baldwin, 3. Samson Lee, 4. Bradley Davies, 5. Alun Wyn Jones, 6. Dan Lydiate, 7. Sam Warburton (c), 8 Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: 16. Ken Owens, 17. Paul James, 18. Tomas Francis, 19. Luke Charteris, 20. Justin Tipuric, 21. Rhys Webb, 22. Rhys Priestland, 23. Gareth Anscombe.

What the coaches say

Eddie Jones: "What Wales do, they play the laws very well. I'm quite upset about the way they scrummage. They scrummage illegally. They pre-engage all the time, which is against the laws of the game. What happens in a game of rugby is that they pre-engage because they don't want the contest at the start of the scrum.

"They get penalised one or two times at the start of the scrum, but then they get sick of penalising them because if the referee keeps penalising them, then the referee gets criticised. We really want to have a scrum contest on Saturday as that's an important part of the game, so we're really hopeful the referee enforces the law in that area.

Eddie Jones and Warren Gatland
Jones ended his self-imposed media silence to send a barb the way of Wales. Getty Images

"You're not allowed to pre-engage, that's part of the law. But they do it and they consistently do it, but they only get penalised at the start of the game because if you're Wayne Barnes or Craig Joubert and you keep penalising Wales for pre-engaging, then what will all the smart guys in the commentators box say?

"They'll say the referee is ruining the game, but the referee isn't ruining the game, it's the team that is scrummaging illegally that's ruining the game. We want the referee to be really hard and if he wants to ruin the game, then he has to ruin the game."

Warren Gatland: "Eddie has brought a bit of an edge. What he has done is just expressed himself and said what he thinks. He has been honest and opinionated, and I think that's been great for the game. It sounds like the [England] players are really enjoying the environment and thriving on that.

"I get on with Eddie well. I think he's been great. He has been refreshing and he has been honest. I think when he does say something out of turn, it is important you guys [media] don't jump on him, otherwise he will clam up and stay quiet. Give him the licence to speak his mind and say what he wants to say, without actually analysing everything or making headlines out of things.

"I think both teams have got very strong defences. We pride ourselves on being able to play without the ball, and England are pretty good in that regard. We won't disappoint [the England fly-half] George Ford in terms of where we go on Saturday.

"We won't be throwing the ball all over the place, we will be pretty direct. We need to earn the right to go wide, and we've got players to get us across the advantage line, and hopefully when we do get across the advantage line we can play some pretty positive rugby."