Wales ready to dazzle England

Coach Mike Ruddock has promised Wales fans his team of crowd-pleasers will have them purring with delight against England. Wales are without seven Grand Slam winners for the eagerly awaited opening RBS Six Nations clash, but Ruddock says it will still be “just like watching Brazil” when the defending champions strut their stuff at rugby’s HQ.

“Everyone knows the injury problems we’ve had but I still think we can play some pretty sexy rugby,” Ruddock said. “We’ve always given our players a licence to thrill and the freedom to express themselves. We want to play some rugby and excite people.

“That’s what we’re about and we’re certainly at our best when we’ve got the ball in our hands. This team can still do that.”

Skills Coach Scott Johnson added: “Yes, we’ve got a few new guys but Brazil don’t change their style of football so why should we change? In fact, we’re just going to get better.

“England are a talented team and are very good at what they do. But we’ve shown that rugby can be played in a different way.”

Wales have not won at Twickenham since Adrian Hadley’s two tries inspired their 11-3 triumph in 1988. In team news, Cardiff Blues fly-half Nicky Robinson has replaced the injured Ceri Sweeney on the Wales bench, while England coach Andy Robinson has resisted the temptation of rushing former skipper Lawrence Dallaglio straight back into the starting XV, preferring to start him on the bench.