Wales boss Warren Gatland says that Twickenham is a stadium he has “loved going to” and does not find the home of English rugby an intimidating venue.
Wales have lost on their last seven Twickenham visits, while it is 12 years since they won a Six Nations game there.
Gatland’s record, though, is impressive, masterminding a European Cup and three Premiership final victories there with Wasps, in addition to memorable Wales triumphs in the 2008 and 2012 Six Nations tournaments, plus a 2015 World Cup win.
Saturday’s Six Nations encounter is also England’s first appearance at Twickenham since Fiji beat them in a World Cup warm-up game last summer and Steve Borthwick’s team were booed off.
“The first four times I went there, we won – three Premiership finals and a Heineken Cup final. I don’t find it intimidating at all!” Gatland said.
“It is great when you come in through the gates and everyone is outside and you’ve got the fans there. It is a great stadium to enter.
“I love the atmosphere, and it is even more special if you can walk away with a win. That is not easy to do.
“It is a stadium that I have loved going to. For me, it doesn’t hold any trepidation.
“For us, it is about starting well and stopping the crowd singing ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’ too early. Silence them a bit – that becomes an important factor.”
Wales launched their Six Nations campaign with a 27-26 home defeat against Scotland, although they scored 26 unanswered points and threatened a record tournament fightback.
Gatland has made seven changes from that match, including selecting a new front-row, while centre George North returns from injury for his 50th Six Nations appearance and Ioan Lloyd makes a first Wales start as fly-half.
England were tested by Italy in Rome before securing a 27-24 win in their opener, and Borthwick has named an unchanged team, with Cardiff-born Exeter wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso again among the Red Rose substitutes.
Pre-Six Nations speculation proved intense about where Feyi-Waboso’s international future could lie – England or Wales.
Asked if Feyi-Waboso’s selection provided any added spice this weekend, Gatland gave an emphatic response, adding: “We haven’t even spoken about him.
“No, it doesn’t add any extra spice. None of our tactics have mentioned his name or anything.
“There are a lot of players from both countries who are dual-qualified. Good luck to him. I hope things go well for him.
“I think it is two teams going through similar transitions in terms of the squad. It is a great game, it is the tradition and the history of it.
“From my experience, seeing the players interact afterwards and seeing players on Lions tours, everyone talks about hating the English, but I have always seen just how close the Welsh and English players get on.
“That is something I am looking forward to, the respect I have, too. I had a great four years in London – I loved my time there and coached some great players. I go there really looking forward to the challenge.”
North is the only player in Gatland’s matchday 23 to have featured in a successful Wales team at Twickenham, and with 119 caps, he has more than twice as many as any of his team-mates on Saturday.
“I think his 50th game in the Six Nations is a fantastic achievement,” Gatland said.
“What he brings to the squad is that experience, calmness and a voice. He communicates really well with the group and is really well respected.
“I think he’s still got a few more years left in him as well. He has had his ups and downs with injury as well, but he looks in pretty good nick.
“I just hope that (midfield) combination with him and Nick (Tompkins) can flourish like it did in the World Cup.”
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
England 'banging on the door' of rugby's elite, says proud Borthwick
Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.
England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.
Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.
England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.
But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.
Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.
Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.
"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
England aiming to be one of 'world's best' teams, says Earl
England have aspirations of greatness, asserted Ben Earl as he prepares to face New Zealand in a friendly at Twickenham.
The 26-year-old was optimistic about the progress England had made under Steve Borthwick despite registering two losses at the hands of the All Blacks in July.
England will be seeking revenge after losing the second match of the test in a devastatingly close 16-15 defeat. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had scored a try to put England ahead after scores had been tied 10-10 at half-time, but two penalty kicks from Damian McKenzie ended their hopes.
Earl, however, believes the heartbreak has given his country an opportunity to develop.
“I think it’s an experience all the big teams go through, you have to go through some heartache to get over the line,” he told TNT Sports.
“It just feels like it’s the evolution of all the top teams, and we are a team that wants to be known as a great team, some of the world’s best.
“So we know the heartache is good for a while, but it’s time to go and do it at the right time. We got a glimpse of it against Ireland last year, and we feel we are due one, and we have learnt some really hard lessons over the summer, so we feel we are in a better place for it.
“We have always said you don’t win easily against us and that’s something we have developed over the last 18 months with Steve’s mindset and the boys getting hold of it, and now I feel it’s time to get over the line in one of these big games.”
New Zealand have won their last three matches, having defeated Japan and secured a double over Australia. They struggled against reigning world champions South Africa, however, as they failed to exact revenge on the Springboks in late summer tests falling to defeat twice.
Undoubtedly, the All Blacks still represent some of the best talent in the world, with Earl expected to line up opposite New Zealand’s superstar Wallace Sititi.
“There’s stardust littered all over the pitch isn’t there? There’s some pretty cool match-ups; it just feels like a game that isn’t going to disappoint,” he said.
England won’t be overawed, though. Instead, they aim to make their west London home a fortress for visiting sides to travel to.
“[Twickenham is] a place where we want to be really, really hard to beat. And we’ve always said in the camp, if you want to beat us at Twickenham you are going to have to be over and above the norm,” Earl said.
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