Dafydd Jenkins has highlighted the enormity of victory at Twickenham if Wales can end their long wait for a Six Nations away win against England.
It has only happened twice since the tournament began 24 years ago, with Exeter lock Jenkins bidding to emulate previous Wales captains Ryan Jones (2008) and Sam Warburton (2012) in toppling England on home soil.
Jenkins, the youngest Wales skipper since Sir Gareth Edwards in 1968, was a junior school pupil when Scott Williams’ late try secured a Triple Crown triumph at Twickenham during the 2012 campaign.
And he is geared up for a huge effort on Saturday after Wales showed glimpses of their potential via a spectacular second-half fightback against Scotland last weekend, even if they ultimately lost by a point from 27-0 behind.
“I wouldn’t say it is like any other game, because England and Wales is special,” Jenkins, 21, said.
“There’s massive history behind the game. It’s a must-win game for us because of the place we are in the tournament.
“It’ll be the best place to win. For a Welshman, there is no better place. If you win over there, you gain a lot of respect from them. It’s huge for us.
“There were a lot of emotions at half-time last week. We felt like we were letting a lot of people down.
“We did well to nearly get ourselves out of the hole but we didn’t. Hopefully, we won’t put ourselves in that position again.
“We definitely felt like we grew in terms of the performance – a lot of people stepped up in the second-half.”
While Wales victories are rare in the professional era at Twickenham, head coach Warren Gatland bucks the trend.
He was Wales boss in 2008 and 2012 and masterminded a 2015 World Cup win, while he also won a hat-trick of Premiership titles with Wasps, in addition to the club’s 2004 European Cup final success.
Gatland said: “We need to start a lot better than last week. We need to reduce the amount of turnovers.
“The second-half was reflective of how we played against Australia in the World Cup (Wales won 40-6), with a 10 or 11 per cent turnover rate. That makes a huge difference.
“A number of those things were in our own control, with penalties or lineouts that we weren’t accurate enough. We have worked hard this week in trying to rectify these things.”
Central to Wales’ victory bid will be fly-half Ioan Lloyd, who makes his first Wales start after three appearances off the bench in three years.
With Sam Costelow injured and Dan Biggar having retired from Test rugby, 22-year-old Lloyd now steps up for the biggest game of his life.
“We can see what a quality footballer and running threat he is,” Gatland added.
“He probably realises there is less space and not so many opportunities as a running threat at Test level. It maybe only happens once or twice a half.
“His game management is pretty important. Also, his communication with his outside backs and forwards, scanning and seeing what options are on.
“He is an instinctive player, so we need to allow him that opportunity to express himself, but it is also him being smart and saying that it’s not forcing it and not going after things when there isn’t that chance.”
Steward and Van Poortvleit among England changes for Springboks Test
Freddie Steward and Jack van Poortvliet will return for England on Saturday, with Steve Borthwick making four changes against South Africa.
England were unchanged for their narrow defeats against New Zealand and Australia, but the Leicester pair, who were not included in the squad for either of those matches, come straight in to replace George Furbank and Ben Spencer.
Ollie Sleightholme scored his first international tries in the defeat to Australia and is rewarded with a maiden Test start in place of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, while Sam Underhill comes in for Tom Curry, with both players missing due to head injuries.
England have lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018.
"We're excited to challenge ourselves against the world's top-ranked team and back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions," Borthwick said.
"Test matches against South Africa are always thrilling contests, and I'm sure Saturday will be no exception."
Meanwhile, South Africa have made 12 changes to their starting XV from their 32-15 win over Scotland on Sunday.
Captain Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit return in the back row, while Cheslin Kobe is also named in the side.
The world champions have got a more balanced look to their bench this time around though, with coach Rassie Erasmus opting not to name seven forwards among the replacements this time around.
England squad in full:
Freddie Steward, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme, Marcus Smith, Jack van Poortvliet, Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Tom Roebuck.
South Africa squad in full:
Alphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian De Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Maine Libbok, Grant Williams, Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Wilco Loux, Eben Etzebeth, RG Snyman, Siya Kolisi (captain), Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Jasper Wiese.
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith, Cobus Reinach, Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo Am.
Healy in line to equal Ireland cap record versus Argentina
Cian Healy is set to equal Brian O'Driscoll's Ireland cap record when they face New Zealand in Friday's autumn international in Dublin.
The 37-year-old prop has represented his country on 132 occasions and, after being named on the bench, will equal O'Driscoll's mark if introduced versus the Pumas.
Ireland suffered their first home defeat since 2021 last time out, going down by a 23-13 scoreline against New Zealand.
Despite that loss, head coach Andy Farrell has only made one change to Ireland's starting lineup, bringing Robbie Henshaw in at inside centre in place of Bundee Aki.
Argentina also named their team on Wednesday, with vice-captain Pablo Matera, Guido Petti and Matias Moroni replacing Santiago Grondona, Franco Molina and Matias Orlando.
Ireland team: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Peter O'Mahony, Craig Casey, Sam Prendergast, Jamie Osborne.
Argentina team: Juan Cruz Mallia; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Matias Moroni, Bautista Delguy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Bertranou; Thomas Gallo, Julian Montoya, Joel Sclavi; Guido Petti, Pedro Rubiolo; Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo.
Replacements: Ignacio Ruiz, Ignacio Calles, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Franco Molina, Santiago Grondona, Gonzalo Garcia, Santiago Carreras, Justo Piccardo.
Pressure to win for England is a 'privilege', says Wigglesworth
Senior England coach Richard Wigglesworth believes that the pressure to win matches is part of the privilege of playing for the national team.
England face world champions South Africa at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday with displeasure growing after four straight defeats.
Included in that run were narrow losses in their first two Autumn Nations Series games against New Zealand and Australia.
Though England have won three of their last four games against South Africa at Allianz Stadium, Wigglesworth insisted everyone within the squad wants to improve.
"This job of being part of the England team is such a privilege, because so many people care, which makes your feeling on the matter really big," Wigglesworth told BBC Sport.
"Our job is to step back from that and see what was right, what was wrong, and what can we fix.
"We need to see the game for what it is, make the decisions for what they are, and get better every week.
"It is our job to make sure the players understand as much as they can that they can’t get affected by that as well.
"We know the attention the team gets is result-dependent, and rightly so."
The last time England and South Africa faced one another was in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in 2023, in which the Springboks came back from 15-6 down to win 16-15.
England will have to be wise to how the visitors have evolved since that game according to Wigglesworth.
"They have a squad and a plan they have done for a while, and when you are successful you tend to stick to things," he said.
"I have really enjoyed watching what they do, and how they do it. It is our job to meet that and rise to it."
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