It doesn’t come much bigger than Wales against England and Saturday’s Six Nations clash at Twickenham has taken on a whole different dimension following the opening matches of this year’s Six Nations.

Wales’ startling 34-7 destruction of hyped up Scotland at the Principality Stadium means interest is already at fever-pitch.

Coach Warren Gatland is talking up taking on Eddie Jones’ England, drawing parallels with Wales’ Six Nations clean sweeps of 2008 and 2012.

“When we have done the two Grand Slams this is the draw that we have done it in,” declared Gatland.

But, despite his confidence, he will still be unable to call on a number of his stars through injury for a showdown with opponents who have lost just one of their last 25 fixtures.

England are bidding to make history by becoming the first country to win three outright European titles in a row and began their campaign with a 46-15 victory over Italy in Rome.

The final scoreline flattered them with there being just seven points in it at half-time but they still crossed the whitewash seven times despite rarely engaging top gear.

One thing is certain, there won’t be any holding anything back at Twickenham from England or Wales with the ferocity and intensity likely to be in a different stratosphere to their opening rubbers.

So something has to give at English rugby headquarters. Rugby Correspondent Andy Howell cuts through the hype and focuses on the areas where the Battle of Britain will be won.

BACK-THREE EXPERIENCE

Gatland and Jones will both be considering whether to stick or twist.

Do Wales keep Test rookies Josh Adams and Steff Evans on the wings either side of full-back Leigh Halfpenny or bring back either George North, Liam Williams or both?

England could rejig their back-three with Jack Nowell coming in on the wing for Jonny May or at the expense of Mike Brown with Anthony Watson switching to full-back.

It would be a massive gamble for Wales to pick both North and Williams with so little rugby under their belts, especially with the shifts Evans and Adams put in against Scotland.

Left to right: Steff Evans, Leigh Halfpenny and Josh Adams

Evans buzzed around the pitch and produced a sensational one-handed finish for his try while Adams never put a foot wrong in defence, which will be so important at Twickenham.

But you can’t hide from the fact England will have experience over Evans and Adams, and match sharpness over North, who has started once at club level since last October, and Williams, who has played once since going off injured during November’s squeak with Georgia.

Watson is a top player who has given Wales major problems in the past, Brown is a dangerous runner, Nowell turns up anywhere and is a handful while May has pace to burn.

Verdict: It doesn’t matter who Gatland picks, England are going to have an advantage despite being twice exposed out wide by long passes after Italy created overlaps in Rome.

CENTRE SUPREMACY

Wales will stick with Welsh-qualified Kiwi Hadleigh Parkes and Scott Williams in midfield but England could make a change with Jonathan Joseph a possible starter at outside-centre instead of Ben Te’o.

Joseph, like his Bath pal Watson, has shone against Wales in the past and his footwork and knack of making outside breaks could pose more of a threat than the straight-running of his rival for the No.13 jersey.

Gatland and his defence guru Shaun Edwards, whose strategy forced Scotland into mistakes, may prefer Wales to face England’s ‘Jamie Roberts’ Te’o rather than the uncertainty and chaos Joseph can provoke.

Wales will have their own attacking plans and are likely to use Parkes, who does the basics so well, and Williams to run hard at the channel occupied by England No.12 Owen Farrell and outside-half George Ford.

Verdict: This is potentially an intriguing duel with Wales having to stop Farrell from putting runners into gaps while offering a threat themselves with the ball. Being realistic, England have a slight edge.

HALF-BACK TACTICIANS

England suffered a major blow when Ben Youngs was stretchered off in Rome with a painful knee injury because his deputy Danny Care isn’t as good a starter as he is a finisher.

Jones has stuck by Ford as his primary play-maker and he’s formed an impressive axis with Farrell but can blow hot and cold and be put off his game.

Rhys Patchell will certainly test the defensive mettle of Ford and oozed with confidence during his first start for Wales at No.10, being a natural rugby player who seems to have time on the ball.

Gareth Davies beats Chris Harris to score Wales' opening try against Scotland
Gareth Davies beats Chris Harris to score Wales' opening try against Scotland

And Gareth Davies is the form scrum-half in the northern hemisphere with a try count to match, his 10 strikes since the start of the 2015 World Cup being the highest in Test rugby.

His game has prospered from having more balance to it and he will be a player England know all about after his touchdown against them in the global showpiece put the bumbling hosts on the road to an early exit.

Verdict: Providing Davies continues to show restraint and pick the right moments to snipe, and the Wales forwards can provide a platform, the Wales half-backs have the skill, speed and strength to do some damage.

SCRUMMAGING POWER

Wales’ front-row of Rob Evans, Ken Owens and Samson Lee will fancy their chances of getting stuck into Mako Vunipola, Dylan Hartley and Dan Cole in the tight.

In fairness to Hartley, who’s been retained by Jones as his captain despite having Lions Test hooker Jamie George at his disposal, he showed better form against Italy.

Vunipola and Cole both won penalties at the scrum with the latter having a major impact during some key moments when Italy were pressing for points.

England's Dan Cole

Wales didn’t have any problems at the scrum against Scotland, with strongman Samson having recently produced his best form since rupturing an Achilles’ tendon against Ireland three years ago.

Owens is a better player than Hartley while the passing skills of Evans are as good as those of Vunipola although the latter may pack a bit more punch as a ball-carrier.

Verdict: There’s certainly nothing to fear for the Welsh trio and they have the power to provide a stable platform for the other pieces of Gatland’s game-plan to have a chance of coming together.

BATTLE OF THE BOILERHOUSE

Wales' Cory Hill (centre) in action
Wales' Cory Hill (centre) in action

Alun Wyn Jones and Maro Itoje were the Lions pairing for the final two Tests of the Lions tour and are rightly acclaimed as two of the best lock forwards in the world.

It can be argued they cancel each other out but Jones has significant cards up his sleeve in being spoilt for choice when it comes to second-row.

Whether he retains Joe Launchbury, who rarely seems to have an off-day against Wales, recalls George Kruis or switches Courtney Lawes from the back-row, they will have a heavyweight and dangerous unit.

Unless Gatland goes for a like for like player and starts with Bradley Davies, Wales will have a different type of player in footballing lock Cory Hill.

He may play for an unfashionable team in the Dragons but Hill is a skilled modern-day forward with vision and a high work-rate.

Verdict: Sheer size and power in this department means England hold the aces despite the presence of Alun Wyn as Wales skipper.

SCAVENGING AT THE BREAKDOWN

This facet is hard to call with the possibility that England will makes changes to their back-row despite a two-try Six Nations debut from Sam Simmonds.

The No.8 isn’t tall but he’s lightening off the mark, making six breaks and 23 tackles against Italy to be voted England fans’ man of the match.

Chris Robshaw put in a massive shift at flanker but Lawes didn’t look entirely comfortable out of position on the blindside.

Aaron Shingler carries against Scotland

Wales wing forwards Aaron Shingler, who was official man of the match, and Josh Navidi were in fine fettle against Scotland as they continued where they’d left off last autumn’s Test with South Africa.

And Ross Moriarty will benefit from getting another game under his belt following his recent recovery from the back problem he picked up in New Zealand last June.

Verdict: Wales have a good record against England at the breakdown under Gatland and can gain an edge if the front-five manage to lay the platform for Navidi and Shingler to get in on the ball first.

GOAL-KICKING EXPERTISE

England's Owen Farrell (left) and Wales' Leigh Halfpenny

There’s generally no problems on this score for Wales or England with Halfpenny and Farrell being two of the best marksmen in union.

Halfpenny was at his flawless best against Scotland, converting all four tries and succeeding with his two penalty attempts, dissecting the target from all angles.

Farrell had a bit of an off-day in Rome, missing kicks with his success rate only being 62%.

Verdict: Halfpenny got his mojo back against Scotland and his confidence blossomed with his accuracy from the kicking tee extraordinary. If it comes down to a shoot-out between him and Farrell, my money’s on Halfpenny.

BIG MATCH VERDICT

Owen Farrell hugs Elliot Daly after the wing scored a late try to give England victory over Wales in the 2017 Six Nations

When you take into account the number of players on their injured list, Wales have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

There’s some pressure on them but the real heat is on Six Nations favourites England with Red Rose supporters bullishly expected another title under colourful Australian Eddie Jones.

But Wales can’t be totally discounted because this is another chance for the fringe players who have replaced the injured big names to prove they should be first-choice picks.

Nevertheless, England have a stunning record on Jones’ watch and their extra strength in depth means they’re likely to prevail.