England v Wales: Rugby World Cup warm-up match preview, TV details and tip

TV: Sky Sports Action, 3pm Sunday

It's only a warm-up this time but mention England v Wales at Twickenham in the same breath as the Rugby World Cup and thoughts immediately go back to that costly 28-25 defeat England suffered in the 2015 tournament.

Hosts England were just 1-3 and nine-point handicap favourites that day and were leading 25-18 with ten minutes to go, but defeat, followed by a loss to Australia the following week, dumped them out of their own World Cup.

There are seven players in the Wales starting line-up who were involved in that match four years ago, plus Dan Biggar on the bench, as Warren Gatland names a highly experienced side to take on an England outfit with an experimental feel.

Scrum half Willi Heinz is one of two debutants in the starting 15, along with flanker Lewis Ludlam, while there are two more uncapped players on the bench and bookmakers can barely split the sides.

England open their World Cup campaign with two matches in the space of five days so coach Eddie Jones knows he must test all his squad options, but whether he'd be prepared to concede a defeat at Twickenham in order to achieve that aim is another matter.

Grand Slam champions Wales, though, are sitting on a run of 14 consecutive victories and while it may be asking too much for them to keep that record intact through four warm-up matches, they look the more likely winners given the experience and continuity in their line-up, headlined by skipper Alun-Wyn Jones earning his 126th cap.

Gatland also sticks with the same backline who started the 21-13 Six Nations victory over England in February and Wales can keep their sequence going.

Six of the last seven competitive meetings have been settled by a single-figure margin and it's 23-10 that Wales edge it again by no more than ten.

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