Sir Clive Woodward thought England would wipe out Wales by more than 30 points until Manu Tuilagi’s withdrawal on Thursday night.

Woodward still thinks England will win at Twickenham today, but by a narrow margin.

writing in his MailOnline columnhe says a big performance from England is ahead, with the mobile team selection of Eddie Jones meaning they can counter Wales’ kicking game to devastating effect .

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Woodward wrote: “What a difference a day makes. Or even half a day. England had chosen a great team on Thursday morning and I was full of optimism for the opening game of the Six Nations in front of a packed house at Twickenham since hosting Wales in 2020.

“However, on Thursday night the news of Manu Tuilagi’s latest injury broke and suddenly the team immediately lost their X-factor. You could almost hear the sighs of relief in Wales.

“Many were expecting a close game but I expected England to win by 30 points or more.

“Manu was going to turn on the touch paper, but now I’m back among those expecting a much tighter game – although I still leave with a win in England.

“Wales have won two of the last three league meetings with England and scored 91 points in the process so they won’t go easy but my gut tells me England have a big performance coming their way. prepare.

“Why am I so confident? Because England have finally selected a team that can play rugby in the fast lane and score tries quickly. If they can gain momentum they can build a score quickly .”

Woodward is one of many pundits predicting an England win, with the likes of Will Greenwood, Matt Dawson and Andy Goode all confident the home side will overtake Wales.

Many Welsh pundits are also predicting an England victory, but with a much smaller margin.

Former Wales captain Sam Warburton doesn’t think a Welsh clash is impossible.

He wrote in the temperature: “If you had asked me after the defeat in Ireland, I would have said Wales had no chance, but I just loved the way they came back to bang against Scotland.

“They can do the same here. England are clear favourites, and call me crazy if you want, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Wales did really well.”

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