Wales must remember miracles are possible or the Six Nations will lose a slice of its soul
The off-field politics are toxic, Wales are on a terrible run and England are flying, but everyone needs Saturday’s game to be competitive at TwickenhamAre you a Wales fan reading this on the train to London? If so, let’s huddle in tight and try to stay positive,In round one of the Six Nations everyone starts equal,There is rain around and England have a couple of significant injuries,Steve Tandy is a capable guy and there are some talented individuals at his disposal,In this grand old championship miracles have been known to happen.
C’mon boys, believe,That red jersey still represents something special,All that history, all that fabled lineage,Gareth, Gerald, Jiffy, Alun Wyn … they’re all right with you,It’s only 80 minutes and opportunity knocks.
Under the radar is a useful place to be.And, look, it’s not even called Twickenham these days.Allianz Stadium could be anywhere.How long can we keep this going? As long as you like.Because no one on either side of the Severn Bridge fancies the grisly alternative.
The day a Welsh team turns up in south-west London without any passion, pride or attacking intent is the day the Six Nations loses a slice of its soul.Which is why even those supporters opposite wearing white shirts and drinking Guinness at 9am are also secretly hoping Saturday’s contest is competitive for at least an hour.Of course it won’t be easy.The off-field politics in Welsh rugby have become so toxic you could not blame any player for being slightly distracted.And with tens of thousands of tickets still available for Wales’s home championship games even the leek-carrying diehards are starting to vote with their feet.
It will be interesting to see how many make the pilgrimage up to London.But where were we? Ah yes.In the tunnel, shoulder to shoulder with Steve Borthwick’s lilywhites.In certain cases they are familiar faces.England’s tighthead prop Joe Heyes, for example, is about to pack down against Nicky Smith, his colleague from Leicester, and respects him immensely.
“I’m excited for that challenge because he’s a world-class scrummager,” stresses Heyes,“I’m good friends with him and Olly Cracknell so that’ll also be interesting,Sometimes you’d rather not know the people you’re playing against,But the game’s so fast you don’t even know who you’re hitting,”Tomos Williams is also a Prem regular at Gloucester and everyone rates him.
Ditto Louis Rees-Zammit at Bristol Bears,The experienced Tomas Francis, once of Exeter but now playing in Provence, is back on the bench,None of these are second-rate players who will be daunted by the occasion,If you squint hard enough into the drizzle it is just about possible to imagine a slippery ball, a couple of early English errors and Wales applying a little pressure of their own,This may also be the moment to observe that Wales’s last four visits to England, including a World Cup warm-up game in 2023, have been decided by fewer than three points apiece on average.
Two years ago it ended 16-14 and in 2022 it was 23-19,Statistically England’s 68-14 victory in Cardiff a year ago was an exception rather than the rule,Eventually, though, some less cosy realities have to be addressed,England have won their past 11 Tests and have not felt this good about themselves in ages,Over-confidence has occasionally intruded in the past but there is a different feel this time.
They know they have serious ability behind the scrum and, at long last, are not afraid to use it.Their fitness is another developing strength and there is clear danger lurking on England’s bench regardless of how fast Wales can start.Borthwick has already recognised the value in a raft of simultaneous subs a la South Africa’s “Bomb Squad” and there is every chance of Maro Itoje, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Curry and Henry Pollock rumbling on together.That’s twice as many benched British & Irish Lions as there were Welshmen in the entire original squad.The suggestion that Wales will simply look to hoof the ball high and often and seek to create a degree of havoc off the back of it could also work both ways.
As France showed against a flat-footed Ireland in Paris, a varied aerial game is vital but what matters even more is having the pace, vision and reflexes to sweep up the “crumbs” that materialise from it.In that respect England may miss Immanuel Feyi-Waboso who, had he been fit, would definitely have kept Wales guessing.Rees-Zammit, in particular, had been looking forward to renewing acquaintance with a player who was briefly a squad colleague.“He came into Wales camp for a week when he was maybe 18 but then he obviously went to the dark side and chose England,” laughed the Bristol full-back.“We could have done with him a little bit.
”Tom Roebuck, Feyi-Waboso’s fit-again replacement, was not originally supposed to be ready for the opening weekend, which might be another little titbit for Tandy to feed to his kick chasers.If the visitors start slowly, though, it really could be a tough day.In the Six Nations era Wales have beaten England away in the championship on only two occasions, in 2012 and 2008.And while everyone remembers Gareth Davies sprinting away to help eliminate the hosts from the pool stages of their own World Cup in 2015, that was 11 years ago.Times are changing and a 25-point defeat, while painful, would not be the absolute end of the world.
Even more important is ensuring this famous fixture still resonates on both sides of the bridge decades from now,
Stephen Colbert: ‘Trump would eat a bicycle tire if you put it on a bun’
On Thursday night, Stephen Colbert responded to White House adviser Paula White-Cain’s claims that Donald Trump is “the GOAT”, while Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers addressed ICE and Jeffrey Epstein.Over on the Late Show, Colbert turned his attention to Trump’s appearance at the national prayer breakfast and his speech at the Washington Hilton hotel. Or as Colbert called the president’s 77-minute address, “special material just for the prayer munchers”.Ahead of his remarks, Trump was introduced by White-Cain, the White House senior adviser who Colbert called a “haunted Bloomingdale’s mannequin”. White-Cain introduced the president as “the GOAT: the greatest of all time”
Aacta awards 2026: horror film Bring Her Back and Jacob Elordi win big at Australian film and TV prizes
Bring Her Back has dominated at the 2026 Aacta (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) awards, winning 10 of 16 nominations, while Jacob Elordi has continued his recent awards buzz by taking home best lead actor for his performance in The Narrow Road to the Deep North.Bring Her Back, Danny and Michael Philippou’s horror-thriller about a sinister foster mother, emerged as the most awarded film of the night with 10 wins. This marks a major milestone for the Adelaide brothers, surpassing the eight awards they won for their 2024 global breakout, Talk to Me.Bring Her Back won best direction, best film, best leading actress in a film for Sally Hawkins and almost every technical category, including cinematography, editing, original score, sound, costume design, hair and makeup, and casting.Fresh from his Critics’ Choice Movie awards win for his portrayal of the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Elordi won best lead actor in a drama for his portrayal of army surgeon Dorrigo Evans in the screen adaptation of Richard Flanagan’s Booker prize-winning novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Volcanic vulvas and hermaphrodite marble: Ovid’s Metamorphoses reshaped at the Rijksmuseum
Artists from Bernini to Louise Bourgeois are brought together in a new exhibition exploring the uncomfortable erotic parables of the ancient Roman poetOn three massive screens in a darkened room, snakes glide over the face of artist Juul Kraijer – covering her eyes, caressing her lips. She is the silent but terrifying snake-headed Medusa, and one of the surprises in an exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam revolving around Greek and Roman myths.While the show features rarely lent works from masters such as Caravaggio, Bernini, Rodin and Brâncuși, it marries them with modern artists who reinterpret the legends where male gods do all they can to get their wicked way and the powerless are punished. Transgender bodies, bare breasts and even a volcanic vulva appear in artworks inspired by Roman poet Ovid’s masterpiece, Metamorphoses.Taco Dibbits, general director of the Rijksmuseum, believes the 200 myths and legends from this ancient epic poem still speak to our uncertain times
Seth Meyers on Trump skipping the Super Bowl: ‘Of course he is worried about getting booed’
Late-night hosts looked into Donald Trump’s excuses for not attending a Super Bowl where he would be booed and the dubious audience scores for the Melania documentary.With the Super Bowl just days away, Seth Meyers looked into why Donald Trump, usually one for attention, does not plan to be in attendance. “Given Trump’s love of football and attention, you might have expected him to show up to the Super Bowl on Sunday, especially since he went to last year’s Super Bowl,” the Late Night host said.But Trump has told reporters that he won’t attend the game because it will be played in Santa Clara, California, outside San Francisco, which is “just too far away”, though he acknowledged that he had received “great hands [at] the Super Bowl. They like me,” he said, adding that he “would go if, you know, it was a little bit shorter”
‘One of the most stunning sights in the country’: your picks for UK town of culture
From pirates and skateboarders in Hastings to legends and locks in Devizes, from dolphins in Scarborough to the ‘artists’ town’ of Kirkcudbright, readers put forward their favourite placesCulture secretary Lisa Nandy has launched a search for the UK’s first “town of culture”, similar to the city of culture programme, which honoured Bradford last year. After the Guardian’s writers nominated theirs – including Ramsgate in Kent, Falmouth in Cornwall, Abergavenny in Monmouthshire and Portobello in Edinburgh – we asked readers which UK towns they would put forward.Culture in Hastings grows out of the shingle and the wind and the friction between past and present. You can feel it in the fishing fleet hauled up on the beach, still part of daily life, and then a short walk away in bold contemporary spaces showing work that speaks far beyond the town. It shows up in events that belong to the people who live there; Jack in the Green spilling through the streets; Pirate Day turning the whole place into a shared act of play; music competitions that quietly bring international talent into a town that never pretends to be grand
‘It’s an opportunity for bonding’ – my quest to become a Black dad who can do his daughters’ hair
For me – and many other Black men – my experience of hair begins and ends in the barbershop. But as my two daughters get older, I’m determined to make ‘salon night’ pain free – and maybe even enjoyable The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.In the basement of Larry King’s salon in Marylebone, London, stylist and curly hair advocate Jennie Roberts is giving me a much-needed pep talk
Dow Jones hits 50,000 milestone amid tech gains and hopes of lower interest rates
Amazon shares tumble as $200bn AI rollout plan worries markets – as it happened
Why has Elon Musk merged his rocket company with his AI startup?
Victims urge tougher action on deepfake abuse as new law comes into force
Winter Olympics 2026: first gold to Swiss, GB await helmets verdict, slopestyle and more – live
Italy v Scotland: Six Nations 2026 rugby union updates – live