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Pivac senses ‘big performance’ coming from Wales

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Wales coach Wayne Pivac has seen signs in training that his side are going to be more than a match for England when the pair face off at Twickenham on Saturday.

Wales coach Wayne Pivac has seen signs in training that his side are going to be more than a match for England when the pair face off at Twickenham on Saturday.

The current Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam champions head into Round 4 on the back of two successive defeats, after going down to France and Ireland in their last two outings.

But Pivac, who took over the coaching role from Warren Gatland after the 2019 World Cup, believes his side will come out all guns blazing in London as they look to get back to winning ways.

“The level of intensity has noticeably gone up in training, certainly in the live stuff and it has been no holds barred, no one has been holding back,” explained Pivac. “That tells me a big performance is coming.”

“You’ve only got to listen to Alun Wyn [captain Alun Wyn Jones] during the week, the intensity is there in his voice and everything he’s done in training. He’s led from the front.”

One man paramount to Pivac’s physical game plan for Saturday’s encounter will be Josh Navidi, with the Cardiff Blues back-rower selected at No.8 ahead of Taulupe Faletau in the starting XV.

The 29-year-old hasn’t featured since January after being ruled out with a hamstring injury, but his return will be a big boost to Wales as they look to counteract the hosts’ physical threat.

“Josh is a fantastic player over the ball with the breakdown work that he does, his defensive work and ball-carrying,” said Pivac.

“When he played for Wales against New Zealand a few years ago, [All Blacks coach] Steve Hansen asked who he was because so impressed with him. He is a tough character and is someone that puts a lot of pressure on the opposition.

“If you look at the Six Nations match against England last year he played a massive role in that win for Wales and he plays well in big games.

“He’s stood up and played in some very big matches for us, so we’re confident he can do that again.”

England go into Saturday’s showdown looking to keep the pressure on France at the top of the Guinness Six Nations table, after bouncing back from opening day defeat to Les Bleus to win their next two fixtures.

And Pivac know his side will have to be on top of their game if they are to emerge from Twickenham with a victory, something they haven’t managed to do in a Championship game since 2012.

“Clearly they’ve got a great record there and one we respect, it is one which tells us we’ll have to be at the peak of our powers to win,” he added.

“They’re a strong team, one of the world leaders, and a very capable team as we saw at the World Cup against the All Blacks and last week against Ireland. They put away two of the top teams in the world comfortably.

“There is a healthy respect, but it’s a game we’re looking forward to. Me included.”