- England and Wales will meet on Saturday in their final game of the Six Nations
- Wales will be looking to end their barren run of 16 consecutive Test defeats
- England still have an outside chance of ending the tournament as champions
Wales are ‘desperate’ to end their 16-Test losing run and send interim coach Matt Sherratt out on a high against bitter rivals England on ‘Super Saturday’.
The Dragons must beat their fiercest enemy on the final weekend to avoid finishing bottom of the Six Nations and without a win for the second consecutive year.
England will be Sherratt’s final game in charge after he was parachuted in midway through this year’s Championship following the departure of Warren Gatland. Wales’ latest reversal was a 35-29 defeat by Scotland.
They did take two losing bonus points home from Edinburgh and their late fightback offered some optimism for the England clash.
‘We’ve been desperate for a while,’ said Wales hooker Dewi Lake. ‘It goes without saying you want to win. That’s what Test rugby is about. That’s what this environment’s about. That win has been evading us for a while.
‘The desire to win has been there from the start no matter who’s in charge. But to send Matt out on a high for the work he’s put in, the effort he’s shown and how quickly he’s been able to implement what he’s wanted to implement would be excellent. We’ve been agonisingly close and it would be great to do it next week.’
Wales hooker Dewi Lake (second left) pictured going head to head with England’s Jamie George during a Six Nations clash back in 2022
The two nations will meet again on Saturday, with Wales aiming to end a long losing streak
Interim Wales boss Matt Sherratt will be keen to bow out with a win at the Millennium Stadium
In Sherratt’s two games as Wales coach, against Ireland and Scotland, his team have shown signs of promise.
But, ultimately, the country’s horror run of results continues. At Murrayfield, Wales paid the price for a poor first half in which they shipped four tries to trail by 20 points at the break.
Their second-half revival, which saw three tries in the final quarter, was — in Sherratt’s own words — as much down to Scotland’s drop-off as good play from Wales.
However, a Welsh victory over England cannot be ruled out — even if Steve Borthwick’s side are likely to target Wales with their power advantage.
‘What I can promise the players next week is I’ll do my best to make them a better team,’ said Sherratt on Saturday. ‘I’ll be positive and we’ll have a plan for England.’
