Youngs set for record and Faletau fillip – England v Wales talking points

Fierce rivals England and Wales meet in a crucial Guinness Six Nations clash at Twickenham on Saturday.

Both countries still have title ambitions, but they cannot afford any further slip-ups following opening weekend defeats.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key talking points heading into the game.

This season’s Six Nations might only be at the halfway point, but it will effectively be game over for whichever team loses on Saturday. Both countries lost their opening matches – England being defeated by Scotland and Wales suffering an emphatic reversal in Ireland – but then put themselves back on track with respective victories over Italy and Scotland. After finishing fifth in last season’s tournament, England know they must kick on towards tough assignments next month against Ireland and France, while Wales’ continued hopes of a successful title defence hinge on the outcome at Twickenham – a ground where they have not claimed a Six Nations win since 2012.

Leicester scrum-half Youngs will become England’s most-capped men’s player if he features off the replacements’ bench against Wales, making his 115th appearance and overtaking World Cup-winning prop Jason Leonard’s mark that he set during a 14-year Test career. Youngs has played under three different England head coaches – Martin Johnson, Stuart Lancaster and Eddie Jones – and only Australian great George Gregan has won more caps for his country as a scrum-half. Youngs, 32, will provide bench cover for starting nine Harry Randall this weekend, but he remains an integral part of Jones’ plans and is guaranteed a rapturous reception from a capacity 82,000 crowd.

Bath number eight Taulupe Faletau has played just 144 minutes of rugby this season. He recovered