Six Nations LIVE: England beat Wales 12-3 thanks to two Jonny May tries to keep Grand Slam hopes alive

Follow the latest from the Six Nations encounter at Twickenham

Eddie Jones talks about England's preparations before their Six Nations game against Wales

England and Wales collide at Twickenham on the second weekend of the Six Nations with both teams unbeaten and looking to challenge not only for the championship but also the Grand Slam.

The hosts return to Twickenham off the back of a resounding 46-15 victory over Italy in Rome, a bonus-point result that has put them top of the Six Nations table. But hot on their heels is Wales, who thrashed Scotland 34-7 in Cardiff and only trail England on points difference.

With Warren Gatland and Eddie Jones engaging in their usual verbal barbs this week – Gatland claiming that Wales have been and will be fitter than England before Jones questioned Rhys Patchell’s “bottle” and hit out at Alun Wyn Jones – the tension ahead of the game has built towards fever pitch, and the atmosphere inside the stadium is certain to rise as a result.

Wales haven’t beaten England since 2015, but that victory was the famous Rugby World Cup success over England that paved the way to their embarrassing elimination from their own tournament. However, they've suffered the loss of Leigh Halfpenny to a foot injury just an hour before kick-off, so Gareth Anscombe starts at full-back with Owen Watkin on the bench.

Follow the live action below...

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What time does it start?

England vs Wales kicks off at Twickenham at 16:45 GMT.

Where can I watch it?

The Six Nations encounter will be shown live on ITV from 16:20 GMT.

Key Points

• Jonny May scores twice in the first half
• Rhys Patchell replies with a penalty
• Wales lose Leigh Halfpenny before kick-off so Gareth Anscombe starts
• Ireland beat Italy 59-19 in opening game of the day

[10 February 2018 14:47 · Jack de Menezes]

It's starting to look a certainty that Leigh Halfpenny will not be playing a part in today's game, and while the WRU are yet to confirm the news, the BBC's Chris Jones has spotted a rather obvious sign inside Twickenham...

[10 February 2018 14:48 · Jack de Menezes]

We'll hold off confirming the teams until we get clarification on the Halfpenny news, but you'll have it as soon as we do.

[10 February 2018 14:56 · Jack de Menezes]

The update from Ireland is a bleak one for any Italy fans, as Keith Earls has just finished Ireland's fourth try to seal the bonus point inside 35 minutes. 

Johnny Sexton's conversion makes the score an emphatic 28-0, and the first half isn't even over yet.

[10 February 2018 15:00 · Jack de Menezes]

With all of that taken into account, what can we expect this afternoon?

Well, it cannot be forgotten that Wales are missing SIX British and Irish Lions players - and seven if Halfpenny doesn't make it - and you'd be surprised if Wales can cope with that many players being absent and beat England in the process.

England are only missing Billy Vunipola, Elliot Daly and Ben Youngs from their first team, and in Sam Simmonds, Jonny May and Danny Care, their replacements are hardly bad ones to bring in.

The form says that England should win this one, but then a glimpse back to the 2015 Rugby World Cup will tell you something completely different:

[10 February 2018 15:00 · Jack de Menezes]

The good news from Dublin is that Italy have made it to half-time without conceding again. But it's very, very unlikely that there will be any sort of comeback in the second half and you wouldn't doubt Ireland from putting 50 points on them.

[10 February 2018 15:16 · Jack de Menezes]

Plenty of changes for Ireland to kick off the second half as both Iain Henderson and Jack Conan are replaced, with Quinn Roux and CJ Stander on in their place.

[10 February 2018 15:23 · Jack de Menezes]

Four minutes in and Ireland are across again as Henshaw crashes over for his second.

There's a big concern here for the Irish though as Henshaw is in agony, and looks to have hurt his right shoulder in the act of scoring - possibly a disclocation. It does mean that Jordan Larmour is on in his place for his international debut, and the lead is out to 35-0.

[10 February 2018 15:31 · Jack de Menezes]

CONFIRMED

[10 February 2018 15:37 · Jack de Menezes]

More in from Dublin, as after Rory Best goes over for Ireland's sixth try, the Italians finally get on the scoresheet as Tommaso Allan sprints over to score their first try and lands the conversion himself.

It's unlikely to ease the pain though, as Ireland lead 42-7 with more than 20 minutes to play.

[10 February 2018 15:40 · Jack de Menezes]

A bit more on that late change for Wales, which sees Gareth Anscombe start at 15 and Ospreys centre Owen Watkin return to the bench, having been dropped to accommodate the fit-agains George North.

Warren Gatland did have the option of moving Rhys Patchell to full-back, but having trained with the Scarlets half-back at 10 all week, it makes sense to keep him there. Anscombe, too, has also played a fair bit of rugby at full-back, so he should be able to slot in rather comfortably. It may offer England another target though, and in these slippy conditions, expect plenty of high bombs for him to deal with.

The reason for Halfpenny's absence has been put down to a foot infection, which doesn't sound that appealing if I'm honest, but the good news is that he has two weeks to recover before Wales' next match thanks to next week's fallow weekend.