Tonight, Friday 4 February 2011, sees the start of the Six Nations Tournament, featuring the strongest 6 European Nations.

First up is Wales vs England at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales at 21:45 SA Time.

Rugby-Talk will cover this match live tonight.

To say that Northern Hemisphere Rugby is topsy-turvey and very difficult to predict, is an understatement.

One feels that England have improved, despite being beaten in their last outing by South Africa during the End-Of-Year Tours in 2010.

One also feels that Wales are a bit disrupted by injury and off-the-field action….

I predict a win by England… England by 7.

Recent results
2010: England won 30-17, London
2009: Wales won 23-15, Cardiff
2008: Wales won 26-19, London
2007: England won 62-5, London
2007: Wales won 27-18, Cardiff
2006: England won 47-13, London
2005: Wales won 11-9, Cardiff
2004: England won 31-21, London
2003 England won 28-17, Brisbane (World Cup quarterfinal)
2003: England won 43-9, Cardiff
2003: England won 26-9, Cardiff

The teams:

Wales: 15 James Hook, 14 Morgan Stoddart, 13 Jamie Roberts, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Michael Phillips, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Matthew Rees (captain), 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 John Yapp, 18 Ryan Jones, 19 Jonathan Thomas, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Rhys Priestland, 22 Lee Byrne.

England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Mike Tindall (captain), 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 James Haskell, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Steve Thompson, 17 Danny Care, 18 David Wilson, 19 Simon Shaw, 20 Matt Banahan, 21 Joe Worsley, 22 Jonny Wilkinson.

Date: Friday, February 4
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 19.45 (21.45 SA Time)
Expected weather: If they close the roof, this may be meaningless, but for the record – cloudy with further outbreaks of heavy rain and drizzle at times. Southwesterly winds will be strong and gusty. High of 12°C, low of 10°C.
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Alan Lewis (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)