THE SIX Nations reaches fever pitch tomorrow as the only two unbeaten sides go head to head in Cardiff in a probable championship decider.

Wales are on a hot winning streak at the moment despite scraping past France in Paris in an epic comeback as Les Bleus imploded in the second half.

A largely second-string selection struggled to put away Italy in unconvincing fashion in Rome, but managed the win despite the difficulties the Azzurri presented.

Since defeat by Ireland in last year’s Six Nations, Wales have gone on a record-equalling 11-match unbeaten run.

But England at home in Wales has the fans salivating for victory and would probably see them secretly swap World Cup victory just to put one over the old enemy.

And Wales have spoilt the Grand Slam party on numerous occasions when England’s chariot has threatened to carry all before it.

I was reporting at Wembley in 1999, while the Millennium Stadium was under construction, as Graham Henry’s team spoilt the Grand Slam script for Sir Clive Woodward’s side.

England arrived in Cardiff in 2013 again needing to beat Wales to take the Grand Slam.

Over-confident coach Stuart Lancaster decided the Welsh could have the stadium roof closed and England duly imploded to such an extent that Wales snatched the championship from England with a 30-3 scoreline.

But Warren Gatland's side have not beaten England since the 2015 25-28 victory at Twickenham, which helped bundle Lancaster’s side out of the Rugby World Cup and ushered in the Eddie Jones era.

After a world record-equalling run of 19 victories, Jones’ England had a dismal 2018 season, but came back to life in the autumn internationals and narrowly lost to the All Blacks.

This year England have been rejuvenated with the return of Billy Vunipola and Manu Tuilagi, whose partnership with fellow centre Henry Slade has given England a real cutting edge.

The side dispatched all-conquering Ireland in Dublin with a ferocity that stunned the home crowd.

Former All Black head coach John Mitchell has made an immediate impact as defence coach with England defending in the opposition’s half.

The effect has been to put sides under pressure in all areas of the pitch with the inevitable mistakes being punished with lightning attacks.

England’s kicking game has also been on the money against Ireland and France, with speedsters Jonny May and Elliot Daly chasing through to put pressure on their opposite numbers.

Both Wales and England are tactically astute and the battle of the coaches will no doubt see Welsh winger George North and May tested defensively under the high ball.

North has been disappointing for Wales this season but his pedigree is undoubted and Welsh fans know that when the giant winger has been criticised before he invariably races back to form.

The real battle will be between the two packs and the forward tussle is going to be brutal.

Gatland has already spoken about Kyle Sinckler’s brittle temperament, so we can expect his side to try and provoke the big man.

In typical fashion, Jones started the verbal jousting immediately after victory against France when he sarcastically said he was looking forward to playing the greatest ever Welsh side.

Wales pride themselves on their defensive prowess and if they can keep themselves in the game they might edge it in the closing 20 minutes.

If England get off to an early lead, as they did against Ireland and France, then Wales could be in for a difficult afternoon.

But whatever the outcome, both coaches are looking to the World Cup later this year in Japan and need a good performance tomorrow to keep their sides’ confidence and momentum intact.

In the rest of the weekend’s matches, France take on Scotland in Paris tomorrow, while Ireland travel to Rome in tomorrow’s fixture at the Stadio Olimpico.

Scotland need a winning performance in Paris after their home loss to Ireland, while Les Bleus will be smarting from their demoralising loss at Twickenham.

Coach Gregor Townsend is trying to manage a dwindling player resource as injuries continue to hit his squad and deny him his frontline choices.

But he knows that squad strength is going to be crucial at the world cup so he will be expecting a winning performance against the imploding French.

Meanwhile tomorrow’s jaunt in Rome should see a comfortable Ireland victory.

But coach-of-the-year Joe Schmidt has seen a reversal in his side’s fortunes after their all-conquering 2018 and autumn victory over the All Blacks.

Schmidt is a canny coach but the New Zealander must be worried that his side peaked a year too early for the World Cup, after their capitulation against England in Dublin and a less than assured victory at Murrayfield.

Ireland beat Italy twice in 2018 racking up a half century of points in both games. But the men in green have lost to Italy on four occasions.

If the Azzurri come anywhere close to victory, then Ireland’s poor start to this Six Nations will turn a blip into a major reassessment of their World Cup winning pretensions. 

What a weekend for all fans with a feast of rugby to enjoy.