Wales assistant coach Rob Howley expects Jonny Wilkinson to be “a huge cog” in the England machine for this season’s RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Wilkinson, who was on the losing side when Wales last visited Twickenham two years ago, poses a huge threat to Welsh ambitions of repeating that result in 11 days’ time.And the measure of his threat is not lost on Howley who, as a former Wales scrum-half, played against England’s record points-scorer and fly-half tactician four times in Five or Six Nations combat.

“He has got world-class basics of the game,” said Howley.

“He has a mental toughness tougher than many players I played with, and his kicking is second to none – the statistics show that.

“He’s an integral part of the England set-up. I have no doubt he will be a huge cog with England, and I have no doubt he will start against us.”

The Independent