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The greatest players in England-Wales clashes

Gavin Henson kicked Wales to a 2005 Grand Slam © Getty Images

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In what is one of the most tantalising fixtures the rugby calendar can offer, England face Wales at Twickenham on Saturday. A match that was first played in 1881 is sure to have a rich history, and here we delve into those archives to offer you ten players who have performed to a consistently high standard in encounters between the nations.

JPR Williams - Wales
One of the sport's most revered players, Williams was a Five Nations Grand Slam winner in 1971, 1976 and 1978. In the years of his Welsh playing days - between 1969 and 1981 - the fullback was victorious in every encounter against the English. Fittingly, given how his success against them symbolised a wonderful career, his final Test saw him lining up against that old foe. His best personal points tally in the fixture came at Twickenham in 1976, where he scored seven.

Gareth Edwards - Wales
The scrum-half was a contemporary of Williams, although he failed to enjoy the same unblemished record against England, suffering one defeat in 12 fixtures. His most crucial influence in those matches came in 1977, where his try - one of four he would score against the English - helped Wales to a hard-fought 14-9 victory. He would play just once more against England after that game, ending his association with another triumph.

Rory Underwood - England
He enjoyed a tumultuous time against Wales, winning half the games he played, but Underwood's longevity in the series is unparalleled in a white shirt. The winger appeared a record 14 times against the Welsh, enjoying his greatest moment in the autumn of his career with a ten point haul in England's 1995 win at Cardiff Arms Park. His two tries on that day both came after gliding past Ieuan Evans, a fierce rival of Underwood's, adding a satisfying flourish to the scores.

Will Carling - England
The outspoken Carling was a divisive figure, but his leadership qualities were rarely questioned. These talismanic attributes were never more in evidence than against Wales, against whom he captained England to six victories in eight attempts - most comprehensively in 1990's 34-6 victory at Twickenham. In the decade prior to Carling's debut, his nation had won a meagre three times against the Welsh.

Lawrence Dallaglio - England
Cut from a similar cloth to Carling, Dallaglio too had the ability to galvanize his team-mates on the field. Although their Test careers overlapped only for one year, the No. 8's spell in the England team - which began in 1996 - saw the continuation of the successes Carling enjoyed against Wales. Dallaglio won nine of his ten games against the nation, and amassed an impressive points haul for a forward in those matches, scoring 20.

Will Greenwood holds the record for most tries in England-Wales games © Getty Images

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Neil Jenkins - Wales
In 1999 Wales played at Wembley as the home team whilst the Millennium Stadium was being constructed, giving rise to the incongruous sight of England - who had won the last five encounters between the sides - playing as the away outfit on their own soil. Jenkins' boot proved the difference, with six penalties and two conversions contributing to a 32-31 Welsh victory. Although he never played better against England than on that occasion, Jenkins was never less than masterly with his kicking, giving him the record for the most points in the fixture scored by a Welshman, with 65.

Stephen Jones - Wales
Despite not always appearing in a side able to topple England, Jones has been a dependable points-scorer. Like Jenkins, who remained unflustered in adversity, the fly-half can be relied on to keep the scoreboard working no matter what the circumstances. Jones is fourteen shy of Jenkins in the overall points-scoring charts for Wales in the fixture, although his 51 have come in three fewer games than his countryman played.

Will Greenwood - England
Greenwood tormented Wales during England's spell of dominance in matches between the countries in the early 2000s. The rangy centre was victorious on each of the six occasions he played against Wales, and holds the record for the number of tries scored in fixtures between the nations, with seven. No try was more significant than his 2003 score that levelled the World Cup quarter-final, whilst his best individual haul came with a hat-trick at the Millennium Stadium during 2001's Six Nations.

Jonny Wilkinson - England
Often playing in the same indomitable team as Greenwood, Wilkinson's reliable kicking regularly inflicted misery on Wales - never more so than in 2003. If Greenwood's quarter-final try handed England the opportunity to take the initiative, then it was the No. 10 who seized it. Unflinching when confronted with enormous pressure, the fly-half kicked 23 of England's 28 points as every Welsh transgression was punished. Wilkinson holds the record for the highest individual score in one game between the countries, tallying 30 points at Twickenham in 2002, as well as the highest individual overall points total of 151.

Gavin Henson - Wales
Despite Henson only featuring in two fixtures between the countries to date, both have been momentous occasions. His first game against England was in 2005 at the Millennium Stadium, where his last-gasp 50 metre penalty - one of the most significant swings of a Welsh boot in their rugby history - won the home side their first Grand Slam in 27 years. In 2008, the second occasion Henson took to the turf against England, Wales triumphed at Twickenham for the first time since 1988, laying the groundwork for another all-conquering Six Nations campaign.

Josh Williams is an assistant editor of ESPN.co.uk

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