Wales are on a high after beating France in Cardiff © Getty Images

Enlarge

Wales can rally to beat England for a fourth time in succession this Sunday, according to forwards coach Robin McBryde, who notes the "hottest fires forge the toughest steel".

England have been painted as favourites to bounce back from the 30-3 defeat handed to them at the Millennium Stadium last year, in a match that promises to have a telling impact on who wins this year's Six Nations championship.

McBryde said: "The relics of last year's fixture will give them more fuel as they want to right the wrongs of that game. I'm sure those memories will be burning in their minds and they will be looking to make a statement against us.

"England have grown in maturity and stature with experience. They stood toe to toe with New Zealand in the autumn, beat Australia and had a great win against Ireland. Then there is the Twickenham factor - they are obviously working on a few little things behind the scenes to build that factor up."

Wales' last trip to Twickenham came in February 2012, a 19-12 win for the visitors greatly influencing that year's tournament, too.

"It's positive to see the performances against France. We haven't become a bad team overnight after all and it was a step in the right direction," McBryde said. "The expectation now is to deliver a performance following that France game. There are still question marks over how good we actually are, considering how poor France were against us.

"This is the second dip of the litmus paper and it will be a far sterner test. England at Twickenham....they're building up some momentum and were unlucky to lose against France."

Despite the pressures of the current competition, McBryde keeps one eye fixed on the longer term goal of next year's Rugby World Cup.

"We'll be up against it, but the hottest fires forge the toughest steel. We have to embrace this occasion because it won't get any easier at the World Cup. It will be good to see how we perform in the face of adversity. Whatever way it goes it will put us in a good place come next year.

"It's a game where we test each other out. Everyone has had their fun in their build-up to this game in regard to what's been written in the papers. But when the whistle goes, it's 15 versus 15. We have experience and hopefully we can bring that to bear. Hopefully it will be a good advert for the Six Nations."