I’m a lover, not a fighter says Sarries star Tompkins

the fly-half. “We learnt from it as a team too. We have become more aware that those things are going to happen and what we can do to make sure it doesn’t escalate to the point where it will cost us.

“We’ve discussed what we’d do to look after individuals, you don’t want to get to a game without talking about it and then think, ‘Jesus, what is going on here?’. You have to anticipate it and be aware of it.”

And England will hope to play their own games with Wales out-half Dan Biggar, who is surely not 100 per cent recovered from his knee injury a week ago.

“Anything we can do to get him off his game is going to be beneficial to us,” added Lawes. “I’ll certainly be hoping to put a shot on him.”

CHAOS swirls all around us but for England the picture could not be more clear. Beat Wales at home to keep the Six Nations title race alive. End of.

Fans with Twickenham tickets have been told to attend only if they have not contracted or been exposed to coronavirus.

There is uncertainty over when England’s game in Italy will be played and whether the championship will ever be finished. Enough doubt to scramble your brains if you let it.

England must not. Slip up against Wales this evening and it is all over for them, anyway.

Clinch the Triple Crown, on the other hand, claim maximum points and leapfrog leaders France in the table and everything is possible.

France are a side doing everything right. They’ve got themselves organised, found a unity of purpose and spirit, and have bloody good coaches and a generation of young players who will be around for a while.

But this is a nation without a championship in 10 years, a team that is still unproven under real pressure.

We have a pretty good idea, from the Ireland game a fortnight ago and World Cup wins over Australia and New Zealand, that anywhere near England’s best is going to be enough to beat Wales at home.

Eddie Jones’ men are a take-your-breath-away team when they get it right, when they’re in that sort of mood.

Good enough to beat anyone.

But a trait of this England side is that they do go up and down in their levels of performance.

They cannot afford to be complacent against an opponent with a history of scaling the heights in this fixture. Who can forget the 2015 World Cup?

The last time the championship was delayed, by the 2001 Foot and Mouth crisis, England coughed up a Grand Slam by assuming they would be as good in the autumn as they were in the spring.

Different players and a different time but this group must note that, not expect a repeat of their Irish performance but make it happen.

Sinckler gets into it with Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones last year NICK TOMPKINS declared himself a lover not a fighter as he prepares to tear into his Saracens team-mates for the first time. And Wales’ new English-born centre says he has already converted his family into Welsh fans as he prepares for today’s crunch Six Nations clash at Twickenham. Tompkins will be a key man for the men in red with his close friends and club colleagues Owen Farrell, Jamie George (with Tompkins, right) and Maro Itoje all in the opposition. “I’ve talked to Jamie and can’t wait to see him. I’m really excited to play against them all. “When you play against your mates you obviously want to get one over them,” said Tompkins. “It’s really exciting. It does feel surreal and I suppose it’s not going to kick in until I’m there. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. “All my friends and family are coming. My dad has to wear a red jersey else he can’t come.” Tompkins, who played for England at Under-20 level, joked: “There is a lot of hatred for the English, but I’m a lover not a fighter. “You can feel the anticipation and a bit of edge which is great. That has transferred to training.” Tompkins, who qualifies for Wales through his Wrexham-born grandmother Enid, was a shock selection in Wayne Pivac’s Six Nations squad. He made an impressive, try-scoring debut as a replacement as Wales hammered Italy in round one and has started the back-to-back defeats at the hands of Ireland and France. Tompkins’ fourth Test cap will come at a venue where he has tasted domestic success with Saracens – the English champions disgraced by their impending relegation for salary cap breaches. Wales head coach Pivac is trying to avoid leading his adopted country to three straight Six Nations defeats for the first time since 2007. His predecessor Warren Gatland never suffered that fate. In Tompkins he has a player of promise and despite his up-and-down performances in Wales’ last two games, the adopted Welshman looks set for a long run at international level. “I POWERHOUSE Nick Tompkins can’t wait to lock horns with England want to show people why I’m here and I want the fans to see that, yes, he deserves to be here. That’s stronger than any, ‘You missed out’ motivation,” he said. Wales have wing Liam Williams and No.8 Josh Navidi back fit and they will play their first international games since last year’s World Cup at Twickenham. Captain Alun Wyn Jones yesterday insisted Dan Biggar was fit to start as the fly-half trained with his knee heavily strapped. Wales are huge underdogs, but in Tompkins they have a man relishing the challenge. “You do question why you’re not getting the opportunities,” he said. “But it clicked two years ago there were things I needed to do. “I was blaming other people and making up excuses. I’m ready now. “What I’ve learned is the standard of rugby is obviously a little bit higher. But the biggest thing for me is the hype and pressure. “It’s something you learn and get used to.”

STICKY SITUATION Joe Marler tapes up yesterday