Warren Gatland insists Wales are not thinking about England and backs his side to win the fitness battle

Warren Gatland has backed his Wales side to prove they are fitter than their England counterparts at Twickenham this weekend and insists the camp aren’t “talking too much” about Eddie Jones’ team.

Wales haven’t beaten England since helping knock them out of their home World Cup in 2015 and haven’t experienced victory in the Six Nations since the historic 30-3 win at the Millennium Stadium which saw the Welsh end their rivals’ Grand Slam hopes and clinch the title in 2013.

A late try from Elliot Daly broke Welsh hearts last year when he punished Jonathan Davies’ poor kick to see England snatch the win but Gatland is adamant his team have the fitness to outlast the English this time around.

“We don’t have any fear about going up there and playing,” Gatland said. “We are excited about it and not intimidated by the Twickenham factor at all.

“There are a lot of guys in the squad that will go there with a lot of confidence. In the past we’ve backed our ability to play for 80 minutes and we’ve felt we’ve been fitter than the English sides.

“We’ve had success playing right until the end against them. If it’s a close game then hopefully that confidence can boost us. England are strong at set-piece, scrum and line-out, with some attacking threats as well.

“I don’t see a massive amount of change in what we’ve experienced in the past. We are not talking too much about England.”

Wales’ surprise 34-7 demolition of Scotland in their Six Nations opener means they are only two games away from a Triple Crown and Gatland believes winning at Twickenham could propel them towards contenders to win a Grand Slam.

“We said if you start well, you go to Twickenham, and if you can get a result there, you are going to Dublin for a Triple Crown and potentially playing for the championship,” said Gatland. “We know how important this weekend is.”