England vs Wales LIVE: Rugby result and reaction after Owen Farrell red card in Rugby World Cup warm-up

Billy Vunipola is set for his first involvement under Steve Borthwick today, the number eight left out for the Six Nations but back in Borthwick’s good books and a vital figure for England ahead of the World Cup. The coach and player have never always seen eye-to-eye, a bust up at England’s pre-World Cup training camp in Treviso four years ago leading to something of a rift between the pair towards the end of the former lock’s time overseeing England’s forwards under Eddie Jones

“I had a conversation with Steve about rugby after training when we were in Treviso. I said a few things that were out of line, basically. I said some things that never should have been said to Steve in that way, but also in front of other people.”, Vunipola said to The Telegraph after being named in Borthwick’s World Cup squad on Monday. “I felt it was important to say sorry, but also realise my actions were wrong. So I apologised to Steve, we’ve buried the hatchet, or at least I feel that he’s forgiven me, which is what I felt like needed to happen.”

Though Tom Willis and, especially, Alex Dombrandt aren’t necessarily stylistically similar back rowers to the Saracens man, the head coach’s decision not include specialist number eight cover will place huge importance on Vunipola’s form and fitness. In a pack that may lack pure power carriers, the ballast that Vunipola should provide will be valuable, and he may have to shoulder plenty of load. Today should be a good test of Vunipola’s physical readiness.

It’s been an unexpected rise to potential World Cup prominence for Taine Plumtree, from toiling away on the fringes for the Blues in Super Rugby Pacific just a couple of months ago to seemingly being a strong bet for inclusion in Warren Gatland’s squad. Springy and athletic, Plumtree is comfortable at six, eight or in the second row in a pinch, and went well off the bench seven days ago, earning himself a starting opportunity.

"Taine is been very good, he’s a great guy to have around the squad and he can play," said kicking coach Neil Jenkins. "He’s a talent and an athlete. He understands the game and he played pretty well when he came on Saturday.

How Gatland balances his back five options will be interesting come Monday week when his chosen 33 is named, but you’d say Plumtree will be in the mix. You would guess that Adam Beard, Will Rowlands, Taulupe Faletau and Jac Morgan are all locked in, while it would be a surprise if Dafydd Jenkins and Aaron Wainwright don’t go, too. Add another lock, and Tommy Reffell on the openside, and it may be that Plumtree, Taine Basham, Christ Tshiunza and Dan Lydiate are fighting out for a spot or two. Let’s see how the soon-to-be Scarlet goes.

All change for Wales, with Warren Gatland still assessing his World Cup options and keen to look at entirely fresh combinations. There’s another new skipper in the form of Dewi Lake, the coming man at hooker with a huge opportunity after the injury Ken Owens and the sort of combative character who Wales’s next generation might rally around. He’s joined in the pack by first-time starter Taine Plumtree, impressive on debut off the bench last week and now handed a chance to impress at number eight.

Centre Joe Roberts is the only debutant in the starting side, combining with Nick Tompkins in midfield, but Tom Rogers is a newer face, too, the wing making a first appearance in over two years. Energetic midfielder Keiran Williams provides back cover on the bench and awaits a first cap; as does loosehead Kemsley Mathias, all but certain to be a fourth prop debutant in two weeks.

There is a late change to the replacements, with Kieran Hardy absent for family reasons and Gareth Davies stepping in.

Wales XV: Gareth Thomas, Dewi Lake (capt.), Tomas Francis; Adam Beard, Rhys Davies; Dan Lydiate, Tommy Reffell, Taine Plumtree; Tomos Williams, Owen Williams; Tom Rogers, Nick Tompkins, Joe Roberts, Josh Adams; Liam Williams.

Replacements: Sam Parry, Kemsley Mathias, Dillon Lewis, Christ Tshiunza, Taine Basham; Gareth Davies, Dan Biggar, Keiran Williams.

Having used last week’s defeat in Cardiff to decide a couple of close calls before naming his World Cup squad, Steve Borthwick would seem to have tasked an almost first-choice team with building some momentum at Twickenham today. England are pretty close to full noise, with Owen Farrell back to captain the side at ten and a host of other big guns back in business.

Among them is Billy Vunipola, who will feature for the first time under Borthwick. His Saracens teammate Ben Earl will win his 16^th England cap but first from the start, while a new wing combination of Elliot Daly and Henry Arundell should provide a bit of extra gas either side of Freddie Steward’s pillar of solidity.

There is one member of the 23 who didn’t make the cut on Monday: Ollie Chessum is still recovering from his long lay-off after an ankle injury, while David Ribbans was taken off last weekend for a head injury assessment, which means Jonny Hill must fill the bench lock spot having remained in camp this week.

England XV: Joe Marler, Jamie George, Will Stuart; Maro Itoje, George Martin; Courtney Lawes, Ben Earl, Billy Vunipola; Jack van Poortvliet, Owen Farrell (capt.); Elliot Daly, Ollie Lawrence, Joe Marchant, Henry Arundell; Freddie Steward.

Replacements: Theo Dan, Ellis Genge, Dan Cole, Jonny Hill, Jack Willis; Ben Youngs, George Ford, Max Malins.

Wales won’t need extra motivation, obviously, but an away win of any kind would drop England to ninth on the World Rugby men’s rankings, their lowest ever position. Let’s take a closer look at the two sides...

This, you would have to say, is must win for England, back at Twickenham for the first time since France danced to a record victory in the Six Nations. There was precious little last week to give England fans optimism ahead of the World Cup, and there would be fewer excuses for another flat performance this, with the tournament squad named and a strong side selected.

One thing has already malfunctioned at Twickenham today: due to a printing error, there are no programmes available today, with a QR code offered as an alternative.

A bit of rain blew through southwest London a little earlier, but it looks a pleasant enough evening for rugby, the forecast clear from now and the temperature still up in the twenties. After this soggy British summer, it is welcome news - there was a sense that both England and Wales were keeping some clubs in their bag last weekend, and this might be a day to show off a bit more of their attacking range.

England want to develop their scrum into a “ruthless” weapon in time for the World Cup as Wales provide another important test of its progress at Twickenham on Saturday.

A major improvement in the scrum was evident during the Six Nations, when it emerged as the most effective in the tournament just months after being statistically the worst among tier one sides.

It wobbled in the opening Summer Nations match in Cardiff, however, and England are looking to bounce back in the second instalment of the double header.

“We want to have a ruthless scrum. England want to scrummage,” scrum coach Tom Harrison said. “Joe Marler and Dan Cole are in the squad and those two players want to scrummage.

“What we’re working on is if it doesn’t go right or there is a problem, how can we solve it quickly? How can we be so ruthless that if a team tries to do something against us, we can solve the problem?”

Freddie Steward has welcomed the introduction of the ‘Bunker’ review system after enlisting the help of a psychologist to move on from the controversial red card he received against Ireland in March.

England’s full-back was sent off at the Aviva Stadium for making a dangerous tackle on Hugo Keenan but a hugely contentious decision was subsequently overturned by a disciplinary hearing.

World Rugby has since trialled a procedure designed to help referees make the right call that will be in place throughout the Summer Nations Series.

The Bunker enables a foul play official to review yellow cards at the request of the referee, with the scope to upgrade them to a red if warranted by the offence.

Any incident will be analysed while the match continues and the player is in the sin-bin, thereby preventing the type of lengthy delays witnessed when Jaco Peyper deliberated over Steward’s red card.

“It’s a good step forward. Games are significantly affected because when it’s 15 v 14 it’s a different game,” Steward said.

“If the right decision is made or the wrong decision is made, it gives an opportunity to correct that which is good for the game.”

Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence could be paired together in a potent centre combination as England assess their midfield permutations for the World Cup.

Head coach Steve Borthwick believes that despite broad similarities in playing style – both players are physical carriers who run through rather than around opponents – they can forge an effective partnership.

It raises the prospect of England entering the crucial opener against Argentina on September 9 with Tuilagi and Lawrence operating outside fly-half Owen Farrell.

Lawrence entered the World Cup training camp on the back of his breakthrough Six Nations, filling the hard-running role usually performed by Tuilagi.

“I think they can play together – Manu at 12 and Ollie at 13,” Borthwick said.

“That was Ollie’s first proper Six Nations, as in being involved every week. He did really well before unfortunately having to go off in the France game with a hamstring injury.

“Ollie brings carry but he’s also a very good defender. He rates exceptionally high as a defender on all the systems we use to analyse performances across the Premiership.

“We know Manu’s strengths and experience and I think they can play together in a specific way.”

PA