Scott Williams is set for a Twickenham return on Saturday with a six-year unbeaten England record in his sights.
The Wales and Scarlets centre assured himself a place in Welsh rugby folklore by scoring a 50-metre breakaway try that downed England on home turf during the 2012 Six Nations tournament.
His 75th-minute touchdown secured Wales the Triple Crown and also underpinned a second Grand Slam of Warren Gatland’s coaching reign that arrived just three weeks later.
Wales were outsiders on that February afternoon, and the same will apply this weekend, especially as England boast a 14-match unbeaten Six Nations home record since Williams weaved his magic.
“Another one of those memories would be nice,” said Williams, who was an integral part of Wales’ impressive 34-7 opening Six Nations victory over Scotland last Saturday.
“It’s a long time ago now, too long. It’s going to be a different challenge (on Saturday), but we have won there before.
“It’s definitely do-able, but we will have to be a step up again. We probably won’t get as many chances, so we need to make sure that we take them.”
Reflecting on the Scotland win – Wales’ most comprehensive opening game victory in Six Nations history – Williams said: “It’s a good way to start the tournament, and we showed some glimpses of some really good stuff.
“We left a couple of tries out there, maybe, if we are being harsh.
“I am lucky enough to have played in this competition a couple of times now and know how important the first game is, making sure that we win. It’s a good start and something we can build on.
“Our defence was solid, they (Scotland) put us under pressure a couple of times, but other than that we felt quite comfortable, making them kick the ball.
“We know they have some world-class players who in space can cause some damage, so we focused on shutting that down.”
Head coach Gatland is due to announce his starting line-up for Twickenham on Tuesday.
Wings George North, Liam Williams and Hallam Amos are all available after recovering from injuries, although Gatland could decide to say same-again after Wales recorded a second-biggest win against Scotland in 135 years.
Lock Cory Hill, meanwhile, went off for a head injury assessment during the Scotland encounter.
Wales assistant coach Neil Jenkins said: “Cory Hill’s going through the HIA protocols, so we will just see how he is as the week progresses.
“Most of the boys are pretty good, and I would have thought they are looking forward to Saturday already.”
North and Williams both offer considerable experience – they have 114 Test caps between them – while Dragons back Amos was a stand-out performer during Wales’ autumn campaign earlier this season.
But it would be no surprise if Gatland retained his starting wings from the Scotland game in Steff Evans and Josh Adams, given their impressive work-rates and contributions to a runaway Wales success.
