Jodie Cunningham has marvelled at the significant strides women’s rugby league has taken as St Helens and Leeds continue their rivalry with a historic visit to Wembley.

The famous stadium stages the Women’s Challenge Cup final for the first time on Saturday, where Saints will be bidding for a third successive title and a second win in a row over Leeds in the showpiece.

Both Saints captain Cunningham and her Leeds counterpart Hanna Butcher started their careers in fields that had to be cleared of litter beforehand and where they were cheered on by only their nearest and dearest.

Professional status is yet to materialise – Cunningham juggles her playing duties with being the national women and girls’ development manager for the Rugby Football League while Butcher is a surveyor for Kirklees Council – but this weekend represents another important step for the women’s game.

Cunningham told the PA news agency: “Playing at Wembley Stadium just feels like this weird dream I never thought I’d actually get to experience. I don’t think it was even a pipe dream when I first started.

“To play a final in somewhere that had a stand was something that would have been a dream back then. To have a game where it wasn’t just your family members in the crowd cheering you on, that was a dream.

“Most people didn’t even know that women played. If it came up in conversation and you said you played rugby league, you’d get asked, ‘is it touch?’ They had no concept of what that could even look like.

“Now, to think there are genuinely fans of the game or people who are just aware of it is just a mega step for us. It’s only building our fanbase and I think Wembley will give us an even bigger platform.”

Cunningham, who was part of the Thatto Heath Crusaders side that won four consecutive Challenge Cups from 2013 to 2016, admitted getting more attention brings much greater pressure.

Saints beat Leeds in the 2021 semi-final and then prevailed in a seesaw final last year although the Rhinos gained a measure of revenge 11 months ago en route to Super League Grand Final glory.

Cunningham added: “The stuff that the men have managed to do, the history of this club for winning many, many trophies, there’s a level of expectation that you’re going to bring in trophies.

“That’s what the club wants, thrives off and expects. We expect that of ourselves as well and retaining the Challenge Cup was a big, big target we put on ourselves.

“The first trophy available, the opportunity to retain it, there’s always pressure once you’ve won a trophy to keep hold of it, we’re definitely putting that pressure on ourselves.

“We’re going to be holding on to that trophy really tightly to make sure we don’t give Leeds the opportunity to take it back.”

Butcher – part of the Leeds sides who won the Challenge Cup in 2018 and 2019, beating Castleford in the final on both occasions – is confident Leeds can end Saints’ stranglehold on the competition.

She told PA: “It’s going to be really, really special walking a team out at Wembley, I wouldn’t want to do it with any other group of people. We’re a really close-knit team.

“We’ve just had a weekend away, it’s united us even more. We spoke about why do we dedicate so much time and why do we juggle our work and family life. The answer is we just want to be with each other and we know we can do something special.”

Australia will make a late call on captain Sam Kerr’s fitness for their Women’s World Cup showdown with France.

Chelsea striker Kerr missed the group stage with a calf injury but came off the bench for the final 10 minutes in the round-of-16 victory over Denmark.

Australia boss Tony Gustavsson must now decide whether Kerr is fit to start Saturday’s quarter-final date with Les Bleues at Brisbane Stadium.

“If Sam is fit to play 90 minutes, she is starting,” Gustavsson said at his pre-match press conference.

“That’s not even a question, and the team knows it.

“I definitely would never, ever see Sam as a disturbance to the team. We’re talking about Sam Kerr.

“Whether she is ready to play 90 minutes plus extra time, that’s to be decided tonight.”

Australia have coped well without all-time top scorer Kerr, scoring six goals in their past two matches – following up a 4-0 win over Canada in their final group game with a 2-0 success against Denmark.

It has been an impressive response to the shock 3-2 defeat by Nigeria that threatened their participation in the knockout stages of a home tournament.

“I look at all the preparation we’ve done over the last few weeks but being ready doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy,” said former United States assistant coach Gustavsson.

“I had the privilege to be in five quarter-finals before this one in three Olympics and two World Cups and you get unhealthily addicted to these types of games.

“This is what you love, this is what you want. I am so happy that the players will get this experience and we will embrace every second of it.”

France, ranked fifth in the world and five places above Australia, have scored 12 goals in three games since opening with a goalless draw against Jamaica.

Brazil (2-1) and Panama (6-3) were beaten in the group stage before Morocco were brushed aside 4-0 in the last 16.

Gustavsson said: “They have proved over this tournament that they have extreme attacking threats: central, left and right.

“They attack with numbers and are brave, technical and fast.

“The one thing they have instilled in this tournament is the work ethic when they lose the ball.

“They are extremely aggressive when they lose the ball, so you get very little time when you win it.

“That’s probably the extra they have over us and that’s going to be the number one challenge to sort.

“But what we have proven is that our defensive structure and defensive work rate has been enormous – we have kept five clean sheets in our last six games – and we have also been very composed in front of goal.

“Once we do break that pressure we know how fast we can attack and one moment can decide the game.”

Luke Morris makes his first appearance in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup as he heads up the home team at Ascot on Saturday.

The 34-year-old – who took his career to new heights last year, winning the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Sir Mark Prescott’s Alpinista – has never before taken part in the team event, which was first run in 1999 and now includes four teams competing for points over six races.

The Great Britain and Ireland squad is made up of Morris, Tom Marquand and Declan McDonogh, and the trio will aim to defeat a European team, a Ladies team and a team representing the Rest of the World.

Morris said: “When I was asked to participate, I was hugely grateful. It looks a great, fun day with a real buzz about the place.

“The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup is something that I have grown up watching.

“The prize-money is great and it is real competitive racing.”

Morris has some well-fancied mounts at the weekend, including Clive Cox’s Tis Marvellous in the Dash and Stuart Williams’ Quinault in the sprint race – the latter a horse who has won his previous six races.

“From a participant’s perspective, everyone is really behind the Shergar Cup,” said Morris, who is favourite to win the Silver Saddle award for top rider, ahead of Rest of the World captain Frankie Dettori and Saffie Osborne.

“I know lots of jockeys would like to ride in it, plus lots of owners and trainers like running horses here,”

“To be honest, there is not much to dislike. I think it is a great initiative and the fact it is still going strong after so many years proves that it does work.

“I know my teammates Declan and Tom very well. Tom is flying at the moment and Declan is a former Irish champion.

“Throughout all the teams, there is real talent on show and hopefully it will be a great day.

“Riding winners at the highest level is always the aim. I am fiercely competitive and enjoy winning. I want to ride as many winners as I can each year, in the hope that it unlocks the door to ride nice horses.”

Lingering pain from lost decades will make it all the sweeter for Hull KR and Leigh Leopards when they converge on Wembley on Saturday for one of the most unlikely Betfred Challenge Cup finals in recent memory.

Forty-three years have passed since Rovers beat their city rivals Hull FC to claim their solitary crown and the intervening years have seen relegation heartbreak and three further final appearances – most recently a 50-0 humiliation by Leeds in 2015 – they would rather forget.

Leigh’s long wait for a trip to Wembley ticked over half a century two years ago, and their return sustains an astounding revival for a club who changed their spots last summer, shortly after providing the appetiser for last year’s showpiece when, as the Centurions, they sunk Featherstone to win the 1985 Cup final for second and third-tier sides.

Bank-rolled by leopardskin-clad local businessman Derek Beaumont and welded by a brilliant spine including Edwin Ipape and Lachlan Lam, Leigh have made a mockery of pre-season expectations of struggle by catapulting into the thick of the Super League play-off picture, and the cusp of adding a third Cup win to previous successes in 1921 and 1971.

“The town’s not had much to cheer about in the Challenge Cup and that’s why it’s an incredible story that we’re there,” said Leigh head coach Adrian Lam, the instigator of his side’s stunning campaign, who played for Wigan in their 2004 final loss to St Helens at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

“It’s always important to acknowledge the past successes and we’ve only won it twice. But we’re not there just to make up the numbers.

“There is a real opportunity to have an 80-minute performance and to give the town something else to cheer about.”

Rovers’ recent revival has been considerably more under-stated but under head coach Willie Peters they appear to have re-discovered an identity that harks back to their halcyon days of the mid-1980s – when they won two successive league titles – and promises much for their future prospects.

That fervent desire to re-emerge as one of the sport’s acknowledged powerhouses perhaps made their 2015 final thrashing even harder to bear, and ironically Rovers’ path towards Wembley redemption has involved two of the architects of their demise at the hands of the Rhinos.

Rovers favourite Ryan Hall, who has won his fitness battle ahead of the final, played on the wing for Leeds that day while Danny McGuire, who will stand alongside Peters at Wembley as Rovers’ assistant coach, crossed for the second of the Rhinos’ nine tries.

McGuire is adamant that Rovers have learned the tough lessons from that 2015 loss, pointing out the relatively muted celebrations that accompanied their uproarious golden point semi-final win over Wigan at Headingley last month that sealed their return trip to London.

“Arguably in 2015 Rovers were still living off the emotions of their semi-final win against Warrington ,” McGuire told the PA news agency. “I’ve had instances like that where you celebrate a semi-final win a bit too much, and it’s only through experience that you learn to handle those situations.

“That’s what happened in the dressing room after Wigan. The players know the magnitude of what they could achieve.

“The 1980 final is still revered in Hull and it is a constant reminder of all the great players who achieved things for this club and how they’re still held in high regard.

“It’s important that you learn how to handle your chance to make history. Willie has brought a real passion and no-nonsense approach and there’s a real feeling we’ve come out of the other side.

“It’s time for someone else to write a new chapter and this is their chance.”

If any further incentive was required, Rovers are determined to give 35-year-old captain Shaun Kenny-Dowall a rousing send-off in his last season for the club, with Peters also set to revert Mikey Lewis to full-back in light of the positive news about Hall, who limped out of the warm-up prior to their semi-final win with a calf strain.

For their own part a much-settled Leigh side with a ramming front row led by captain John Asiata will start as narrow favourites, which McGuire acknowledges is testament to the incredible progress made by a club that seemed for so long to remain one of the sport’s bit-part players.

“I’m really please with what Leigh have achieved,” said McGuire, who was joined by current Leigh pair Zak Hardaker and Tom Briscoe in the Rhinos’ 2015 line-up.

“They’ve been great to watch this season and their confidence will be sky-high. Like us they have overcome big odds to reach this final and one of us is going to make history.”

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.

Adding to the stakes for Saturday’s showdown between the old rivals is that should England fall to a defeat of any description, they will slump to ninth in the global rankings – their lowest position since the standings were introduced in 2003.

“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?

“Against Wales I thought there were some good bits with our scrum and some bits to improve.

“I hope you’ll see a pack that’s going to work and one that will show physicality.

“Everything we’re doing is building towards the World Cup and we want to have a good performance against Wales.”

England are fielding a team that is close to their strongest XV as preparations for their opener against Argentina on September 9 ratchet up.

Owen Farrell leads the side and is joined by fellow big guns Maro Itoje, Jamie George and Billy Vunipola, with Elliot Daly and Henry Arundell adding finishing ability on the wings.

Jamie Ritchie has declared himself fit and ready to lead Scotland into the Rugby World Cup after shaking off his recent calf issue.

The captain sat out the previous two warm-up matches at home to Italy and France as a precaution after what he described as “a little niggle” but he returns to the starting XV for this Saturday night’s rematch with Les Bleus in the heat of Saint-Etienne.

Ritchie is raring to go ahead of his first outing since playing for Edinburgh in a United Rugby Championship match away to Ulster almost four months ago.

“I feel like I’ve had a good pre-season and I’m feeling good, really excited to get back playing,” he said at the captain’s run press conference at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Friday.

“I’ve been sad to miss out the last couple of weeks because I was looking forward to getting a run out at Murrayfield but I have had to wait until this week so I’m really excited to get going.”

Ritchie insists there was never any fear that the injury would cause him any major problems ahead of the World Cup, which gets under way in France in four weeks’ time.

“No, not really,” he said when asked if he was worried about being fit in time. “It was just a little niggle I picked up in the week of the Italy match.

“It was probably touch and go for the home game against France, we were just erring on the side of caution. I was always going to be good to go for this week.”

Head coach Gregor Townsend said on Thursday that Ritchie is “probably in the best shape I’ve seen him in the last few years”.

“That’s kind of him,” smiled the captain when asked if he agreed with Townsend. “I need to ask my wife! Yeah, I feel good. It’s been good to have an extended pre-season.

“I got more or less a full pre-season in last year post-injury but the start of that was probably inhibited by the fact I’d been out for eight months (with a serious hamstring injury sustained against England in February 2022) so this is the first full pre-season I’ve had off the back of a full season of playing.

“I’m feeling in good shape and looking forward to getting going.”

Scotland spent the early part of this week at their World Cup training base near Nice before flying up to Saint-Etienne, where they found temperatures in the high 20s as they went through their team run on Friday.

Although Saturday’s match kicks off at 9pm, balmy conditions are expected. Ritchie feels the heat his team have been exposed to this week – and on their previous trip to the south of France in June – will stand them in good stead for the demands of the tournament itself.

“Massively, it means we’re adapted to what it’s going to be like out here, particularly on the training side of things (when they’ll be in the south of France).

“We’re playing in different parts of the country and the game tomorrow is in the evening so it might not be in the direct sunlight. Hopefully we’ll be a bit more acclimatised to the heat but not feeling that direct sunlight.

“We’re in a great place, our training sessions have been consistent, they’ve started well and they’ve finished well. There’s not been a session where we’ve dropped off, even in the heat, which is testament to the guys’ fitness and how hard we’ve worked.”

Ritchie feels Scotland’s fitness was highlighted by their stirring second-half fightback against the French last weekend when they scored 22 unanswered points to win 25-21 after trailing 21-3 at the break.

The 26-year-old flanker is hoping they can build on that performance and pull off another victory even though Les Bleus have selected arguably their strongest XV for this weekend after fielding a predominantly second-string team in Edinburgh.

“We take loads of confidence from last week in that we didn’t necessarily start that well but we fought to come back and have a really great finish,” said Ritchie.

“Our fitness showed in that game, we really started to peak towards the end and played some of our best stuff.

“We also felt we were the better team in the Six Nations (when losing 32-21 in Paris in February) and we’ll be looking to show it tomorrow.”

Michael Dods says the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes is the “obvious race” for Azure Blue and it is “all systems go” for a York showdown with reigning champion Highfield Princess.

The four-year-old started her season by winning Newmarket’s Ellen Chaloner Stakes before heading to the Knavesmire where her match-fitness enabled her to account for John Quinn’s stable star in the Group Two 1895 Duke of York Clipper Stakes.

She was too keen in the early stages when a below-par sixth in the July Cup next time, but Darlington-based Dods is keen to head back to the Knavesmire for what is sure to be a hot contest and a rematch with what he is expecting to be a much better version of Highfield Princess.

“At the moment we’re thinking of going to York and the Nunthorpe,” said Dods.

“We’re pulling her back a furlong and it will be very competitive if the two-year-olds come in and also Highfield Princess was so impressive at Goodwood.

“We had had a run and Highfield had not when we met before and she’s obviously come on a lot from then.

“But it is the obvious race and at the moment the plan is to go there.”

Mecca’s Angel famously went back-to-back for Dods in 2015 and 2016, while the handler has also seen Mabs Cross rattle the crossbar in the five-furlong dash in 2018 and another of his mares, Que Amoro, pick up a silver medal behind Battaash in 2020.

However, Azure Blue will be running over the minimum five furlongs for the first time in her 15-race career when she bids to add her name to the roll of honour.

“We’re travelling into the unknown,” added Dods.

“They will go a hard gallop and hopefully she will be fine. We’re into the unknown a bit, but it’s worth a try.

“We’re looking forward to it and at the minute it is all systems go.”

Any rain at the Curragh would be welcomed by Ken Condon, as he prepares to saddle Moss Tucker in the Rathasker Stud Phoenix Sprint Stakes.

The Excelebration gelding has not been disgraced since downing Tenebrism at Cork at the beginning of the year and was last seen finishing third to Art Power at the track in the Sapphire Stakes last month.

A Listed winner over course and distance in testing ground last October, the five-year-old thrives when the mud flies and his handler is eager to see a drop of rain at the Kildare track to add some further ease to the ground ahead of the Group Three contest.

“He ran very well last time and although he was no match for Art Power, in the main he is very consistent and he’s been in very good form since,” said Condon.

“The forecast is unsettled and any more rain will be most welcome for him, he’s obviously at his best when it’s testing conditions. At the moment it is nice ground, but any rain will be welcome.

“I think he’s probably at his best over five furlongs on soft ground, but it is a case if he doesn’t go there, then he’s probably sat on the sidelines for a little while.

“With this unusual weather at the moment, we might be able to take advantage of it, but it is hard to know how much rain the Curragh will get. It is forecast and hopefully a bit will fall.

“It’s a nice Group Three contest and we’re hopeful of a good run.”

Adrian McGuinness’ Go Athletico was just ahead of Moss Tucker when chasing home Art Power for a silver medal in the Sapphire Stakes and is another looking to make his mark in the six-furlong contest.

Bought by owners Team Valor International and Shamrock Thoroughbreds for €165,000 in the spring, he has made a good impression since joining McGuinness and the handler is expecting a bold bid.

“We’re looking forward to a big run,” said McGuinness.

“We were very happy with him the last day and he ran into a good horse. He actually had quite an easy race because Colin (Keane, jockey) was easy on him when the other horse had gone and we were well beaten.

“I’m expecting a very big run from him and he did a lovely piece of work the other day. Ronan Whelan rides him and I think he’ll run a huge race – I’ll be disappointed if he’s beat.

“I know sprints can go either way and it can depend on split-second decisions, but he is a very exciting horse to have and I definitely do think he is going to improve a bit more.”

The sole UK raider in the contest is Michael Dods’ Commanche Falls, who was a Listed winner over the track and trip on his penultimate start before following up in the Hackwood Stakes at Newbury.

The six-year-old has only once finished outside the first three this term and the Darlington-based handler is confident his speedster is in good order ahead of his hat-trick bid.

Dods said: “Drying ground would be a help but he’s in good form, he’s won there. It’s going to be competitive but we’re hoping for a good run.

“He hated the ground at Newbury last time but still did well and it’s hard for these sort of horses because there are not a lot of races around. It was either back to Ireland or we don’t go anywhere.

“We’re under no illusions and it will be a decent race, but we hope he will run his race and run well.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell hopes to introduce on-loan Arsenal striker Mika Biereth for a potential debut in Sunday’s cinch Premiership encounter with Hibernian.

With Jon Obika still doubtful with a hamstring issue, Theo Bair produced a goalscoring debut in last weekend’s draw with Dundee and Denmark Under-21 international Biereth could come into contention for Motherwell’s first home game of the league season.

Kettlewell said: “He has trained the tail end of last week, he got two sessions in, and he has trained this week as well.

“He missed a couple of weeks at Arsenal so it’s just a case of us trying to get as much content into him as we can, work away with him over the next couple of days.

“But I am fairly certain that he pushes himself into the reckoning of at least being involved in the squad.”

Amid a shortage of experienced attacking options, Joe Efford replaced Bair in the 88th minute at Dens Park for his first appearance since suffering a thigh tear in October last year.

Efford has played most of his football in Scotland as a wide player and it appears he has some work to do to convince Kettlewell he can fit into his 3-5-2 system.

“The most important part is that Joe needs to stay fit and show us his qualities,” Kettlewell said. “It’s been a hard time for him, a long-term injury and then from that there’s been a lot of stop-start moments.

“There has been a lot of inconsistency, I am sure Joe will hold his hand up to that as well, in reserve games, games to get back to full fitness, pre-season and even in training sessions.

“I am always a great believer that we can’t just go from zero to full throttle, there has to be a period of time where an individual shows you that they can be trusted and that they are offering something on the pitch, they are showing you quality and that they can play in your system.

“He gets his opportunity to come on at Dens Park and that was specifically we were lacking striker options.”

Kettlewell is still looking to move players on in order to bring some in and the process of trimming his squad means the club will no longer compete in the SPFL Reserve League.

“We had more than 50 players at the club last season,” Kettlewell said.

“I feel that everyone who is at the football club must have a realistic opportunity to play in your first team.

“For us to run with another 15-16 players that aren’t pushing to be in your first team, it’s not sustainable for a club like Motherwell.

“We have had to trim that and our focus comes on the under-18s group and the loan system.

“We have four or five with potentially more going out on loan. I have asked a member of staff to focus on that and make sure we are finding the correct loans for players so when they come back it gives them a real chance to play in our first team.

“A lot of the under-18s have been part of our first-team group over pre-season and you see the obvious ones on the bench and in the starting 11.”

Luton boss Rob Edwards will fulfil a dream when he sends his team into Premier League action for the first time at Brighton on Saturday.

Edwards took charge at Kenilworth Road in November last year and guided a club which less than a decade earlier had been plying its trade in non-league football back into the top flight after a 31-year absence.

Life since victory in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final has been something of a whirlwind, with the Hatters busily preparing for their latest – and perhaps biggest – challenge on and off the pitch, but Edwards admits he will feel a huge sense of pride when the dream finally becomes a reality.

He told a press conference: “I’m really proud. It’s hard because you don’t always think about it, you just think about what’s next and don’t always have time to reflect.

“It’s been an aim of mine for long time. I think most people would agree the Premier League is the highest level.”

The game at the Amex Stadium could see skipper Tom Lockyer make his first competitive appearance since collapsing on the pitch early in the play-off final, the result of a heart scare which has since been addressed by surgery.

Edwards added: “This is extremely important and special for Tom. That day was made special by knowing he was OK.

“It was the most scared I’ve ever been during a football game. Health is the most important thing and it’s great to have him back.

“He’s had his own journey as well – he was in the National League and now leading his team out in the Premier League.”

Edwards’ hand has been strengthened since promotion by the arrival of nine summer signings, perhaps the most eye-catching of them former Everton and England midfielder Ross Barkley, and there could be several debuts, particularly with Jordan Clark, Dan Potts, Gabe Osho and Reece Burke all on the casualty list.

Excitement levels are understandably high, but Edwards knows there is a long and tough season ahead.

He said: “We’ve got a big season ahead and it’s been a long time coming since the final kick at Wembley. The elation turns quite real and now we feel ready.

“The fans are the most important people at any football club. They are the most important to me, they’re here before us and they’ll be here after us.

“They’ve been through some really bleak times in the past, so hopefully they can enjoy these moments because they deserve it.”

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has admitted he cannot just “slap money on the table” as he attempts to find the last piece of his jigsaw for the new season.

The Magpies, backed by their majority owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, have invested a net £95milion in Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento at the expense of the departed Allan Saint-Maximin this summer but Howe is keen to add one more player to his resources, with central defence a remaining focus.

However, the 45-year-old knows the club may have to be “creative” to get another deal over the line in an attempt to plot a path through Financial Fair Play regulations, with loans and staggered payments among the options.

Asked what that meant on the eve of the new Premier League season’s opener against Aston Villa, Howe said: “It means we can’t just go out and slap money on the table and buy a player. We don’t have the resources to do that at the moment with FFP restrictions.

“It’s about trying to find a different way rather than paying money in the here and now.”

Newcastle have strengthened their squad significantly after last season’s top-four finish, which secured a return to Champions League football, but Howe is hopeful there is another deal to be done.

He said: “I’d love one more player, that’s what I’d love personally, and I think then we’d have the ideal depth at this moment with the injuries that we currently have.”

The Magpies’ surge back into the upper reaches of the league table came less than two years into the new ownership’s reign and took many by surprise, despite the £250million spending spree which helped to fuel it.

They were able to take advantage of below-par showings from the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, and are likely to face a tougher challenge this time around with TV pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher predicting they will not even make the top six this season.

Asked if that provided added motivation, Howe brushed that aside and said: “Ultimately people will always write us off, and I urge us all to come together and to fight tooth and nail to prove people wrong – and in my job you have to prove people wrong every single day.

“I have said my ultimate emotion that I use is fear of failure. Some people might see that as negative, but it’s fuelled me all my career and to work as hard as I can to make sure we don’t suffer that experience.”

Howe could hand Tonali, Barnes and Livramento competitive debuts against Villa, while defender Fabian Schar is back in contention after a thigh injury.

However, midfielder Joe Willock is likely to be missing until the middle of next month with the hamstring problem he suffered last season.

Howe said: “I think we’ll probably miss him for the first group of games before the first international break.”

England and Wales meet at Twickenham on Saturday in their second World Cup warm-up Test.

Wales won the opening encounter, scoring 14 unanswered second-half points as tries from Gareth Davies and George North saw them home 20-9.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the key points heading into their latest clash.

England summon the cavalry

England have assembled their big guns as they enter must-win territory just two games into their World Cup warm-up campaign. Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola and Jamie George are among the front-line stars in action at Twickenham, and potentially only Ellis Genge and Tom Curry are missing from the strongest XV. With the pivotal opener against Argentina on September 9 fast approaching, England need a reassuring performance and to avoid a fourth successive defeat that would continue a worrying downward spiral.

Momentum key for Wales

Wales have not won back-to-back Test matches since November 2021 when they beat Fiji and Australia, so there is a need to build on last weekend’s impressive 20-9 warm-up victory over England. Head coach Warren Gatland has made 15 changes as the clock continues ticking towards his World Cup squad announcement, and Saturday’s encounter will be the final opportunity for many players to impress. Wales have lost on their last six visits to Twickenham since the 2015 World Cup, which underlines the size of challenge ahead, but there were hints of a feelgood factor returning as a 65,000 crowd roared them home in Cardiff.

Dewi Lake in the spotlight

Flanker Jac Morgan led Wales with distinction at the Principality Stadium last Saturday, putting himself in pole position to skipper his country at the World Cup. Gatland, though, has said he will use the August schedule to assess captaincy candidates, and 24-year-old Ospreys hooker Lake now steps forward on his international return after shoulder and knee injuries meant he did not play Test rugby last season. Lake is a proven performer at the highest level, and he is likely to soak up the extra responsibility that awaits him.

Vunipola and Earl take centre-stage

If given the chance, Daly and Henry Arundell will provide thrills on the wing, but it is in the back-row where England’s most interesting picks reside. Vunipola makes his first Test appearance since the autumn – and because of a knee injury his maiden outing of any description since April. As the squad’s only specialist number eight and most destructive carrier in the forwards, he needs to hit the ground running. Earl, meanwhile, is rewarded for his perseverance with a full debut after winning all 15 previous caps as a replacement. Dynamic in attack, the Saracens openside can help ignite England.

Warren Gatland’s stamp is all over Wales

Last season’s Six Nations campaign – which marked Gatland returning for a second stint as Wales head coach – was one to forget, with a fifth-placed finish being accompanied by major off-field issues that almost led to a players’ strike. Fast-forward five months, though, and Wales appear to be a different beast. Demanding training camps in Switzerland and Turkey were followed by victory over England – “too fit for them” were Gatland’s words as he left the Principality Stadium last weekend – and it has been the New Zealander in his element, relishing a fourth World Cup campaign and loving nothing more than a chance to prove the doubters wrong.