Gatland conscious of Anglo-Welsh rugby tradition

Wales coach Warren Gatland is adamant that Sunday's match against England at Twickenham will be more than just a training-ground exercise.

Officials on both sides of the border have been accused of colluding in a money-grabbing exercise by scheduling this additional fixture at the end of a gruelling season for both sets of players.

Wales' last two visits to Twickenham saw them beat England in the World Cup before their old rivals gained revenge with a 25-21 Six Nations win in March, a victory that helped the Red Rose brigade complete a Grand Slam.

By contrast, this weekend's match has the look of a warm-up fixture given it's England's last game before they tour Australia in June and Wales' final international before they head to New Zealand for a three-Test series against world champions New Zealand.

The two trips will see New Zealander Gatland and England's Australian coach Eddie Jones facing their native country.

"We want to go to Twickenham and play well, but it's looking longer-term and New Zealand, and throwing some things in because New Zealand do defend differently and play differently to England," said Gatland.

"You have got to be conscious of that, but there is no way we want to under-value how important it is when Wales play England because of the tradition," he added.

"Over the years, there is very little between us with the win-loss ratio. They are a couple of wins ahead of us.

"It would be nice to close that ledger down in front of what should be close to a full house with a great atmosphere," the former Ireland coach added.

Gatland has made five changes from the side beaten by England in the Six Nations, with World Cup injury casualties Scott Williams and Rhys Webb returning to the starting side while linchpin lock Alun Wyn Jones is set to win his 99th cap following a long-standing foot problem.

Wales haven't beaten the All Blacks since 1953.

As for the old theory that New Zealand are at their most vulnerable in the first Test of a series, with Wales facing the All Blacks in Auckland on June 11, Gatland said it no longer applied.

"Southern hemisphere teams are coming out of competitions where they are pretty battle-hardened and ready for that first Test, and we have demonstrated in the past that we have got better the longer we have spent together," he explained.

"It is why we wanted this game (against England), and a little bit more time together before we played the first Test.

"Mentally, we have got to be right," said Gatland as he recalled Wales's lacklustre first-half display against England in March.

"We have acknowledged and accepted that. That's the first step.

"The second step is going to New Zealand with some confidence that we are good enough on our day to beat the best team in the world.

"That is going to be a massive challenge because, looking at some of their teams in Super Rugby, they have been red-hot."