Six Nations: England should beat Wales comfortably judging by the opening rounds, says Mike Brown

One of my memories of playing against Wales is the ‘combined XV’ articles that would always be churned out on the week of the game. They would cherry-pick the best players from both sides. During the Warren Gatland era, it would always be a pretty even split of English and Welsh.

Based on what I’ve seen of Wales in the opening two rounds, they don’t have a single player who would get into the England XV right now. Josh Adams has the strongest case, but only because England have been playing a centre and full-back on the wings. People will say ‘what about Louis Rees-Zammit?’ but I would rather have Adam Radwan if you want speed.

This Wales team isn’t anywhere near the quality of some of their recent line-ups and England should beat them comfortably at Twickenham. If Joe Launchbury comes back at lock with Courtney Lawes on the flank, I can’t see Wales matching their physicality in the pack. If England can play with tempo and move the ball to the wide channels, they should cause all manner of problems. Manu Tuilagi is back and that makes England a different beast. It could be close to their best back-line.

Wales is the game that you always want to win. The rivalry is massive and you get absolutely hammered if you lose. I remember Welsh fans banging on the bus after they beat us in Cardiff once. Joe Marler went down to the door and dragged one of them on to the bus. It was all in good spirits but it gave the fan the shock of his life! We drove off and realised this guy had dropped his glasses on the floor in panic and Marler wore them all the way back to the hotel!

If you win, it’s an amazing feeling. Wales are a streetwise team with a lot of fight so you need experienced heads on the pitch. I would like to see Ben Youngs back in the starting XV, leading out the team when he overtakes Jason Leonard as England’s most capped player of all time. What an achievement.

Youngs has come a long way since he was a round-cheeked youngster who cooked all his food in a deep-fat fryer. He was a great team man and always up for a laugh, but when it was time to work he was always serious.

Brown said he thought no Welsh player would get into a combined England and Wales XV

What’s the secret to his longevity? It’s the way he’s constantly evolved his game so people can’t work him out. He’s adapted to three different head coaches — Martin Johnson, Stuart Lancaster and Eddie Jones — and that takes some doing.

Constantly changing environments and meeting the demands of different coaches is easier said than done. It’s the same when you’re switching between club and country. You have to make a lot of tweaks to your game and Youngs has done that well.

At a certain stage in your career you’ve got to evolve into a leader. Youngs speaks well in meetings and doesn’t get fazed. That’s the sort of composure you need against teams like Wales. He is not as quick as Harry Randall — or previously Danny Care — but his smart game management gives him an edge. He makes good decisions and his calm head sets him apart.

England and Wales are set to play this Saturday and Brown predicted an English victory

Twelve months ago, he looked like a player who was stuck in that England rut of constant kicking, but he’s rediscovered his form back at Leicester. His experience is exactly what this England team need now and, barring a complete stinker, he should be the first-choice No 9 at the World Cup next year.

It’s great that Randall and Raffi Quirke are snapping at his heels because you need that competition. It was the same with Youngs and Care for all those years. It means you can never get comfortable and let your standards slip, but Randall and Quirke are both pretty raw.

Without a doubt, Youngs is up there as one of England’s greats. We’ve had Richard Hill, Andy Gomarsall, Matt Dawson, Kyran Bracken and Danny Care, but Youngs has eclipsed them all in terms of caps. The only thing Dawson has over him is the 2003 World Cup. If Youngs manages to win the World Cup next year then he’d go down as England’s best No 9 of all time. And I’m pretty confident that next Saturday he’ll have a victory to mark the occasion.

Brown picked out Ben Youngs as one of England’s greats and wants to see him back in the side