Dan Biggar said an injury-hit Wales were confident they could emerge victorious from their key World Cup pool match against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Ace goalkicker Leigh Halfpenny and scrum-half Rhys Webb were both ruled out before the tournament while Wales now have fitness concerns regarding props Paul James and Samson Lee.
In Halfpenny’s absence, goalkicking duties have fallen to fly-half Biggar and while he may not have the same range as the full-back, he lacks little in the way of accuracy with an international success rate of more than 84 percent — the best of any frontline goalkicker at the World Cup.
England have won their last two Tests against Wales but Biggar, speaking to reporters at Twickenham on Friday, said: “It gets hyped up. We are trying to prove to everyone that’s written us off that we’ve got a good shout in this game. We’re a confident outfit.
“We didn’t play so well here two years ago, and it was a close one seven months ago at the Millennium Stadium. We are fully aware of how difficult the challenge will be, but we certainly won’t have any doubts in our mind.”
Saturday’s Pool A match is set to play a key role in a ‘group of death’ also featuring two-time champions Australia, with bruising encounters expected all over the pitch including in midfield where England have opted for a new centre pairing of rugby league convert Sam Burgess and Brad Barritt.
The England duo, brought together after Jonathan Joseph was sidelined with a chest injury, will face a powerful Welsh pairing in Jamie Roberts and Scott Williams.
“We are fully aware they (England centres) are going to come down the 12 channel, and Burgess is an off-load threat as well.” Biggar added.
“We can stop that at source at set-piece if we can nick a couple of line-outs. We have been working on a few things, if we can keep the ball away from them a little bit and move them around a bit.
“They are both very good defenders, so we’ve got to try to read them as best as possible. They’re both quite physical, and we will have to be a bit more delicate in how we handle it. It’s about concentrating on what we do.
“As a 10, you are used to some big centres running hard down your channel.”
Wales beat England by a record 30-3 margin in 2013 but lost 29-18 at Twickenham in 2014 before going down 21-16 in the Six Nations in Cardiff in February.
However, they have won twice at Twickenham since Kiwi coach Warren Gatland took charge in 2008.
“We have checked everything off for what England will bring and what we have done well, and that’s what we are trying to replicate and get better at,” said Biggar.
“We look back at those games over the last few years, but it’s on the night. It is a World Cup game away from home, so it’s going to be really different.”