Former Wales flanker Michael Owen has backed his home nation to win the Six Nations opener against England on Friday, claiming Warren Gatland has the advantage of selecting from a more “settled” squad.
Stuart Lancaster’s Six Nations preparations have been hit by a number of high profile injuries, opening the door for five England debutants.
And Owen believes England’s alterations hand Wales the initiative, adding an open-roof Millennium Stadium will have no bearing on the game’s outcome.
“Wales are more settled and have got more established players in their team, and maybe a few more game-breakers,” Owen told talkSPORT.
“It will be a close game, but Wales will have to start as favourites.
“It does make a difference [England’s squad changes], going into a cauldron like the Millennium Stadium, but I do think England have a hell of a lot of depth and very good players.
“The players that are going in are very experienced Premiership players, experience European players, but it is slightly different at international level.
“Those guys are well prepared going into the game; they’ve had a good week and a half preparation so it’s maybe not as much as it has been in the past, but for those reasons Wales start as favourites.”
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