England head coach Stuart Lancaster has expressed his confidence that his side can beat Wales when the two old rivals meet at the Millennium Stadium in Friday's Six Nations curtain-raiser.

The visitors go into the match as underdogs having been ruthlessly dispatched when chasing a Grand Slam on their most recent visit to Cardiff.

Lancaster revealed that he was looking forward to beginning the Championship with such an "iconic" showdown but insisted that his side are more than capable of upsetting the odds and emerging victorious.

"It doesn't get any better as a set-up to the Championship. It's an iconic rugby stadium and an iconic fixture. The history between the two countries in rugby is huge. To kick it off on a Friday night.... makes it a big game," Lancaster told reporters.

"The odds for Friday are irrelevant to me. We played pretty much the same Welsh team last year and we definitely believe we can go to Cardiff and win.

"We 100% respect that they have many British and Irish Lions, but equally we have confidence and belief that we can do the job. If we don't believe that, we'll have no chance."

England's first home match of the campaign comes against Italy on February 14.