By Matt Majendie

Luger is confident England's second string can beat Wales

Dan Luger has experienced the highs and lows of his rugby career against Wales.

And the England wing hopes to make another positive addition to his CV when he lines up for Saturday's World Cup warm-up Test at the Millennium Stadium.

In just four matches against the Welsh, Luger has scored three times.

His first outing started in glorious fashion when he ran a stunning line to open the scoring in England's 1999 Grand Slam bid at Wembley.

But it all ended sourly when Scott Gibbs' famous try in the dying minutes gave Wales a 32-31 victory and ended England's Grand Slam hopes.

Two years on in Cardiff, a bright start ended in dire fashion when he suffered a serious neck injury which ruled him out of the remainder of the Six Nations tournament.

We'll all be upping our game with the World Cup in mind Dan Luger

But Luger has since enjoyed better fortunes against the Welsh, scoring twice in a 50-10 win at Twickenham in 2002, and featuring in a 26-9 victory in Cardiff last year.

Despite contrasting memories of past encounters at the Millennium Stadium, he is relishing the opportunity to take on Wales once more.

He told the BBC Sport website: "I've gone well against them in the past but have also had some of my lowest points.

"Memories of me busting my neck will also be on my mind. I guess it's only natural. But I'm hoping to only have good things to talk about after the game."

Although England have dominated contests between the two sides in the recent past, the former Harlequin insists the trip across the Severn Bridge always instills excitement.

"I enjoy playing against Wales," he added. "It's always a great atmosphere and a great game.

LUGER'S RECORD v WALES 11/4/99: Lost 32-31 - no tries 23/2/01: Won 44-15 - One try; Suffers serious neck injury 23/3/02: Won 50-10 - 2 tries 22/2/03: Won 26-9 - no tries

"Wales have some great players - some really exciting players. Maybe the results haven't quite gone the way they wanted but, the last time we played at the Millennium Stadium, they twice managed to beat us on the outside.

"It's not quite happening for them at the moment. All they need is for everything to finally click. Let's hope that doesn't happen on Saturday."

Wales go into the game on the back of a 35-12 defeat to Ireland but put out a much strengthened line-up for Saturday.

Luger is part of what is effectively a second-string England line-up, but he still believes it will still be good enough for victory.

"That's what is special about England," he added. "We have a lot of guys who can play in the starting XV and play well.

"Clive has said he'll pick the squad from what happens in the internationals against Wales and France, so we'll all be upping our game with the World Cup in mind."