Warren Gatland's coaching record in big games is second to none but Wales' visit to Twickenham is shaping up as the ultimate test of his tactical ingenuity. The presence of Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell on last summer's Lions tour has given England a highly detailed insight into Gatland's methods and the home side's hooker, Dylan Hartley, has made clear that two influential Welsh forwards will be specifically targeted from the outset.

Part of Gatland's recurring success is his ability to outwit rivals who reckon they know what is coming but Hartley, who missed out on the Lions tour through suspension, has revealed that Toby Faletau and his opposite number Richard Hibbard top his personal hit-list.

"We obviously look at other teams' talismen [sic] but I prefer to call them targets," said Hartley, who is the most-capped player in England's current team. "You respect them because they give the team a lot of momentum but, if you make them a target, it changes that."

There is a firm belief within England's dressing room that stopping the physical Welsh No8 Faletau will be crucial, as it was with France's Louis Picamoles, Scotland's David Denton and Ireland's Jamie Heaslip. "Every No8 in every team is a big go-forward man. If you see a big man being stopped psychologically that's huge," explained Hartley.

"Hibbard is also very powerful for them. They like to put Jamie Roberts up the middle of the field, then bring Hibbard round the corner on a big strong carry. It's nothing complicated but they do it very well. They're very powerful blokes."

Hartley is equally quick to stress that England cannot just concentrate "mindlessly" on one or two individuals but he clearly feels Wales must not be allowed to make their physicality count as conclusively as they did in Cardiff a year ago when the defending champions romped to a 30-3 victory. While some in England are motivated by revenge, the 27-year-old favours a different psychological approach. "It's quite nice to have the fear of that happening again in the back of your head. That day in Wales was the complete, all-round poor performance and the lesson has been learned. I don't think we've seen anything like that since."

Rowntree, for his part, argues that Hartley is also a reformed character compared with the hot-headed competitor who has previously been singled out for pre-match attention by Gatland. He has worked alongside the latter often enough, however, to warn that England should assume absolutely nothing. For him, the Welsh victory over France and the Lions' third-Test win over Australia in July conclusively proved what Wales' senior players can do when they put their minds to it. "I respect the way they are able to turn that tap on as appropriate," stressed Rowntree.

"They will have something up their sleeves. In the last two years they have had some 'sneaks' which we have just about covered. We'll expect the unexpected on top of their normal physical game. They bring a full armoury of threats not just that 'Warrenball' thing. What does that mean?

"Having worked with these guys they are able to flip their game from power to a very good kicking game to a wide game. They are very well coached and they have threats across the board."

With England's Northampton contingent also now regularly sharing a dressing room with Wales's outstanding winger George North there is, nevertheless, a sense that the English pack feels better equipped now than was the case prior to the Millennium Stadium encounter 12 months ago. "It is well documented how much that hurt me and the forwards but I think we have come a long way since then," continued Rowntree. "You have to use the hurt to drive you on and we have done that. From the autumn to the last game against Ireland our progress has been pleasing."

The next step is to bring the same intensity that Welsh sides under Gatland tend to produce whenever the stakes are raised. "We have had a look at their recent games and I think Warren laid down the law for that France game. I have seen him do that before and I can imagine what it was like. They delivered, didn't they?

"He doesn't say a lot – I think that is one of his greatest strengths – but what he does say, you listen to. He'll be very direct. You could see in their performance against France that he had had a word with them."