Wales are ready for a war of words in the buildup to their match against England in Cardiff a week on Saturday, with Eddie Jones making an early start on Sunday by declaring he does not see the Principality Stadium as a fortress.
The Welsh coaching setup believe the salvos will count for little once the two remaining unbeaten teams in the Six Nations meet. “It is up to Eddie what he says; I am not bothered,” said the Wales assistant coach, Neil Jenkins. “England have won here the last couple of times so it is probably not a fortress for them. I am sure a few hand grenades will be thrown between now and the game, some by Eddie.
“He is a top coach who has done a fantastic job with England but I do not think that whatever is said will have much of a bearing on the game. We need to upset them by playing the better rugby on the day.”
Jenkins also acknowledged that, if Wales lose to England, then Warren Gatland will not sign off as coach after 12 years with another Six Nations title. The hosts, who are seeking a record 12th successive victory, have won the championship three times since Gatland took over but they are two points behind England after two rounds and, with their rivals finishing with Italy and Scotland at home – two teams who have not won at Twickenham in the Six Nations era – defeat would leave Wales all but playing for the runners-up position.
“No disrespect to a very good Scotland side but playing at Twickenham is a tough ask for any side,” Jenkins said. “The reality is we need to win to have a chance of winning the title. If we don’t, we will be playing for second place.
“I think emotions are pretty high at the moment and we are still nine days away from the game. We are under no illusions about what’s coming and know we need to play better than we have in the two games we’ve played, because we have not really fired a shot yet. I’d like to think, given what this match brings, that will look after itself come kick-off time.”
England lost their last three matches in the 2018 championship but have started this year at a thunderous pace, achieving a bonus-point victory over the champions, Ireland, in Dublin before overwhelming France at Twickenham.
“England are a good side who have kicked more than any other team in their two games,” said Jenkins, who kicked the winning conversion at Wembley 20 years ago when Wales denied England a grand slam. “While you have to try to minimise what they do, you have to impose your own gameplan as well. The reality is there will be a fair bit of kicking next week: England play most of their rugby in the opposition’s half through their kicking game or powerful runners. We have to be ready for that and try to find grass.”
Wales have released the full-back Leigh Halfpenny to the Scarlets for their league game at Treviso on Saturday. The full-back has just returned to full training after three months out with concussion and is unlikely to be involved against England.