England have aggression, power and don’t lose at home. But the Welsh are buoyant after smashing Scotland so prepare for... MOLTEN MAYHEM
RAIN clouds are due over Twickenham today but it will take a monsoon to douse the inferno on the pitch. Rhys Patchell has been warned he is going to feel ‘some heat’ but he is not the only one.
England v Wales has always been a fiery fixture and this 2018 instalment is not about to break the mould. All attempts to portray this as just another match are undermined by the mutual antagonism which rises to the surface, as it has done this week.
After Wales head coach Warren Gatland had some fun at Eddie Jones’s expense, his England counterpart responded to the slings and arrows by firing a cannon the other way.
The Welsh mind- games had focused on a perceived fitness advantage, a sense of superiority at the breakdown and the familiarity of their rivals’ game.
Jones’s retort involved questioning the courage of Wales fly-half Patchell and accusing captain Alun Wyn Jones of intimidating referees. The fact Eddie Jones felt the need to go on the offensive in such an aggressive manner is being viewed as testament to the threat posed by Wales. Even without so many leading men through injury, they routed Scotland at home last week and have come to London with hope and momentum.
Perhaps Jones himself is feeling some of the heat, or more likely he is just trying to find advantages wherever he can, using sledgehammer psychology if that is what it takes. Some Welsh observers have reacted with indignation, but Jones will just point them towards his c.v. at Twickenham, which has extended an era of home rule.
Under this regime, Dylan Hartley and Co have created a fortress where visitors fear to tread. Since Jones took charge, they have won every match at home and today they are striving to claim their 15th consecutive Six Nations win at Twickenham. Wales were the last raiders to beat them in the championship, in 2012, and they were also the last European winners there — at the 2015 World Cup.
Not many of this depleted Welsh contingent have savoured the glory of beating the old enemy in the Six Nations, but captain Jones has five such conquests to his name, so he can serve as a symbol of hope. Likewise, Gareth Davies and Scott Williams have been central figures in famous triumphs at today’s venue, so such memories will reinforce their belief.
Hartley, the home skipper, dismissed history as an irrelevance, but Eddie Jones has focused on the traditions of this rivalry and, in his third championship campaign, knows what to expect. ‘When you live next to a country it is always a bit more intense,’ the Australian said.
‘If you look at Australia and New Zealand, it is always a big rivalry. In Europe, it’s England and Wales. There is a certain pattern.
‘Someone speaks a lot at the start of the week, they want to make some noise and create issues in the game. That is the normal state of affairs.’
The main men have certainly had their say in the build-up to this game and French referee Jerome Garces will be primed for an intense examination of his own big-match temperament. There will be a particular edge to the scrum collisions after the two packs engaged in set-piece training together in Bristol last year. That served as a useful recce. Today it is all-out conflict.
While Wales are prepared to reflect on how much this match means to them, the dominant English angle is to promote the notion it is merely business as usual. Hartley denied trading on Anglo-Welsh hostility, but he revealed the emotional switch will be flicked just before kick-off.
‘You can add emotion on Saturday, there’s no point adding emotion too early,’ he said. ‘The
national anthem is the time.’ Then England will aim to go ‘hunting’ again, with Patchell identified as the primary target, but the hosts may find the Wales No 10 and his team-mates highly elusive.
Gatland’s men are ‘ cocky’, according to Eddie Jones, and why not? They were magnificent against Scotland and they are infused with spirit and an adventurous streak, inspired by their core of swashbuckling Scarlets.
Wales can go for broke, with the nothing- to- lose mentality of bullish underdogs. Yet, on paper, this is a no- contest. England do not lose at home. It is world No 2 against No 6 and without so many wounded Lions, few of the Welshmen would earn a place in their opponents’ side, based on Test pedigree.
England have the winning habit. They have power, set-piece clout and relentless aggression. But there are additional layers, too.
The 10-12 axis of George Ford and Owen Farrell which wrought havoc against Italy in Rome, Jonny May and Anthony Watson’s cutting edge out wide, Sam Simmonds’ pace at No 8 to galvanise the pack and prop Mako Vunipola’s all-round repertoire of physicality, handling class and breakdown prowess. Wales will believe that flanker Josh Navidi can give them the upper hand in those key ruck contests, and Gatland also has faith the fitness of his team will tell late on.
But England have made strides in that regard and their recent knack of blowing opponents away with final- quarter onslaughts is the proof.
Both sides have weapons of mass destruction on the bench — notably Ben Te’o for the hosts and George North for the visitors. England are favourites and they should prevail but the Welsh win last Saturday has set the scene for a tense, raw, pulsating Test.
Tickets cost a fortune but they could sell the stadium out four times over. This fixture never loses its appeal. Prepare for molten mayhem.