Ford: We’ll handle the wind-ups from Wales
ENGLAND are in a state of high alert about the threat of Welsh wind-up tactics at Twickenham today, a year after Kyle Sinckler was systematically targeted in Cardiff. When the latest instalment of the fierce cross-border rivalry takes place this evening, the hosts will heed the lessons of the 2019 Six Nations encounter, which they went on to lose 21-13. Wales captain Alun Wyn
Jones and his team-mates set out to antagonise Sinckler at the Principality Stadium and the England prop was replaced soon after losing his composure in the face of extreme provocation. George Ford said Eddie Jones’s squad are on stand-by for similar antics today. The England fly-half said: ‘We have definitely had a few discussions. You don’t want to make too
much of it but you have to anticipate it and be aware of it so it doesn’t come as a shock. ‘We have discussed what could happen and the plan of what we would do to look after individuals and the team. ‘You don’t want to get to a game without talking about it as a team and then you think, “Jesus, what is going on here” and then before you know it, momentum has shifted and you are in that sort of a game again.’ Since his difficult experience in
Cardiff, Sinckler has made great strides in overcoming his volatile streak and the Lions tighthead has been widely acclaimed as a world-class asset. Ford recognised his personal progression, but also the way the team have recognised the need for collective responsibility if anyone is targeted. ‘Kyle reflected on that game from an individual point of view and learnt massively from it,’ he said. ‘In that game he had a few things going on, but it is how the team can help individuals out.’ Asked about accusations of winding up Sinckler last year, Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones responded: ‘Did I? I wasn’t aware of that. It’s just a game. ‘I don’t think there’s any unnecessary effort that goes into it. It’s England versus Wales so there is always hype.’ Meanwhile, Public Health England have criticised the RFU for excluding Mako Vunipola from training over coronavirus fears after the prop returned from Tonga via Hong Kong. PHE said the precautions were ‘not necessary as he was not displaying any symptoms’.