We can finish above weary Wales

GATLAND RATTLED AS JONES QUESTIONS HIS SLAM CHASERS

EDDIE JONES claims Grand Slam-chasing Wales are running on empty – and his England team are primed to take advantage.

Red Rose boss Jones dropped a bombshell by axing dynamic wing Joe Cokanasiga from his squad to face Scotland.

But it was the verbal grenade he hurled into the camp of Warren Gatland’s championship leaders that he hopes will have most impact.

England’s chance of Six Nations glory is dependent on Ireland winning in Cardiff. A Wales win and the title race is over before kick-off at Twickenham. That means the only influence Jones can exert on the Welsh is pre-match through mind games – hence yesterday’s pop.

“Wales are a very good team, very wellcoached,” Jones began, in a video released on to social media by England Rugby. “Great credit to them for what they’ve done.

“But they are starting to look a bit tired. They’ve made more tackles than anyone else in the tournament and they’re playing an Ireland side that seems to be peaking at the right time.”

Jones (right, with his skipper Owen Farrell) went on to claim that Ireland’s top players, after a sluggish start, had hit form at exactly the right time.

“I’m just saying what I see,” he added. “I see a team that’s getting tired and I see an Ireland team that’s peaking. We’ll be at our best on Saturday.”

Wales have scored 10 tries fewer than England and owe their Grand Slam shot to a defence which has leaked just six tries.

Jones may be right in thinking such a rearguard effort will take its toll, but Gatland, who labelled England bigmatch bottlers after Wales beat them last month, was not about to take his jabs on the chin.

“What the hell is Eddie doing talking about our game?” said the Kiwi. “My advice to Eddie is to concentrate on the Scotland match.

“We don’t lose very often when it matters. I pride myself on the record I’ve had in big matches when it’s really mattered. I get even more of a buzz when people write us off.

“We know what is at stake, the prize is massive. I have never seen a group of players this motivated and excited.”

It is likely this is the final Six Nations match for Jones and Gatland in their jobs. Jones warned Scotland there will be “a bit of an explosion” and added: “There’s a great deal of urgency about the point we want to prove.

“We’ve an opportunity to show we’re the best team in the Six Nations and approaching the best team in the world – and we’re not going to miss it.”

put Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell under pressure, and Conor and Johnny are key.“When we’ve had success against Ireland in the past we’ve tried to put pressure on Conor (left) and Johnny and shut their space down.“There’s no doubt that when Johnny gets front foot ball, he controls the game exceptionally well.“Johnny is world player of the year and absolutely world class. We’ve got to try and not give him as much time on the ball and not allow him to SHAKEN AND STIRRED Warren Gatland was not happy that Eddie Jones was talking about his Welsh team dictate the game to us.“We’ve got to put him under pressure – but in saying that Ireland have world class players all over the place and they can keep the ball for long phases.“They are always a threat at the breakdown. Guys that are very good on the ball, Rory Best, Peter O’mahony, lots of turnovers.“Tadhg Beirne is going to start for them as well. He was excellent for the Scarlets.“There’s a real threat at the breakdown but we are happy with our breakdown work.”