Jones refuses to join war of words against Scots
EDDIE Jones insists England do not need mind games to motivate them for tomorrow’s Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland.
Jones has adopted a tactful approach to the NatWest 6 Nations showdown in Edinburgh by refusing to engage in the phoney war that has seen the vast majority of the shots fired from north of the border.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has accused England of repeated offside in defence while second row great Doddie Weir views the champions’ dismissal of Murrayfield as “arrogance”.
New Zealand-born prop Simon Bergan added to the hostilities by declaring that in advance of his move to Edinburgh in 2014, “I sort of knew that everyone hates England”.
Jones, however, has refused to engage a fortnight after ruthlessly placing the temperament and conduct of Wales duo Rhys Patchell and Alun Wyn Jones under the spotlight.
“They have brought out every strategy you can think of,” said Jones. “I’m sure there’s an ex-Scottish player ready to come out today and say something about how they hate us, they want to rub our nose in something, we don’t respect them.
“It’s designed to get them up for the game. We’re up for the game, regardless of what’s said. We always chat to the referee, but it won’t be about that [defending from an offside position], it’ll be about aspects of what he wants from the game, because we want to play legally.”
Jones has made just one change to the team that dispatched Wales 12-6 at Twickenham with Nathan Hughes replacing shoulder injury-victim Sam Simmonds at No 8.
“Sam has done really well for us and is a good young player, but Nathan’s a big carrier and a strong defender,” Jones said.
“He has a bit more muscle around the ruck, which at Murrayfield might be useful. I’ve never seen him in better physical condition.”