Alun Wyn laughs off jibes from ‘Uncle Eddie’

ALUN WYN JONES sarcastically thanked ‘Uncle Eddie’ for the criticism of his captaincy ahead of today’s England-Wales clash. England head coach Eddie Jones lit the flames of the old rivalry on Thursday by claiming Jones ‘intimidated’ referees and his behaviour was ‘out of order’ in the NatWest Six Nations match against Scotland. He also questioned whether 24-year-old fly-half Rhys Patchell had the ‘bottle’ to cope on his first appearance at Twickenham. But Wales skipper Jones laughed off England’s barbs. ‘You can chose your friends but you can’t choose your family,’ he said. ‘I’ll have to have a chat with Uncle Eddie after the game. I’ve very grateful he has flagged it up and I’ll keep doing what I’m doing within the spirit of the game. ‘We’ve been sponsored by a well-known brewery for a long time, so there’s plenty of bottle there.’ Asked whether the England coach was stirring the pot, the 32-year-old said with tongue firmly in cheek: ‘He wouldn’t do that! There are obviously going to be question marks around Rhys. It is a step up but he is ready for that. Rhys and myself aren’t arrogant enough to assume anything said will motivate the XV.’

Sportsmail understands England did make an enquiry to World Rugby referees’ chief Alain Rolland regarding Jones’ behaviour against Scotland but the governing body brushed aside any suggestion that official Pascal Gauzere had been ‘intimidated’. Wales had a scare yesterday when full-back Leigh Halfpenny missed their final run-through as he was unwell. Gareth Anscombe stands by to come in at fly-half, with Patchell moving to full-back.