Jones goads rival coach ahead of a big Cardiff clash

EDDIE JONES fired the first shot ahead of next week’s Grand Slam eliminator, vowing to make Wales coach Warren Gatland eat his words. After watching his side thrash France, the England coach dug up Gatland’s comments from last year when he claimed the two nations were ‘poles apart’. England have since moved back ahead of Wales in the world rankings and Jones threw in a tongue-in-cheek comment. ‘We’re playing the greatest Welsh side ever — we’re going to have to be at our absolute best,’ he said. ‘You have a Welsh team that is doing so well and, if I remember the comments last year, we weren’t doing so well and the gap between us was massive… So let’s see how big the gap is next Saturday,’ he added. ‘The only message we can send is Saturday week. We will have a message on Saturday week, but we will leave it until then. ‘There’s a lot more in this team and we understand that and we’re committed to being the very best we can be. ‘When we get back together on Wednesday we’ll start the process of how we can get better again.’ Lock Maro Itoje is a ‘long shot’ to recover from a knee injury for the trip to Cardiff, and prop Mako Vunipola is a doubt after injuring his ankle. England have two days off before re-grouping on Wednesday. ‘We need to be unbelievably physical,’ said Jones, who has won all four of his games against Wales as England coach. ‘Every Warren Gatland side is very physical. They contest the breakdown hard. Defensively, they’re well drilled by Shaun Edwards and they have points in them. That’s why they’ve been able to have the greatest run ever. ‘The first challenge when you play Wales is to win the physical challenge. You go there and it is a tough game, they are a good side, loud crowd — but it has never been a fortress to me.’ Jones saved his highest praise for hat-trick hero Jonny May after England thrashed France 44-8 yesterday. He said: ‘Jonny May’s like when you go to the park and you see someone with a tennis ball and they throw it, the dog runs 100mph and chases it and brings it back. He does that pretty well.’ England have enjoyed success through their tactical kicking game in Dublin and now against Les Bleus, but Jones hinted at varied tactics to come at the Principality Stadium. ‘There’s always space, because you’ve only got 15 players,’ added Jones. ‘At the moment, we’re having a great deal of success with our kicking, but that could create opportunities in the next game somewhere else.’ France captain Guilhem Guirado said: ‘It’s very painful when they score try after try. ‘The pressure was constant and we never managed to get out of that.’