Champagne on ice as Jones insists more improvement is necessary
Grand Slam is tantalisingly close for Wales but title can still go three different ways
By Alun Wyn Jones savoured the prospect of a Grand Slam in the measured tones and occasionally cryptic words we have come to expect from Wales’ statesmanlike skipper. “The closer you get to something like this, the further away you can be sometimes,” he said after leading the eve-of-match captain’s run on the Principality Stadium pitch which, at the insistence of their opponents Ireland, will be open to the elements today, and very wild elements they may be, too. “We are very grounded and we know we have to work hard. In every performance we’ve had, there have been areas for improvement.”.
This is true, as a fascinating feature of the 2019 Six Nations – which should have a tumultuous conclusion some time during today’s triple-header of matches – has been Wales clawing their way to victory after trailing at half-time to both France and England, and leading early against Scotland before withstanding a tremendous fightback.
The bedrock has been marginal scores at useful moments – think George North’s opportunism in Paris or Josh Adams’ fingertip catch-and-dive against the English – and a staggeringly energetic Welsh defence schooled by Shaun Edwards, who in common with head coach Warren Gatland and backs coach Rob Howley is seeing out his last Six Nations before they leave their posts at the end of the World Cup this autumn.
The beauty of the Slam lays in its simplicity. In a mixedup world of bonus points and lopsided Six Nations fixtures of three at home and two away, or vice versa, just win all five matches and it’s job done, hand the trophy to the captain and let him crack open the bubbly.
The 33-year-old Jones would be the last person to rely on history, but Wales are good at Grand Slam games on home ground – you have to go back to 1988 against France for the only time they have lost one, compared with successes in 1911, 1950, 1952, 1976, 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2012; the last two under Gatland’s cannykiwi stewardship.
This afternoon’s staggered kick-offs to suit television – BBC have Wales’ home matches, and ITV have England’s, in case you were wondering – mean the other prominent Jones, England’s head coach Eddie, will know whether his team still have an interest in the Championship title by the time they kick off against Scotland at 5pm. If Wales lose or draw, a win for England will make them champions for the third time in the Australian’s four years in charge. And Scotland have not beaten England at Twickenham since 1983, before any of today’s players were born.
In this week of important offfield discussions over marketing deals offered variously to the Six Nations and World Rugby’s proposed Nations Championship, Ben Youngs maintained a sense of humour as he readied to become England’s most-capped scrumhalf in his 85th Test.
Youngs played his first as a replacement on the wing against Scotland in 2010 and he recalled: “I came on… for Ugo [Monye]. As he got stretchered off, the thing carrying him ran out of power and they had to push him off.”
Eddie Jones might wear a different kind of smile when he reflects how Wales have perfected his penchant for “finishers”, with Gareth Anscombe as the run-on standoff, and Dan Biggar the brilliant closer.
Ireland, in contrast, appeared to lean too heavily on the undercooked Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton in their first-round loss to England last month. But the Irish have beaten Scotland, Italy and France in the meantime and they can take the title if they beat Wales and England lose or draw.
Henry Slade has been recalled to England’s midfield as a defender better suited to Scotland’s expansive style, while Jones the coach insisted Manu Tuilagi’s angles of running would not be restricted at inside centre. “The only time you have set positions in the backline now is when you’re defending from first phase,” Jones said. “Gone are the days when you pass from 10 to 12 to 13 – they’re basically playing as running backs. If we can create momentum around the ruck, I’d hate to be one of those Scottish backs.”
Will Carling has been a mentor in England’s camp again this week, but Jones did not set much store by the former captain’s experience as a winner and loser in final-day tussles with the Scots. ”There’s no secret,” said Jones. “We’re not playing Mars or Pluto, we’re playing Scotland. It’ll be about which side comes out with most intensity and desire and that’ll be us.”
Much the same could be said for any match, interplanetary or, Six Nations-style, utterly parochial. We said here on day one the value lay with Wales, but as those rolling from Cheltenham into Cardiff or Twickenham would testify, many a hopeful punt finishes as a crumpled-up betting slip.