Believe in ourselves and we can triumph –Phillips
WALES legend Mike Phillips feels there is nothing quite like beating England on their own turf – and is urging Wayne Pivac’s Class of 2020 to write their own bit of rugby history today.
Phillips was part of the Warren Gatland teams who stormed the Twickenham fortress to record never-to-be-forgotten triumphs in 2008 and 2012.
He was at Wembley as a fan for the Scott Gibbs game in 1999 and watched on in wonder as Dan Biggar kicked Wales to their epic 28-25 World Cup victory on English soil in 2015.
Alun Wyn Jones and his side are being written off this time, with Eddie Jones’ England rated as short as 1-5 ON to win today’s big Six Nations showdown.
But Western Mail columnist Phillips believes Wales can defy the odds again and says the key to winning at England’s HQ – and sending a Welsh nation into dreamland – is belief.
He writes in his match-day column inside: “English teams get hyped up a lot and I think that plays on the mind of Welsh players and they don’t quite believe in themselves.”
Of the 2008 victory, he says: “Being Welsh, we typically started the game in our shells, but when we began to believe in ourselves we completely blew them away. I started two games for Wales at Twickenham and I’m really proud of the fact we won each of them. One of the keys to winning is you need absolute belief that you are good enough to go there and get a victory. Wales have got a genuine chance. It’s the second most experienced team we’ve picked and there are a number of players who have won there before.
“The team Pivac has chosen is more than capable of winning at Twickenham.”