IT’S NOT A JOLLY BOYS’ OUTING, EDDIE

AS A last thought, I am slightly surprised England head coach Eddie Jones left it until yesterday afternoon to take his team down to Cardiff. How and when you travel to these games is an art, not a science. In 2001 we went to Ireland early and stayed outside Dublin at an idyllic golf resort but it totally knocked the intensity out of the week. Then in 2002 I made the monumentally daft decision of taking the team to France via the Channel Tunnel. It was a great option for a weekend with my wife Jayne but after the second hour stuck on the M25 it became clear it was a bad call. To a man the players blamed the loss on that coach journey and it was totally my fault. I have no idea what I was thinking. I hope Eddie has got this one right. I would have travelled on Thursday to soak up the atmosphere and visit the stadium but you don’t lose a Test match on the bus, unless you go via the Channel Tunnel!