Cardiff clash is no grudge match. It is so much bigger than that…
One hand on the Six Nations trophy and a huge World Cup confidence boost await today’s victors
THIS is no petty, parochial squabble. It is not merely about hatred and history and crossborder spite, although that will bubble beneath the surface. It is not a grudge match. It is much bigger than that.
What awaits in Cardiff today is a truly grand occasion with far-reaching implications. This Guinness Six Nations fixture is about pursuit of the title and high ambitions but it also has a global dimension.
England and Wales are ranked third and fourth in the world respectively. Both are prime contenders to reach the World Cup semi-finals this year, providing they can win their pools and avoid the doomsday scenario of a quarter-final head-to-head. Both countries are guided by experienced, successful international coaches in the highest echelon of their profession.
Warren Gatland won’t be in charge of Wales in another championship, so this is his farewell European campaign and victory today would help the Kiwi sign off in style after 11 years in his post.
Eddie Jones has a contract until 2021 but there is a chance he may not continue after the World Cup, so he is fiercely driven to claim a third championship in four attempts. He is also driven to deny Gatland and Wales a party in front of their people.
Both teams have won their opening two games, hence this match has become a title eliminator. The victors aren’t quite guaranteed the prize, as Ireland surely won’t trip up tomorrow in Rome, but they will have one hand on the trophy.
Wales have had the results, if not the stellar performances. They got out of jail in Paris by rallying from 16-0 down to snatch victory, aided by calamitous French errors.
‘This is a team which has forgotten how to lose,’ said Gatland that night. They proceeded to beat Italy, somewhat unconvincingly, for their 11th successive Test win. Today, they have their sights on a dream dozen which would be a national record.
But to make it, they have to defy the odds. England are favourites. Jones’s side have emerged from their slump late last season and are rising fast. They are the team of the championship so far, having stunned title-holders Ireland in Dublin with a performance that blended defensive ferocity and ruthless attacking precision, before smashing feeble France.
They have vast power and nous, a revitalised back row and a wing in Jonny May who is on a scoring spree.
Jones has sought to build up the hosts and then claim that others were the ones throwing bouquets at the Welsh and calling them ‘the greatest team ever’. Not true. It has been his agenda, a means of taking the pressure of revived expectation off his own players.
England No 8 Billy Vunipola spoke during the week about how he will play today with love rather than hate. That is a personal perspective, stemming from his fond memories of childhood years in Pontypool. Such a sentiment is unlikely to catch on. There will always be antagonism when these nations collide but that is more of an off- stage issue. The protagonists themselves have a high regard for each other, which will be reflected in the intensity they bring to proceedings.
Both teams are led by iconic figures. Owen Farrell is learning fast about Test captaincy but Alun Wyn Jones is a master of the art. England hooker Jamie George, with insight from the 2017 Lions tour, spoke of the Wales lock’s ‘aura’ and his status as a ‘big talisman’ for the home side. He identified Ken Owens and Ross Moriarty as others.
There is a perception that Wales will greet the visitors with a passionate onslaught fired by partisan noise from the stands at the Principality Stadium and that England’s task is to withstand what is thrown at them. But Jones’s side have been physically dominant in their first two games and they have also developed a knack for fast starts and early tries this season.
Their objective, according to Farrell, is to maintain that pattern, rather than take any special steps to counter Welsh fervour. ‘We are looking to do the same as we have done for the past two games,’ said the fly-half. Emotionally, we have been spot-on, because the lads have built it up in the right way and made sure they’re firing for kick-off.
‘That is shown by the way we have started games. I am sure Wales will be up for this game, so we have got to make sure we are in the right place.’
As a warning about over-doing the passion, he added: ‘I think you can be too tense and it causes you to do things you don’t normally do. Big games like this are about doing the simple things well.’