Hill braced for battle with ‘brilliant’ Wales skipper in Cardiff showdown
England second row Jonny Hill is ready to battle a player he believes capable of winning games single-handedly for Wales.
Hill will collide with Alun Wyn Jones in today's Six Nations clash in Cardiff in what will be his third meeting with the Wales captain and world's most capped player.
Exeter's double winner sees few shortcomings in one of the leading contenders to captain the Lions against South Africa this summer.
"I'm really looking forward to the challenge of playing against him. He's a player who has given an awful lot to the game," said Hill.
"He's been brilliant for rugby as a whole and for rugby in Wales. He's single-handedly won games for Wales over the years. As a second row he's an all-rounder. He handles the ball really well, he can carry, he's a good lineout operator, great in the maul. He's a good scrummaging second row also. There aren't many faults in his game hence why he has 150-odd caps."
Among Jones' strengths is his ability to rattle opponents through wind-up tactics, as England found out to their cost in 2019 when Kyle Sinckler was successfully targeted. On that day at the Principality Stadium, Sinckler had to be replaced as the red mist descended. And at Twickenham last year, Jones had his testicles grabbed by Joe Marler in an incident that earned the colourful front row a 10-week ban.
Eddie Jones has alerted his players to Jones' ability to get under the skin, but Hill insists he is impervious to any provocation. "That sort of thing doesn't really faze me. Being the character I am, I'll just crack on and he can do whatever he wants. I'll just keep playing," Hill said.
Meanwhile, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says his side must develop a clinical edge to become a "world-class" team after suffering their worst start to a Six Nations campaign.
The Irish are bidding to salvage some pride in the competition following disappointing defeats to Wales and France and Farrell hopes his side can take a giant stride forward during today's game against perennial wooden spoon winners Italy in Rome.
"There's quite a lot right within our game but it all comes down to having a clinical edge at this level, right at the top," said Farrell. "The finishing clinical edge is always the missing ingredient of any team that wants to be worldclass, so that's what we are striving for and hopefully we can make a jump in that direction this weekend."