'I'm sure there's a lot of anger that will be thrown out between now and the game'
Neil Jenkins is paying little attention to Eddie Jones' pre-match comments as Wales and England gear up for action next week.
Head coach Jones has seen his England side make a perfect start to the Six Nations and, despite a break in the schedule this weekend, has already started to poke fun at next opponents Wales.
Jones suggested Warren Gatland's men represent the best Welsh team of all time but insisted England have nothing to fear in Cardiff.
Yet Wales great Jenkins, who serves as Gatland's kicking coach, expected that there would be plenty of bluster ahead of the clash and even suggested that Jones might be right in playing down the significance of the venue.
"I'm not concerned about what he says. It's up to Eddie what he says," Jenkins said. "He's got an opinion and he's entitled to that.
"[Cardiff] might not be intimidating for England. They've won the last few times they've played there so it's probably not a fortress for them. Maybe he's right in what he's saying.
"It is what it is. I'm sure there's a lot of anger that will be thrown out between now and the game.
"I'm sure Eddie will throw some as well. He's a fantastic coach, has done a fantastic job with England and has done throughout his career.
"It's Wales v England - it doesn't get any better than that for us. When the All Blacks come to town, that's a humongous game. This can be on a par."
Both teams have won their opening two matches of the campaign, with England defeating Ireland and France. Wales saw off the French and then Italy.
Jenkins also believes that Wales must beat England to have any chance to win the tournament.
“No disrespect to Scotland, who are a very good side and have done a lot of good things over the last year or so, but playing England at Twickenham is a big ask for any team. The reality for us is it’s a game we need to win to give us a chance of winning the title.
“No disrespect, because I hope both Scotland and Italy do turn up at Twickenham and play exceptionally well, but the reality is if we lose we would be playing for second.
“As a Welshman, it’s not far off being the be-all and end-all type of game. That’s what it is for us.
“I think the emotions are pretty high at the moment, and we are still a week-and-a-half away from the game. We are under no illusions about what’s coming.
“We know we need to play better than we have in the two games we’ve played so far.
“We haven’t really fired a shot yet.
Watch: Eddie Jones "We are playing the greatest Welsh side ever"
Latest Comments
we need a damaging 12 that takes 2 men to tackle that will take pressure off the 10 while also creating space for the 10 and 13 . Leicester is the only guy that fits the mould . The next thing is " will he be able to develop a good offload " ? .
for 13 Joey manu has more x factor then reiko and jordie put togeather . he's got one season in japan before he looks to come home . he's a dark horse but his skill set is something the All Blacks don't have . if he comes home and lights up the npc in a game or 2 , id love to see him fast tracked and come off the bench for the All Blacks and thrown into the deep end to see if he can swim . Just to see if he's worth the time and effort to develop further . We all saw how good sualii did for the wallabies and joey manu is just as good as sualii . He's safe under the high ball , a solid defender , has a master offload , and he's fast and strong .
he fits the mould for razor's offload tactics .
Plus reiko and jordie have had the 12 & 13 for how long and I haven't seen anything special from either of them .
Go to commentsRussia has taken their freedom. Dying for nato won't change that.
Go to comments