Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones has played down England’s attempts to pile the pressure on fly-half Rhys Patchell, joking that he will have words with “Uncle Eddie” after Saturday’s Six Nations showdown at Twickenham.
England head coach Eddie Jones opened the verbal hostilities on Thursday by questioning whether “third-choice 10” Patchell, 24, had the “bottle” to deliver against the Red Rose and accusing Alun Wyn of having “intimidated” referee Pascal Gauzere.
“It’s easy to play when the ball is on the front foot and going from side to side,” Eddie Jones said.
“But when it gets a bit cut and thirst, nip and tuck, this will be a proper Test. Then we will see if Patchell has the bottle to handle it.”
Alun Wyn, speaking on Friday, said: “People forget that Rhys Patchell has been in the squad for a good few years now.
“You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. I will have a chat with Uncle Eddie after the game.”
Eddie Jones also compared the rawness of Wales’ nine-10-12 axis to his own.
“George Ford has played 41 tests and he’s got Owen Farrell next to him who’s played 54 tests and he’s got Danny Care inside him, playing his 78th international,” Jones said.
“There’s a lot of experience on either side, but who has Patchell going to look for? He hasn’t got a lot of experience inside or outside him.
“That’s a big task for him. I’d imagine that when (Wales captain) Alun Wyn Jones and the guys go down for breakfast on Saturday morning, they’ll be looking at him thinking: ‘can this kid handle the pressure today?’ It’s a big ask.”
Eddie Jones has questioned whether Rhys Patchell has the “bottle” for the Six Nations.
It’s an unprecedented attack from a serving England coach on an opposing player and on Friday afternoon England assistant coach Neal Hatley was forced to defend his boss.
Hatley said Eddie Jones’ decision to verbally target the two Wales players will not backfire on the Six Nations champions.
The tactic of placing Patchell and Alun Wyn in the crosshairs has been viewed by some commentators as high-risk, serving only to enrage Wales – but Hatley insists singling out opposition ringleaders is standard practice.
Asked whether he thought the decision would backfire, scrum coach Hatley said: “I don’t think so. The focus falls on us now. We have to make sure we are ready for anything that comes our way.
“It’s commonplace to highlight individual players and Rhys Patchell and Alun Wyn Jones are key players for them. It’s been happening for ages in Test Rugby.
“For us it’s about highlighting their key players and we would be silly not to think they have those sort of personnel. That’s all Eddie is doing. It’s not necessarily winding up the opposition.
“I’m sure in their camp they have said they need to get to George Ford and Owen Farrell, that they need to stop Courtney Lawes or Maro Itoje. I’m sure the same conversations happen in camps across the country.”
Eddie Jones also revealed on Thursday that he had complained to World Rugby about the conduct of Alun Wyn towards Gauzere in Wales’ victory over Scotland last Saturday, claiming it was “right out of order”.
Neil Hatley, scrum coach of England, has been forced to defend his boss, Eddie Jones.
It is understood that the sport’s global governing have responded by exonerating the Welsh captain of any wrongdoing.
Hatley continued: “We were well within our rights to ask the question of World Rugby.
“They have come back with clarification that the referee was in constant communication with the TMO and so it’s not an issue.
“We have complete faith in Jerome Garces to ref the game against Wales and we have never had an issue with him.”
The extraordinary verbal barrage between camps has added even more spice to an eagerly awaited clash at Twickenham on Saturday evening that may yet decide the fate of this year’s Six Nations.
TEAMS
England (15-1): M Brown; A Watson, J Joseph, O Farrell, J May; G Ford, D Care; S Simmonds, C Robshaw, C Lawes; M Itoje, J Launchbury; D Cole, D Hartley (capt), M Vunipola. Reps: J George, A Hepburn, H Williams, G Kruis, S Underhill, R Wigglesworth, B Te’o, J Nowell
Wales (15-1): L Halfpenny; J Adams, S Williams, H Parkes, S Evans; R Patchell, G Davies; R Moriarty, J Navidi, A Shingler; AW Jones (capt), C Hill; S Lee, K Owens, R Evans. Reps: E Dee, W Jones, T Francis, B Davies, J Tipuric, A Davies, G Anscombe, G North
Referee: Jerome Garces (FRA);
Venue: Twickeham;
Kick-off: 20:45;
Live on beIN Sports
