Eddie Jones is not one to hold back and sit quietly during a buildup to a big game. The England head coach started the mind games by calling Wales a "small" country, and it showed no signs of stopping, with the Australian insisting England will not be intimidated by the Millennium Stadium atmosphere in Cardiff when the two sides clash in the 2017 Six Nations this weekend.
All the results and reaction from round one
After beginning their 6 Nations campaigns with wins, Wales and England will be keen to keep their Grand Slam hopes alive. While Wales will have the home advantage – something they have banked on several times in the past to beat their neighbours – England will come in on the back of a brilliant winning run, a run they will want to keep come the end of the game in Cardiff.
In order to do that, the England players will need to make sure they do not get intimidated by the atmosphere at the Millennium Stadium, now called the Principality Stadium, and Jones is confident his team can withstand the pressure that will be exerted by the 15 men on the pitch and the thousands in the stands.
"I can't see that just because we drive down the M4 they get an advantage," Jones said. "It's not different water, it's not different air. The beer is the same, the pies are the same, the seats are the same, the grass is the same. Everything is the same.
"So we are the side who is going to get better this week, not Wales.
"I can't work out why Wales can get better, and not England. We don't want to get involved in that sort of narrative. There is a certain story people like to paint when you are playing Wales. We want to paint our own picture. And the picture we paint isn't going to be the picture that was painted in the past."
In the past England have faced several intimidation "tactics" from Wales, but Jones is not too worried. The head coach is keen to inspire a similar performance from England from two years ago, when Stuart Lancaster's men beat the Welsh 21-16.
"That's the attitude we want, definitely," Jones said pointing to the result the last time these two teams faced off in Cardiff. "They had a good result. We want the sort of attitude that it doesn't matter what happens.
"If they start throwing daffodils during the warm-up or make us stand out there for 15 minutes or close or open the roof, perhaps have an oscillating roof, what else could they do?
"We can cope with all that. We are not concerned with what they do before or after. All we are concerned about is that we control them during the game."
