England’s Jonathan Joseph ready to embrace hostile atmosphere against Wales
Saturday 11 February 2017 07:56, UK
Jonathan Joseph will embrace the hostile atmosphere that awaits in Cardiff and says it can spur England to victory in their Six Nations clash with Wales.
Eddie Jones' side will attempt to generate momentum behind their title defence when they face Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Joseph scored a decisive try on England's last visit to the Welsh capital and he is looking forward to reacquainting himself with the ground.
"Personally I quite like it. I like the atmosphere, it spurs me on and gets me going and I think that it does that to a lot of the other boys too," Joseph said.
"I think you just have to take it in your stride. It's going to be loud and it's going to be noisy."
Jones insists he has been psychologically "cuddling" his England players in anticipation of the renewal of a special rivalry.
On two occasions this week Jones has apologised to his players en masse, confessing that he failed to prepare them properly for their 19-16 victory over France, and in the build-up to Wales he has been busy working on their psyches.
"You've got to either whip them, kick them, cuddle them, kiss them. You've got to find some way to get a better performance," he said. "There's been a bit of cuddling this week, not in the physical sense, but in the mental sense. No one in particular."
