Eddie Jones 'mentally cuddling' England ahead of Wales game
Saturday 11 February 2017 09:08, UK
Eddie Jones says he has been mentally "cuddling" his England players in training ahead of Saturday's Six Nations showdown with Wales.
Jones pulled no punches after England scraped past France in their opening match last week, calling his side's performance "awful" even after a 14th straight win under his leadership.
But the Australian has taken a more softly-softly approach this week in a bid to raise levels for a game he knows "means so much to their supporters and ours".
"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.
"We were disappointed with how we played against France because we wanted to start the tournament with a bang. They played well - people are underestimating how well France played and how good they are going to be.
"Wales is one of those games where, if you're an Englishman, if you're going to get excited. It's one of those traditional games and means so much to their supporters and to our supporters.
"It means so much to our team, it means so much to their team. That always adds a little bit. We will definitely play better, we will play well enough to win.
"But every Test is important and it's important for us as a team that we play with commitment, with ferocity and with desire. We have got so many supporters out there we want to show them that every game matters."
Jones will be leading a side out at the Principality Stadium for the first time since Australia were beaten there in 2005 in a game that cost him his job.
He said: "When you lose the national job, you are devastated and I was devastated. I remember a journalist coming and saying: 'you're going to get the sack'. But that's not pertinent to this game."
