England set a new national record of 15 successive victories with their narrow 19-16 triumph over France at Twickenham to open their Six Nations title defence, but the Australian is concerned there is a mental block over the fixture which awaits them this weekend.
He was taken aback to discover that Wales have a 60 per cent success record in home games against England and raised the issue with the squad in the dressing room afterwards.
“I can’t work out why the record of England in Wales is so poor. I’m sure they have had good teams down the years but they are a country of three million people,” said Jones.
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Eddie Jones doesn't know why England have a poor record in Wales
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Wales have a 60 per cent success record in home games against England
“Psychologically you have got to get it right when you are playing Wales in Wales. There seems to be some sort of thing there – no one can tell me why the English are petrified of playing Wales in Wales.
“I will talk to a few blokes to figure out what the problem is and why the record is so horrendous, because it is horrendous.
“How could you not want to play rugby there? It is one of the greatest rugby countries in the world so to play Wales in Cardiff with that sort of atmosphere is one of the great delights of rugby.
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England got their Six Nations defence off to a winning start against France
“Obviously it has been difficult for the English to cope with it so we need to find a way where they see it as being delightful.”
The Principality Stadium does have a unique atmosphere, particularly with the roof closed. Jones, as visiting coach, has a veto over the issue.
“I don’t care. They can have fireworks going off, it doesn’t matter. It’s the same for both teams. The louder and more rowdy it is, the better it is. That is what Test rugby is about and that is the fun part of it. We’ll toss a coin and see what happens,” he said.
Jones is open to the idea of training to a soundtrack of Welsh arias this week to prepare his players. It was a trick employed by his predecessor Stuart Lancaster ahead of England’s last visit to Cardiff two years ago when Wales were beaten on home soil.
“I don’t think I have got any on my iPhone. I will have to go to the iTunes shop and try to get some,” said Jones.
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