WALES CAPTAIN ALUN Wyn Jones joked that he will have a word with his ‘Uncle Eddie’ following the England coach’s attempts to rile his side ahead of their Six Nations clash at Twickenham tomorrow (kick-off 16.45, TV3).
England boss Eddie Jones, a fan of pre-match ‘mind games’, criticised the Wales skipper for standing in front of Finn Russell and so preventing the Scotland fly-half from quickly converting Pete Horne’s late consolation try in Cardiff last weekend.
Although it did not affect the result, with Wales winning 34-7, points difference could play a role in deciding the destiny of this season’s Six Nations.
Lions lock Jones exchanged words with both Russell and French referee Pascal Gauzere. Eddie Jones said yesterday that the Welsh skipper had been “right out of order”, adding he had raised the issue with World Rugby.
But the global governing body confirmed today that they were happy with the way Gauzere, in contact with the TV match official, had dealt with the incident.
’Spirit of the game’
“You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. I will have a chat with ‘Uncle Eddie’ after the game,” joked Alun Wyn.
“I’ve not seen an exact transcription so I can’t comment too much on the specifics but it was more important that World Rugby, when they were asked for clarification, came back and essentially said that they saw nothing untoward with what happened.
“More importantly, Pascal at the time had no issue and no issue after the game.”
The Wales captain was in playful mood while considering his supposed bad behaviour.
“My parents have been saying that for many years, and I am married now so it is just like being at home.”
On a more serious note, the Ospreys lock added: “I had to ask the questions because there was a game in the autumn where had we reviewed the play against Australia, a try probably wouldn’t have stood.”
Eddie Jones also questioned whether “third choice” Wales fly-half Rhys Patchell, in the side following injuries to Dan Biggar and Rhys Priestland, had the “bottle” to perform in front of an 82,000-capacity Twickenham crowd after starring against the Scots.
“It is a step up, no-one would deny that, playing away against England at Twickenham, but Patch is ready for that and he is focused on the job in hand.”
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