I sometimes wear a T shirt with "I support Wales and whoever playing England" on it.
This reflects the usual rivalry that exist between out two nations but I am beginning to wonder if I should continue to wear it , in the wake of the rhetoric from Eddie Jones the English Rugby Coach which is of course deliberately designed to wind Welsh Rugby and it's supporters up. up .
However it has gone beyond the usual banter and I wonder if FIFA the Soccer governing body would have stepped in to warn both the English and Welsh FA's if similar remarks had been made before a Wales-England match.
Eddie Jones has lit the fuse ahead of Saturday’s massive Six Nations battle at the Principality Stadium by questioning whether Wales is a country despite having its own government.
The outspoken England coach labelled it a “Principality” and his remarks will go down like a lead balloon in Wales ahead of the clash between the reigning European champions and Rob Howley’s men.
Described by the Wasting Mule as "Colourful" Australian Jones, who was fired as Wallabies boss in 2005 on the back of a defeat in Cardiff, compared Wales to South Africa, but with one notable difference.
He said
“They’re countries where rugby is the main sport and the support is absolutely fever pitch. And the results affect the country, in South Africa’s case, and in Wales’ case, the Principality,”
Rugby means such a lot. You go to those players and you feel that need to win, that urgency to want to win and to dismantle the opposition.
“You go to the hotel and unless you do things, players get rung incessantly through the night. Those things happen.
“You go to the ground and the traffic controller drives slower than the traffic’s going to make sure you’re late.
“You get to the ground and there’s something wrong with your dressing room – there are lights off or the heater’s switched off. Those things happen regularly in those sorts of countries.”
Jones claimed there wasn’t any point listening to assurances from Welsh officials about what would happen before the match and during his players’ warm-up on the pitch.
He alleged
The annual clash between Wales and England in the Six Nations will always provide much rivalry.
We in Wales regard it as the big one and the "as long as we beat the English" which let us face is a ridiculous statement and I would rather it be replaced with its about time we beat New Zealand.
But Eddie Jones has gone to far we only need a few stupid hot heads to react and we cam see the sort of violence , that has blighted soccer over the years.
Maybe its time that World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont had a quite word with Eddie Jones and warned him that he is in danger of bringing the game into disrepute.
Bill Beaumont however is chairman of English Rugby so I doubt it would be official, but this type of baiting by Eddie Jones must stop or he will ruin the game.
Jones tactics of baiting his opponents, may well be successful, and he no doubt will claim England are the victim when it comes to any response from the fans.
Our response should however be confined to the pitch and the game itself.
But it is a worrying trend and the rivalry between Wales and England is intense enough, there is no need to dangerously inflame it.
“You can’t check because they traditionally tell you one thing and something else happens. It happens regularly in South Africa and it happens regularly in Wales,”
“The challenge for a team to play away is to be better than that. They’re things you can’t control. Once we go down the M4 and cross the Severn River, we don’t control anything.
“The only thing we control is our own mental state and the way we play the game. That’s how good sides are and that's the way we want to be.
“Some of our players have never played at Principality Stadium. Some have had the goodness and they’ve had the worst experience. We’ve encouraged the interaction between the players on what you have to do to cope.”
The annual clash between Wales and England in the Six Nations will always provide much rivalry.
We in Wales regard it as the big one and the "as long as we beat the English" which let us face is a ridiculous statement and I would rather it be replaced with its about time we beat New Zealand.
But Eddie Jones has gone to far we only need a few stupid hot heads to react and we cam see the sort of violence , that has blighted soccer over the years.
 |
| I doubt if a soccer coach would get away with this inflammatory language. |
Maybe its time that World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont had a quite word with Eddie Jones and warned him that he is in danger of bringing the game into disrepute.
Bill Beaumont however is chairman of English Rugby so I doubt it would be official, but this type of baiting by Eddie Jones must stop or he will ruin the game.
Jones tactics of baiting his opponents, may well be successful, and he no doubt will claim England are the victim when it comes to any response from the fans.
Our response should however be confined to the pitch and the game itself.
But it is a worrying trend and the rivalry between Wales and England is intense enough, there is no need to dangerously inflame it.
1 comment:
Eddie Jones comments are far from pre match banter - they are outrageous. How dare he insinuate wales is not a country. The welsh have had to struggle for centuries to establish and preserve their nationhood and (and language) and Jones's incendiary statements are another example of the kind of insults the welsh have had to endure down the years.
They remind me of the kinds of comments the late AA Gill regularly directed at wales and the welsh in the columns of sunday newspapers. Sadly it seems the welsh were fair game for such insults back then and nearly 2 decades on we're are still considered fair game for ridicule and abuse in the eyes of ignorant bigots like Jones. Maybe it's time the welsh stopped being so nice and polite to those who would question their countrys right to exist?
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