Returning captain Ryan Jones insists Wales will not underestimate England on Saturday.
Determined skipper back to lead Welsh in Cardiff
Returning captain Ryan Jones insists Wales will not underestimate England on Saturday.
The Ospreys flanker is back to lead the defending RBS Six Nations champions at the Millennium Stadium after missing the opening round victory over Scotland.
England are underdogs for the match as Martin Johnson continues in his fledgling efforts to build the side, but Jones is adamant his side takes every contest seriously regardless of the opponent.
"We are under no illusions about what we can expect on Saturday," Jones said.
"As far as we are concerned, we see everyone in this competition as a challenge.
"It will be hard to retain the title, and we totally understand what it takes to get there - hard work and honesty.
"There was a lot of hard work done in training during the two weeks leading up to the tournament, while we are more settled as a squad these days than we have been for a long time.
"The ambitions and the expectations are there with us. It will be noisy on Saturday, it will be physical, and we will have to retain our composure and be clinical."
Challenge
But having claimed Wales' first win at Twickenham since 1988 last season head coach Warren Gatland knows records count for nothing on the day.
"This fixture is a bit of a reversal from last year," Gatland said. "It just shows that a lot of things can change in 12 months, but there is also a lesson there in that we were not tipped to win at Twickenham, but we did, and it sparked our season.
"We will need to play better all around the park than we did last week if we are to beat England.
"They are a side with a vast amount of experience and they will respond well to having their backs to the wall.
"We have reached fourth place in the IRB world rankings, and our challenge now is to stay there and maintain consistency of performance."
