‘Wales cannot let England win title in Cardiff’

Men’s Six Nations: Wales v England

Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday, 15 March Kick-off: 16: 45 GMT

Wales lock Dafydd Jenkins says his side cannot let England realise their Six Nations title ambitions in Cardiff this weekend.

Steve Borthwick’s side will arrive at the Principality Stadium on Saturday afternoon hoping they can win the title, although France remain favourites when they host Scotland after events in Cardiff have finished.

In contrast to the title contenders, Wales have lost 16 successive internationals and are bottom of the table hoping to avoid another Wooden Spoon.

England hooker Jamie George has called the game “Wales ‘ World Cup final”.

“This is the game you dream of playing in as a kid”, said Jenkins.

“This game is a special one, and one we’re definitely up for.

Jenkins plays his club rugby in Exeter so bragging rights are also important. Exeter centre Henry Slade is in the England squad, but missed Sunday’s 42-17 win against Italy because of injury.

” If I go back to Exeter with a win I’d be a lot happier, in terms of you can start ripping into a few of the other boys, “said Jenkins.

” I’ve taken my fair share of stick off them, so it’d be nice to hand out a bit. “

To derail’s England’s hopes, Wales have to win a Test match for the first time since October 2023.

Wales have also lost their past eight home matches and previous eight Six Nations games played at the Principality Stadium.

” Getting that win is huge for us and lot of the losses have been one-score games, “said Jenkins.

” So we are close, but the only statistic that matters is the final score.

“England were getting a bit of a stick on the way they played, but they’re winning games.

Jenkins is 22 but has already played 22 internationals and captained his country in the 2024 Six Nations.

Injury ruled him out for Wales ‘ following two campaigns, but he has returned for this tournament and produced an impressive defensive display against Scotland with 28 tackles.

” That is not always a good thing, but if they’re going to run into you, you’re not going to not tackle them, it’s just part of the game, “said Jenkins.

” You are not going to credit someone for doing their job, but I do pride myself on my work-rate.

“If you are playing for your country, you are playing for family and are going to go to the well every week without a problem”.

Jenkins has ambitious individual long-terms goals.

“I am quite happy with how I am playing, but I know there is a long way to go if I want to be considered one of the top locks in the world”, he said.

The next step on that journey could be a British and Irish Lions tour of Australia with a battle with England captain Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum looming this weekend.

“That’s where the Six Nations is great before a Lions tour because you are always competing against someone you are sort of fighting with”, said Jenkins.

“At the moment, you can probably say we haven’t got the best over our opposition because we aren’t winning games, which is disappointing.

” In terms of the actual game, all you are focusing on is winning and the rest should take care of itself.

“I am excited to come up against Itoje. He has probably been one of the best locks in the world for a while now.

” I am looking forward to competing against and hopefully can get the better of him.

One Welsh player Jenkins believes should be in Australia this summer is Wales captain Jac Morgan.

Morgan’s 73 tackles are the most by any player in this tournament and 12 more would see him set a tournament record for Wales, surpassing Justin Tipuric’s tally of 84 in 2017.

Interim head coach Matt Sherratt says the likes of Jenkins, Morgan and Dewi Lake can form part of a successful Wales future.

“If you are talking about a Lions tour, he’s on there for sure”, said Jenkins.

“He’s an incredible player. He is a class bloke, very humble, and someone I love playing with and playing for.

“Having people like that as well as Toby (Faletau) and Tomos (Williams), it helps the team going forward. They are special players.

” He (Morgan) is above everyone else. For me, he is the best seven in Britain at the moment.

“When you see Jac doing special things it inspires you to think we do have the sort of team to start winning games and hopefully win championships in the future”.