Eddie Jones spoils Welsh plans by U-turning on Principality Stadium roof issue
England head coach Eddie Jones has fanned flames of hostility after he reneged on his previous assertion and insisted the Principality Stadium’s roof for tomorrow’s crunch Six Nations showdown with Wales be kept open.
Jones had previously professed indifference to whether the retractable roof for the Cardiff clash would stay open or not, claiming the defending Six Nations champions would cope with their rivals under any conceivable circumstance.
Wales had requested the roof be closed in a bid to maximise home advantage and enhance that the intimidatory, partisan atmosphere the stadium and its 70,000 crowd can generate.
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That required agreement from the visitors, only for Jones to keep the hosts waiting until the cusp of Thursday’s 48-hour pre-match deadline to reveal his preference.
“It’s not my decision to make whether it increases the atmosphere or not. I’m not an entertainer, I’m a coach,” the Australian said earlier on Thursday.
Jones had previously denied the roof was a poignant issue at all: “It’s the same for both teams. The louder and the more rowdy it is, the better. I don’t care. It makes no difference because the two teams have to play under it.
“We want the attitude that it doesn’t matter what happens. If they start throwing daffodils during the warm-up or make us stand out there for 15 minutes or we have an oscillating roof, it’s important we can cope with that.”
Wales head coach Rob Howley had earlier in the day intimated that he expected England to accept the Welsh Rugby Union’s pre-competition request to close the roof. “Eddie said he didn’t mind so as far as we’re concerned it’s closed,” said the former scrum-half.
“My view before the tournament was we’d like to play with a closed roof. We’re happy with the roof being closed.”
Stuart Lancaster’s England buckled under a closed roof in 2013, suffering a 30-3 rout on the final day of the Six Nations as their grand slam ambitions dissipated in harrowing fashion. England’s overall record under a closed roof in Cardiff reads just one win and four defeats.
“When it is closed it’s not claustrophobic, but I think there is essentially no escape for anyone or anything,” said Wales skipper Alun Wyn Jones yesterday. “Sometimes that is a great place to be. It’s the sort of occasion you want to be involved in.”
Lancaster’s England gained revenge for their 2013 defeat with victory in Cardiff on the opening day of the Six Nations two years later, only on that occasion the roof was open.
Irrespective of that success, England’s record in the Welsh capital is unimpressive. Since the start of 2005 alone, England have won only two of their seven matches there.
In the immediate aftermath of his side’s 19-16 victory over France at Twickenham on Saturday, Jones himself demanded to know the reasons why England had only won 40 per cent of Tests and were seemingly “petrified” of playing on Welsh soil.