Pressure will be on England
Wales’ skills coach Neil Jenkins believes England will feel the pressure of being World Cup hosts in the opening game against Fiji.
|||Wales’ skills coach Neil Jenkins believes England will feel the pressure of being World Cup hosts in the opening game against Fiji.
Stuart Lancaster’s side must schedule their warm-up around a 20-minute opening ceremony at Twickenham and, having played in a home tournament in 1999, Jenkins (right) feels the pre-match entertainment could put players off their routine.
The curtain-raiser will give Wales a good indication of what to expect from the two Pool A rivals before their own first Test against Uruguay at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday. ‘There is a huge amount of pressure on England,’ said Jenkins.
‘They are the home nation and they are expected to do well. Teams want to knock you off and that is something we will be hoping to do in a couple of weeks.
‘It was the same with us in 1999. It was a strange day, with the opening ceremony and not being able to go out on the pitch and warm up or kick before the game.
‘But England are a very good side and I am sure they will work ways out to minimise the pressure.’
Jenkins was the first player to break the 1,000-point barrier in Test rugby and works closely with Wales’ goal-kickers.
The withdrawal of full-back Leigh Halfpenny is a key blow to his side’s kicking strategy, but Jenkins believes No 10 Dan Biggar can be equally deadly with the boot.
‘We have lost one of the best in the world in Leigh but Dan is incredibly close to him if not on a par,’ said Jenkins.
‘We are very lucky to have someone of his quality to take over the goal-kicking job. ‘There is pressure on goal-kickers in international rugby but they work day in, day out to be the best in the world.’ - Daily Mail