Alex King is convinced Wales can derail England’s chariot during the Six Nations, although he concedes the champions will begin the tournament as favourites.
England’s former outside-half has crossed over the border to become Wales’ new attack coach, albeit only for the duration of the championship.
King is temporary royalty in Wales. Recruited at a meeting at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club, he is a stand-in for an interim, stepping in to replace Rob Howley for the duration of the tournament whilst the season-long head coach himself takes on the duties of Lions chief Warren Gatland.
It was under Gatland that King and Howley combined at half-back when their club Wasps won the Premiership and European Cup double back in 2004. Now, 13 years on, the same pair have linked up again in a bid to topple Eddie Jones and his Grand Slam champions.
“They’ve had a good run since the World Cup, haven’t they?” says King of England. “They’ve had a change in management and mindset and they’ve been on an incredible run.
“They’re Grand Slam champions so they’ll go in as favourites. They’ve got a few injury concerns at the moment, but the thing with English rugby is they’ve got serious strength in depth. That’s their greatest strength – the amount of players they’ve got to choose from so they’ve got that insurance policy.
“They’re going well but there are a lot of good teams in this tournament. There’s a lot of talk about Ireland against England in Dublin on the final weekend being a Grand Slam decider but I’m sure they’ll be a few twists and turns before that.”
King was attack coach at Northampton when they won the Aviva Premiership title in 2014, but left last year and will take up a position in France with Montpellier next season. Before then, his brief with Wales is to spark the best from a back line that includes George North, Liam Williams, Leigh Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies and Scott Williams but was far less than the sum of its parts in a lackluster autumn series, in spite of three victories in four matches including a win over South Africa.
“There were improvements in the autumn but from my point of view I need to make sure there’s absolute clarity about how we’re trying to play, try and simplify things a little bit and make sure we’re asking questions of opposition defences.
“The bonus points system adds a new incentive for attacking rugby and if we prepare well and attack well, we’ll get those rewards. I just want to get the Welsh crowd excited about the way we play.
“The Principality Stadium is an amazing place and our second game against England will be an amazing game but first up is Italy in Rome. I don’t want to think too much about England, it’s about Italy. We’ve got two weeks to prepare for that game.
I’ve had a lot of Welsh friends texting me about the responsibility for the way we play, but the most important thing is to win. We want to win the games but there’s a certain part of rugby in Wales that you play in a way that inspires and excites supporters whether they’re in the crowd or watching on TV. That’s the duty of the Welsh team.”
One player that King is determined to restore to former glories is North, the Saints wing beset by recent head injuries and unwittingly mired in the middle of the ongoing debates about the dangers of concussion.
King adds: “We need to get George on the ball. He’s incredibly passionate about playing for Wales, I know that.
“He’ll be excited by this tournament. He’s got one more game against Castres and then he’ll be into the squad and I’m looking forward to working with him, but it’s about how the team play.”