By Graham Thomas
Wales hooker Ken Owens insists he won’t waste his breath trying to get under the skin of England captain Dylan Hartley next week.
Owens is battling Scott Baldwin for a starting spot at Twickenham and even if he remains on the bench he is likely to lock horns with Hartley at some stage.
Some believe Hartley not only has horns, but a pitchfork, hooves and a pointy tail thanks to a disciplinary record he would struggle to print on one sleeve. But Scarlets front rower Owens says he will not be trying to summon the devil in the England front row.
“You don’t go ever on the pitch to wind an individual up,” says Owens, who has replaced Owens in all three Six Nations matches so far.
“You just try and concentrate on your own game. He’s definitely a slightly different character, but that’s how he plays the game. He’s right on the edge and that’s what makes him the player he is in terms of a ball carrying threat and a big tackler.
“You can’t take that out of his game because that’s what makes him slightly different to other players.”
Hartley was new coach Eddie Jones’s controversial choice as skipper, but far from providing the Australian with problems, the Northampton man has been exemplary in leading to three victories.
Owens, who has won 37 caps but made only eight starts, has been impressed by the progress made by the red rose since their disastrous World Cup campaign.
“They have been good. They’re not top of the Six Nations table for nothing.
“They’re improving and you can see how they’re evolving under Eddie Jones. They’re obviously favourites. They’re top of the table and we’re going to their home patch.
“They’re settled and have some consistent selections. They’ve got some good youngsters coming through, so we’ll have to be on the money. We’re going to have to go up another level and possibly beyond the level we were at in the World Cup.
“It’s about executing skills under pressure. We’ve created chances, but not finished them off. Take one or two of them and they’re completely different games.
“Twickenham is a great stadium to play at. We’ve had some great victories there over the last couple of years.
“It’s the old enemy and all that. It still gets the fire burning, but we prepare for it like any other Test match.”