By Graham Thomas
Jamie Roberts admits it will be “Full Metal Jacket” when Wales clash with England at Twickenham on Saturday.
The Wales centre says it has not been that way all week in training and that Warren Gatland insists there is some “fun time” along the way, but in three days there will be smoke and sulphur across the battlefield and Dr. Roberts will not be stopping the treat the casualties in white.
“It takes until the following Saturday morning for my body to recover, admits the 29-year-old who will win his 81st Test cap this weekend.
“It certainly takes longer now than it did when I was 20 or 21. The strength and conditioning staff here are fantastic at gauging how fatigued we are and they alter training accordingly. It’s not all full metal jacket all the time. There’s method in the madness in the way we train.
“The medical staff are brilliant at managing the players and Warren knows when to peak in the week, which sessions we need to target to get it right for Saturday.”
Roberts is a bit of a film buff, but he would only have been a one-year-old when Stanley Kubrick’s classic movie Full Metal Jacket depicted the training of US Marines for the Vietnam War.
The tag line for the film was, “In Vietnam the wind doesn’t blow. It sucks.”
It certainly sucked for England the last time they played Wales at Twickenham. They lost 28-25 and began a dazed stumble out of their own World Cup.
Roberts has been telling war stories ever since, mainly at the expense of his mates at Harlequins, including former captain Chris Robshaw.
Jamie Roberts of Wales takes on Finn Russell of Scotland.
“It has been discussed when we share lifts in the morning. That’s sport. There are always going to be highs and lows. Fair play to Chris for the way he has bounced back after all the flak he took at the World Cup.
“If anything, he is playing some of his best rugby. That’s a credit to the bloke more than the player. I even joked at a testimonial launch in London that the night wouldn’t be as lucrative as it might have been hoped if England had won the World Cup, which didn’t go down too well, actually, in a room full of Englishmen.
“Fair play, Chris got straight on the mic and said Jamie is going to apologise to the charities that are here. Full credit to him. Ultimately when you go through a time like that, you are at your most dangerous as a side.
“We’ve seen that. They are unbeaten. They have won three from three. We will be facing a very determined England side on Saturday.”
England may have more in stock when it comes to a motivation to right last autumn’s wrongs, but Wales have the edge in other aspects.
Not only have they a better recent record – Wales have won four out of the last six meetings – but experience throughout the squad weighs heavily in their favour.
“Across the board, if you look at our squad now, there’s a lot of experience there and guys who have played in big moments. It’s a different pressure and to be able to concentrate your focus and attention when the stakes are at their highest is something you can only learn with experience. I’d back our side any day.”
It may not be the final round of the Six Nations, but Roberts goes as far as he can to claiming this match is going to be the title decider.
“If you fast forward a week you would like to think we wouldn’t lose against Italy at home because we never have before.
“I would doubt whether England will lose in France if they are hunting for the Grand Slam. So the championship this weekend, this game will go a long way to deciding that.”
England’s back line has earned plenty of praise so far in this tournament, but Roberts believes a re-invigorated Georth North could be about to recapture his very best form.
“George is like a big kid. He’s 23 and has 60 caps but he still acts like he’s 18, bouncing around the place with a smile on his face. I honestly feel he plays his best rugby when he’s like that, when he’s in an environment where’s he’s challenged and can wreak havoc.
George North of Wales scores try.
“His athletic ability is frightening and we’ve seen that this tournament. Hopefully we’ll see it again on Saturday at Twickenham.
“He’s a fantastic lad and gives everything to the side. It’s great to see him performing at that level because he’s a frightening world-class prospect when he is.
“Full respect to England from what they went through in the World Cup they have come back really strong. They have regrouped under a new coaching side and if you watch they are playing with enjoyment and width on the game and putting teams under pressure. They have some very good players and guys who are playing at the top of their game.
“We will play full respect to England this week and won’t leave any stone unturned in preparation.
England-Wales – it’s not just about the players, it’s not just about the fans in the stadium, it’s the people sitting in the corners of their pubs up in north Wales and furthest west Wales; it whets the appetite of everyone. Not just the rugby public, the non-rugby public will be watching this weekend as well.
‘England-Wales in any sport, whether it’s in rugby or anything else, has a history and a tradition. It’s such an awesome occasion and they are games you remember. You remember all the England-Wales matches down the years clear as day – what happened in those games. They are always big moments in your career and Saturday is no different.
“When you fast forward 10 years and you don’t have these opportunities in life to play in games of this magnitude, so you have to appreciate them now more than ever.”