Jones is never afraid to say what he thinks and has cranked up the heat ahead of his team’s Six Nations trip to Cardiff on Saturday by saying England should always expect to beat a country the size of Wales.
The 57-year-old has also insisted he cannot understand why England are so petrified of travelling to the Welsh capital.
A war of words always accompanies a meeting between England and Wales, but Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards believes Jones’s brutal honesty is to be applauded. The Australian, he says, reminds him of ex-Nottingham Forest boss Clough who won two European Cups in his time at the City Ground.
Asked for his response to Jones’ latest jibe, Edwards said: “I think it’s just another way of Eddie throwing down a challenge to his players. “It’s smart coaching. Eddie is a clever bloke and you want characters in the game.
“You’ve seen it in the past with football managers like Brian Clough, people like that. They were a bit outspoken, weren’t they? It’s good for the game.”
Jones has also said that England will cope whatever is thrown at them on Saturday by Welsh fans – including daffodils.
“Are there daffodils around this time of year, I don’t know,” said Edwards. “It feels a bit cold for daffodils!”
England arrive at the Principality Stadium looking to extend their record-breaking unbeaten run to 16 matches but after a disrupted training week which has seen back row men Tom Wood (shoulder) and Nathan Hughes (knee) miss sessions.
Wood was rated the bigger concern but defence coach Paul Gustard sought to play down worries over his availability yesterday.
“He’s going to train tomorrow,” said Gustard. “His training yesterday was modified to protect him but he’s still up for selection this weekend.”
Harlequins’ Jack Clifford is pressing Wood for a starting place after being recalled to the squad following a chest problem.
“We feel with Jack against this opposition, he’s going to offer what we want to do in attack,” said Gustard. “Jack is a very talented young kid. He is competitive, he is desperate to play for England and we’ve seen good growth from him over the last 12 months.
“There’s been improvement in some aspects of his play. He’s put himself back in the shop window for a starting spot this weekend.”
Wales have lost their last three Six Nations games to England but have been boosted with the news No 8 Taulupe Faletau will be available for selection.
Faletau has not played since Christmas Eve because of a knee injury so is likely to have to be content with a place on the bench.
Caretaker coach Howley is sweating on the fitness of George North and Dan Biggar who suffered thigh and rib knocks respectively in the opening-round 33-7 victory over Italy.
Should North fail to prove his fitness, Alex Cuthbert is set to come in on the right wing while Sam Davies is on stand-by for Biggar. Lock Luke Charteris , who missed the Italy win, is also doubtful with a fractured hand and was wearing a cast to protect the injury at Wales’s training base yesterday.
Wales (probable): Halfpenny; Cuthbert, J Davies, S Williams, L Williams; Biggar, Webb; Evans, Owens, Lee; Jones (capt), Ball, Warburton, Tipuric, Moriarty England (probable): Brown; Nowell, Joseph, Farrell, Daly; Ford, Youngs; Marler, Hartley (capt), Cole, Launchbury, Lawes, Itoje, Wood, Hughes.
