'We know what is coming' - Ross Moriarty says Wales need to take silence the Twickenham crowd early
Ross Moriarty has no doubt that Wales will need to meet England head-on in the physical battle at Twickenham this weekend.
Eddie Jones’ team outmuscled Ireland with an enviable show of brute-force and power 10 days ago.
It was a clear sign of what Wales can expect when they go in search of a first Six Nations win on English soil since 2012 and avoiding a third successive loss in this season’s tournament.
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“We know if you don’t match England physically then you have got no chance,” said former England Under-20 international Moriarty, who is set to win his 45th cap on Saturday.
“As a pack and back-line we have to go and meet them, especially in their back-yard. That’s what we will be looking to do.
“They pride themselves on having a big and physical pack with a few big backs, so we know what is coming. It’s no different to any other time we have played against them.
“You want to put your marker down early and keep the crowd quiet, especially at Twickenham. That’s a big thing for us.
“It’s great when we play at home as we get the crowd on our side, and it’s the same for them when they are in their own back-yard. It’s not nice when someone comes in and ruffles up your feathers.
“Getting stuck into people physically is my bread and butter, so I will definitely be trying to do that from the start.
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“For me, every time I go on the pitch it’s personal, whether you are playing Italy, France, Ireland or Scotland.
“It might be a little bit more for England because we know how much it means to everyone. No-one wants to see us lose. We want to win every game. It doesn’t happen every week, but we are looking forward to it.”
Moriarty, born in the Lancashire rugby league hot-bed of St Helens, was part of England’s Under-20 World Cup-winning team in 2014 when his team-mates included current England internationals Maro Itoje and Charlie Ewels, plus new Wales centre Nick Tompkins.
But the 25-year-old is now maintaining a proud family dynasty that saw his father Paul – who was also a rugby league international – and uncle Richard both play for Wales.
“I took it as an opportunity which I grabbed with both hands,” added ex-Gloucester forward Moriarty, on his time in England colours.
“If I hadn’t had taken that route I might never have played for Wales, so you can’t look at it like ‘he should never have played for England or blah, blah, blah’. That’s not the case – you just have to be the best you can.
“I only lived in England for two years, and then I moved back to Morriston (near Swansea) until I was 16 and then moved to Gloucester.
“My sister was the same as me – born in England and grew up there, but just for four or six years. We had schools in Wales, and my best friends are from Morriston and Swansea.
“I definitely consider myself Welsh, even though I played for England. That was more about the opportunity they gave me and the coach’s belief in me.”
Moriarty, meanwhile, is relishing the prospect of opposing outstanding England back-row pair Sam Underhill and Tom Curry this weekend.
“Sam was in the academy when I was at Gloucester, but he didn’t really get a look-in,” Moriarty said.
“I think he had quite a few injury problems, so he moved to the Ospreys. He took an opportunity in Wales, and that has got him into the England team where he has done very well.
“I played against Tom quite a few times with Sale when I was at Gloucester. He was a young pup at the time, but you could tell he had a lot of potential, and now he’s showing it in an international shirt.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Hey Finn, Well done to the Junior Wallabies…a win is a win but it was a wet and scrappy game. Would be interesting to hear your opinion on two things from watching the game at the Not So Sunny Coast Stadium. Firstly, what is your opinion on the rule change of being able to call The Mark from a kick off and what is the reason for the change? Secondly, your thoughts on the lack of action for the high tackle on the SA fullback. I understand the TMO ruled that he had fallen into the tackle and the tackler didn’t have time to adjust but it was clearly shoulder on head and the Aussie 11 had not made any attempt to adjust his tackle height leading into the tackle. In my opinion he was never going to get his tackle technique correct to complete a safe tackle. If that tackle was made at a more senior and more scrutinised level would we have seen the same result?
2 Go to commentsI don’t think this has been ventilated enough. Discuss. Perhaps the lessons in all of this is that, in the game of life, one should do all the talking on the field of play. And in the game of rugby, what’s said on the field - stays on the field. Take care of yourselves. And each other.
32 Go to commentsLow skills compared to the Junior ABs. The ball handling and ball retention of the SAns in particular was utterly woeful. The latter will be better on home turf.
2 Go to comments1. Heard this so often over the yrs. One Warriors CEO even claimed future kids wouldnt know which came first, the ABs or the Warriors. Always keen to talk themselves up. 2. That fella Barakat who says he will drop HBHS sponsorship because HBHS quite rightly wants its players to focus on rugby is an odd fit as a sponsor in the first place. As a recruitment official for the Warriors he seems to regard his sponsorship as a paid licence to help to select players from HBHS for the league side. Maybe he should find a league school to fund.
1 Go to commentsNZ U20s are the team to beat this year for sure. And how nice after so long that NZRFU is actually taking this seriously. For far too long they have been sending woefully coached and woefully underprepared teams to the U20 WCs. That Wrampling boy is a star in the making.
2 Go to commentsI agree ..come on keyboard warriors and journalists looking for a cheap win ….. only 2 mins to go 12 points down …this DID NOT decide the game and beside JM was hit after the whistle and in response it was a pat on the back of the head …harmless ….watch soccer if this is your issue
4 Go to commentsRest is for namby pamby sissies, I see. True men should overcome their trifling injuries by playing week in, week out. Bidwell’s stance reminds me of a Jon Gadsby character from the 70s, a rugby captain giving an after-match speech: “It was a very physical contest. One of our players caught a boot on the back of his head in a ruck, and he died, actually. But to his credit, he played on.”
1 Go to commentsI still see nothing in Sotutus play that hes changed his upright running style that failed so many times against decent international defences like the french. Other than that… Iose? Well you have covered his limitations well. If Sititi had been playing the the season… Jacobson? Grace?…Neither shout pick me. So Ardie it is.
1 Go to commentsThere isn’t one element you mentioned there that every top class or successful team gets up to. The great All blacks sides used to play on the ‘fringes or edge’ but it was essentially saying they were doing something illegal or borderline to gain dominance. The fine margins at the top are minute between the top sides. La Rochelle, the crusaders, Saracens, Toulon etc etc…..have all been accused. Get over it, the comment comes across as salty and naive. Northampton as well as they played to get back into the match were thoroughly beaten and controlled for 60 minutes and Leinster have only themselves to blame for kicking it away and hence losing control of the match and being nearly the architects of their own downfall.
2 Go to commentsThere is some talent coming thru thats for sure. The 10 looks special to me. Rico Simpson is a name to look for in the future.
2 Go to commentsI think this quiet honestly is just an innocent misunderstanding by someone who is pig sh*t stupid. Eben is a fine player but by christ, if he can’t understand or get what the Irish players were trying to say to him after the match…..well i hope he has someone looking after his finances, career and is reading the fine print for him, cause life after rugby may be quite difficult for the vacuous echo chamber.
32 Go to commentsIt could be Doris' day!
3 Go to commentsThe whole thing has blown up because Eben’s words have clearly struck a nerve in Ireland. Otherwise they would just laugh it off. I think some former Irish players, commentators and some Irish fans know deep down this Ireland team started to believe its own press and that a certain amount of arrogance had started to creep in during the World Cup. The topic was actually brought up by Irish pundits on Off the Ball recently. It’s fine to be arrogant if you can back it up. Ireland didn’t.
32 Go to comments‘The Irish are good people'. Why is Goode praising a people who hate his own? Wet wipe.
32 Go to commentsLa mejor final que se puede ver en el emisferio norte.
1 Go to commentsA lot of cope from south africans in the comments. Etzebeth is a liar and a hypocrite; you don’t have to defend him!
32 Go to commentsHe got big and really slow for a flyhalf…not sure he’s relevant in a bok conversation anymore
4 Go to commentsBest tourney team vs best team in the regular season for 3 games in RSA - talk is cheap, let’s see what’s what on the tour
32 Go to commentsOne overlooked statistic from their 2016 winning season is the Huricanes are still the only team in Super rugby history not to concede a try during the playoff rounds.
4 Go to commentsThanks for the article, Nick. The Nienaber blitz D does ask a lot of its scrumhalf. I have been watching JGP on D and he often looks like he has mastered what Nienaber asks for better than Faf de Klerk and Cobus Reinach! 🤣 Impressive season by JGP if I must make an understatement.
22 Go to comments