Video: 'You don't need to be motivated too much for this one'

George Kruis will earn his thirtieth cap for England as he faces Wales for a fourth time in the Guinness 6 Nations. Speaking to RugbyPass ahead of his second trip to the Principality Stadium, it’s clear he’s not struggling to get in the zone.

Kruis said, “You don’t need to be motivated too much for this one, it’s a huge game and one we’re looking forward to. I played down there a couple of years ago, definitely a highlight game. For us it’s our next game so obviously it’s our biggest game. We’ve trained well and prepared well.”

Kruis has won on three of his last five England appearances and with Maro Itoje on the sidelines, is enjoying a stay of execution in one the most competitive areas of Eddie Jones’ side. On Saturday he’ll be up against Alun Wyn Jones alongside whom he started the first Lions’ test in New Zealand.

On the Welsh skipper, Kruis said, “He’s been around for a while and for a reason, he’s a good player and a good leader. It’s something we’ve looked at. You look at his strengths and try and pick apart any weaknesses. He’s a top quality player. He leads very well and does the basics of a tight five very well.”

However, Kruis talked down any suggestion that he might exchange any pleasantries with his opposite number during the game, commenting, “You’re pretty in the zone, so those sort of things pass by.”

At the team announcement, head coach Eddie Jones said that England are not yet happy with their performances. So what does Kruis see as needing improvement?

He said, “Be more consistent. We’re looking for an eighty minute game. We can take confidence from large patches in the games we have played but no game is perfect, there’s stuff we look to learn from every one. We can take a lot of good confidence from it but we’ll see what’s happening this weekend.”

Wales’ record at the lineout is the poorest in the 2019 Championship having lost 35% of their own. Kruis will be looking forward to quietening the Cardiff crowd if he and Lawes can have an afternoon to remember.

Watch: Eddie Jones talks to RugbyPass ahead of Wales