England wing Jack Nowell described the emotion Wales feel towards them as “hate” ahead of the Six Nations clash between the two title rivals on Sunday.
The two sides meet for the 125th time, with England looking to gain revenge for last year’s 30-3 defeat that clinched the title for Wales.
“We’re playing against a team that hate you and want to beat you up or beat you in the game,” said Nowell.
England are bidding for only their second title in 11 years.
The winner of Sunday’s clash could go on to win the tournament on the final day on 15 March.
With that at stake, hooker Dylan Hartley says revenge for last year’s defeat in Cardiff is not at the forefront of his, nor his England team-mates’, minds.
“This is being hyped up as an emotional revenge game, but as a team we haven’t talked about that,” Hartley said.
“That day in Cardiff was the complete, all-round poor performance and we haven’t seen anything like it since.
“The lesson has been learned and we don’t need to prove it against Wales because since then we have performed really well.
“I’m very aware that there’s a massive rivalry between England and Wales, and it’s very historical. As a barometer this is a good game for us.”
Hartley says England are targeting back row Taulupe Faletau, hooker Richard Hibbard and inside centre Jamie Roberts as the Wales trio who must be stopped.
“We obviously look at talismans in other teams, I prefer to call them targets. That’s not a joke,” he said.
“You respect them because they provide a lot of momentum, but if you make them a target, it changes that.”
But while Hartley talks of “respect”, scrum-half Danny Care says England’s players know they are disliked by Warren Gatland’s reigning champions.
“You know when you play Wales that they don’t like you, which you get used to as an England player. You relish that and look forward to the challenge,” he said.
“Any time you play for England it’s a great feeling, but with the Welsh you know they are coming for a battle. We are up for the challenge and looking forward to it.”
