Stephen Jones cannot contain his enthusiasm. "Pressure? What pressure?" he responds when asked about tomorrow's Six Nations decider against Ireland at the Millennium Stadium. The Irish may be speaking in monosyllables as they count down to their day of destiny, 61 years after their only grand slam, but the Wales outside-half is in expansive mode.
"It is going to be a fantastic occasion," said Jones, who was Wales's outside-half in the fixture four years ago when they needed to beat Ireland to win the grand slam while the Irish, as will be the case with the Welsh tomorrow, had their sights on the title. "If you cannot get excited about it as a player, you may as well pack it in. I am aware of what is at stake but this is why you play the game."
It was widely expected that Jones's international career would come to an end when Gareth Jenkins was sacked as Wales's coach after the 2007 World Cup. Jenkins had made Jones his captain at the start of the year but was forced to re-evaluate after a media campaign against the outside-half grew in intensity as each of the opening four Six Nations matches ended in defeat. Jenkins was pilloried for not playing James Hook at No10 but his successor, Warren Gatland, has not attracted a breath of criticism even though Jones has started eight of Wales's last nine major internationals ahead of his rival.
Tomorrow may well turn out to be a tale of two outside-halves. Jones is nine months younger than Ronan O'Gara, who was 32 earlier this month; they have both been staples of their sides for virtually the whole decade and they are rivals for a place on the Lions tour to South Africa in the summer. O'Gara has won 92 caps to Jones's 79 and scored 912 Test points to 678 and the pair provide the axis around which their teams rotate.
"How many years has Ronan been at the top?" asked Jones. "He has been brilliant. His record for Munster and Ireland says it all. He dictates things well, he is a very, very good tactical kicker and he complements the Ireland pack, keeping them going forward and on the front foot. He distributes well and we have to try and put pressure on him defensively because he is so good at dictating play. The way he bounced back against Scotland after missing a few kicks against England said everything about him. How good was that? It showed the quality of the man and how mentally tough he is."
A difference in the teams' styles of play should be evident tomorrow. Ireland, after being drawn into a handling game by France on the opening weekend, have since tightened up, rarely expressing themselves, while Wales at times found their expansive intent stifled.
"It's going to be a great game with so much at stake. Ireland are going for the slam and we want the triple crown and the title," said Jones. "Ireland have opted for Tomas O'Leary ahead of Peter Stringer at scrum-half and he kicks more from source and their game plan will be interesting. Will they put it in the corners and play a forward-oriented game or will they throw the ball around? They are very good up front and will want to involve their forwards as much as they can: their defensive line-out is very good and they like getting their back row picking and going.
"I think they will be very direct, dictating through their half-backs. We will be different: we have to look to up the tempo and throw the ball around but kicking is a huge part of our game and we have to get the balance right. The kicking battle will be interesting: the team that wins that will win the game. It's about when to kick and varying your kicking. They will be happy to put the ball off the park and attack our lineout.
"Ireland will be confident, having won four out of four. They have put themselves in a fantastic situation. Their Munster players will have fond memories of the Millennium Stadium, having won two Heineken Cup finals there, but I am not sure whether that will make a difference. We are at home and the red in the crowd will this time denote Wales supporters."
Wales are in a strange position. The defending champions could finish first, second, third or fourth and, while they talk up home advantage, they have defeated Ireland in Cardiff only once since 1983. "We have only played in patches this year, 60 minutes in the first game against Scotland and less since then," said Jones, "but only an 80-minute performance will do on Saturday.
"It may be the last Test before the Lions squad is chosen but there is so much at stake that will not be an issue, even though, as a player, you cannot help but be aware that it is on the horizon. You have to be realistic and concentrate solely on your performance.
"A championship is on the line and you have to implement the game plan and go through the patterns. You have to think technically, not emotionally. I can't wait for the game to start."
