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Navidi insists Wales must focus on themselves ahead of crunch England clash

13th February 2019


Josh Navidi insists Wales must concentrate on themselves, as Warren Gatland's side prepare for a crunch Guinness Six Nations clash against England.

The Cardiff Blues back row was named man-of-the-match as Wales made it two from two with victory over Italy in Rome last week.

With Eddie Jones' side beating Ireland and France in the opening rounds, Wales and England's Grand Slam hopes are still alive, with the Welsh capital set for a blockbusting clash on Saturday, February 23.

However, Navidi believes it's important for his side to avoid getting distraction by the pre-match hype, as they look to seal a record-breaking winning streak.

"The England game is going to get hyped up a lot, but we need to just focus on ourselves," said the Cardiff Blues academy product.

"We were disappointed with the performance in Italy, but a win is a win. We know we've got a lot of things to work on to be prepared for England.

"England is always going to be built up as the big match of the Six Nations. We need to focus on ourselves, do everything we can in training, and hopefully we can get the result.

"We knew it was going to be a tough old game against Italy, but we'll take it. We know where we are at and now we've got a big couple of weeks to build into the England game. We need to improve and keep the momentum going."

With one eye on squad depth ahead of the Rugby World Cup in Japan later this year, Navidi faces a host of competition for a place in the back row - with Justin Tipuric, Josh Turnbull, Seb Davies, Ross Moriarty, Aaron Wainwright and Thomas Young all vying for a starting spot during the Guinness Six Nations.

With the likes of Ellis Jenkins, James Davies, Aaron Shingler and Taulupe Faletau also currently out of action, Navidi insists the competition for places is healthy and is an added motivation on the pitch.

The back row said: "We're breeding some good back-rowers at the moment.

"There is pressure because boys are always coming through, but that's great. We could be in England's position where they are looking for a seven. We have a number coming through in Wales.

"I was happy to get man of the match against Italy, but the win was more important."