Six Nations: Mike Phillips on Dylan Hartley's absence and the man who ticks all the boxes for Wales

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  • Owen Farrell, right, will take over the captaincy duties for England from Dylan Hartley

    It’s a move I’ve been wanting to see for weeks, but injury has finally forced Eddie Jones’ hand with Dylan Harltey.

    It’s been pretty obvious that he didn’t deserve his place in the side, let alone the captaincy, and now Jamie George finally has the opportunity to make that shirt his own. I think it’s going to have a really positive impact on the side.

    As for who wears the armband, there is no better man in that squad than Owen Farrell. I got to know him when we toured with the Lions, and he is a really good bloke. He’s confident in a non-arrogant way, and a brilliant player. He is a leader of men, and someone you would go into battle for – I can only see him doing a fantastic job and hopefully being the skipper for a long time. He’ll be facing Mathieu Bastareaud this week and will be relishing that challenge – and I would back him every time the big Frenchman tries to run down his channel.

    Jones has made a lot of changes in the side but when you look at some of the players, you can’t say it’s a big surprise. I like Mike Brown as a player but at international level he might have had his day. Anthony Watson is a class act and is a player for the future. Same goes for Ben Te’o, he’s such a powerful player with the ability to offload in the tackle and can bring something different to the centre.

    France will be looking for a bit of consistency after their win over Italy. They had their off-field problems after the Scotland game and that almost typifies the lack of discipline they have been showing in games too. We’ve seen them give away so many silly penalties and they just can’t afford to do that against England.

    Guilhem Guirado will be hoping for some consistency from his French side

    Guilhem Guirado will be hoping for some consistency from his French side.

    I just don’t see France having enough in this one and I think England will run out winners by 10 points.

    In Dublin the question for me is, can Scotland back up their win over England? They put in a great performance last time out and have received all the praise for that, while the players have been all over Instagram having a laugh and enjoying themselves, but that can’t be it for them. They can’t just win one game and everyone be happy about it.

    I remember when we (Wales) lost in the World Cup semi-final and came home to a heroes’ welcome and everyone had nothing but good things to say about us. But we lost. I was anything but happy because I knew we had messed up the chance to play in the World Cup Final.

    Scotland need to have the mentality that it is all about winning every game, and that starts against Ireland.

    We know what Ireland can do, and to be in with a chance of winning, Scotland’s pack has to perform. Wales couldn’t manage it last time out, but you have to get on top of Ireland’s forwards. It’s a difficult thing to do but if Scotland can manage it, they have the backs that can cause trouble.

    Huw Jones has been one of the leading lights for Scotland.

    Huw Jones has been one of the leading lights for Scotland.

    In truth, I don’t see that happening because Ireland have been too well-organised and well-coached to this point, and I see them winning by about eight points.

    Finally, a new-look Wales, and it needed to be. It’s great to see changes, and even though they have shown a lot of positives in the last couple of games they have lost them both.

    In James Davies, we are finally seeing the man who has arguably been the best player in Wales with Scarlets for the last few years get his chance on the international stage.

    He is a fantastic talent and I don’t know why it hasn’t come sooner – it’s a bit annoying really because he has got everything as a player; great handling and offloading, tackling, jackalling – he ticks every box and I can’t wait to see him run out against Italy.

    George North is back in too, and I want to see him with his hands on the ball as much as possible. When I played with him and Alex Cuthbert we always wanted them coming in off nine, ten and 12, getting involved and that’s exactly what George has to do this weekend.

    Mike Phillips smashes his way over against Italy

    Mike Phillips smashes his way over against Italy.

    I always enjoyed playing against Italy, and there was time when it was a pretty decent battle but in the last couple of years they have really gone downhill.

    I used to love hearing their anthem, especially away from home, and then taking on the likes of Sergio Parisse who I had some great battles with down the years. We played against each other from under-21 level and we were always having our little fights but there was a professional respect between us.

    Now you look at Italy and things are a bit of a mess. It’s a no-win situation playing them now because if you win by 50 points it’s expected, win by less and it’s disappointing, lose to them and it’s the end of the world.

    That said, this should be a comfortable day for Wales, with a win by 40 points.

    The Mike Phillips Rugby Academy in Dubai is run in conjunction with Just Play. Currently aimed at 3-11-year-olds you can register your child to be coached by Mike and the team by calling 04 348 3869 or visit http://justplay.ae/rugby/

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