Philips says Wales wary of Crown hype

Mike Phillips believes Wales must shut out the external hype and hysteria surrounding their Triple Crown bid today — or risk blowing hopes of a rare Twickenham win.

Wales find themselves in an unfamiliar position of heading to south-west London as firm favourites for an RBS 6 Nations showdown with unbeaten rivals England.

They have triumphed only once at Twickenham since 1988 and the average scoreline during that largely barren run is comprehensively in England’s favour.