Before Wales faced England in the 1977 Five Nations, Welsh out-half Phil Bennett addressed his teammates in the dressing room of the Cardiff Arms Park.
Look what these bastards have done to Wales. They've taken our coal, our water, our steel. They buy our homes and live in them for a fortnight every year. What have they given us? Absolutely nothing. We've been exploited, raped, controlled and punished by the English – and that's who you are playing this afternoon.
Eddie Jones must have been imbibing this talk lately so insistent is he that the rest of the competition hates the English.
He's been walking around with the Stereophonics ditty 'As Long As We Beat English' playing in his head, presumably.
But he is happy to harness this 'hatred' for motivational purposes. If it can be employed to foster an old-fashioned siege mentality, that's just dandy.
Maybe Clive Woodward summed it up best when he said everyone hates England - that's true.
Because of the history that is involved with the social and historical context, there is that long-seated rivalry and hatred of England. You can feel it.
I'm not going to use it, but within the side they can use it. As I said when I took over, I'm not English, I'm Australian, but I will be absolutely committed to them.
I'm not going to talk to the players about things I don't understand. I only talk them to about things I do understand. But we have got staff that can do that. And if we think it is appropriate we will.
Such talk isn't new or fashionable or cutting edge. In this country, the tribal obsession with downing England appears to have been diluted by Ireland's new status as perennial championship contenders.
But these impulses don't drift away easily.
One can help thinking that at least part of the reason Ireland have much better record, historically, in Twickenham than they have in Paris is that they hate losing in the former venue more.
[RTE]
