Alun Wyn Jones believes Wales will embrace the challenge of sealing a Grand Slam away from home as they prepare to do battle with France in Paris.
Wales have recorded four clean sweeps in the past 16 years – in 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2019 – but each of them have been wrapped up in front of a jubilant Cardiff crowd at Principality Stadium.
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Wayne Pivac’s unbeaten side are therefore in unfamiliar territory as they prepare to cross the Channel on Super Saturday but their experienced skipper insists it’s a scenario they are ready for.
“It is an away game decider and we are not going to shy away from that,” said the 35-year-old.
“We know the significance away games have in this competition.
“It is one we have not experienced before [in terms of a Grand Slam], and it is going to be another week of weeks leading up to the game on Saturday.”
No stranger to creating history, Jones could etch his name further into Guinness Six Nations folklore this weekend by becoming the first player to win four Grand Slams.
The lock’s most recent trip to Paris brought another landmark as he equalled Richie McCaw’s record of 148 Test appearances but it turned into a bittersweet evening as a fluent French side ran out 38-21 winners.
Now out on his own as world rugby’s most capped player and leading a side who have hit their straps in recent weeks, Jones is confident this weekend will bring a much-improved display at the Stade de France.
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And the skipper, who said after Saturday’s convincing win over Italy that his side had not yet delivered ‘the perfect 80 minutes’, feels there are further heights for Wales to hit.
“In many ways, it is a similar situation [to the autumn] with no fans away in France, and that was a clinical game by them,” he said.
“But that was before the start of a competition in a different situation. I don’t want to be over the top, but the world had changed and we were going into a competition [Autumn Nations Cup] that we had not experienced before.
“We are a bit further down the line now with no crowds, where we are with the game and all that is going on to make it happen.
“I think we have dealt with that, but we still have to go up a few gears to go there and perform.”
