Maro Itoje insists England need to take game to Wales in Cardiff

Maro Itoje has highlighted key elements of aggression, composure and intent when he leads Guinness Six Nations title contenders England into the Principality Stadium cauldron against Wales on Saturday.

And the England captain says he will relish the experience – rather than find it intimidating – at a stadium he says “you want to play in”.

A bonus-point victory for England would guarantee a top-two finish, but the title could also be secured if Scotland beat France in Paris.

“Whenever you play Wales, but particularly in Cardiff, you need to be aggressive,” Itoje said.

“You want to start the game well and really take the game to Wales. You have to make sure you maintain a level of composure because it is a great atmosphere, a cool stadium and the match is always big.

“You need to make sure you have the ability to make good decisions under that scrutiny.

“It is being aggressive in the manner in which we play, but also the mindset and mentality. We are not coming here just to play pretty phases, you have to come here and play with intent.

“The atmosphere is obviously great, it is a stadium you want to play in and I don’t see it as intimidating at all. I don’t see it as something to beware of or anything like that.

“I see it as something to relish, something to enjoy and something to make our mindset tighter and bring us closer as a group.

“This is a great opportunity for us. An opportunity for us to take a step forward. This is a fixture with a great history, and we want to be the ones who take the opportunity.

“In the development of this team, to be the team we want to be, we have to come to places like this and win.”

England have lost on nine of their Six Nations and World Cup warm-up visits to Cardiff since 2000, and despite Wales having suffered 16 successive Test reversals, history suggests possibilities for another home win.

Wales, though, are are also battling the statisticians, having lost eight Tests in a row in Cardiff and gone two years without a Six Nations win – home or away.

Itoje added: “Fortunately, I have been in the England team for a little while now, and I’ve been to Cardiff. I have played very badly in Cardiff. I have played well in Cardiff, so I draw on all of those experiences.

“The Welsh nation is a proud nation and they love their rugby, and despite their results I think they are showing a lot of promise and a lot of improvement.

“They are going to be absolutely up for this game, particularly against us. We need to make sure we manage that.”

The longer-term picture of British and Irish Lions squad selection to tour Australia this summer will come into sharper focus after final auditions in Rome, Cardiff and Paris this weekend.

And Lions captaincy contender Itoje said: “No doubt, the better England does in the Six Nations the more likely more players from England are going to be selected.

“So we all have a vested interest in making sure England are successful and we win as many games as possible, because when you are part of a winning team you look better. We haven’t shied away from the fact that it is a Lions year.”