Maro Itoje fired up for England’s Six Nations clash with Wales after watching Chris Eubank doc and speaking with pal AJ
ANTHONY JOSHUA'S mate Maro Itoje trash-talked Wales and roared: England will KO your Six Nations Grand Slam.
Lions prize-fighter Itoje is ready to deliver a body-blow in Cardiff as the reigning title holders take on the undefeated Dragons.
And to help fire him up for the brawls and the mauls boxing fan Itoje, a buddy of IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight Joshua, has been watching a documentary of legendary super-middleweight Chris Eubank.
Before stepping into the Principality Stadium ring today Itoje said: "I know AJ - we’ve met a few times and spent a bit of time with one another.
"And on Thursday I watched Chris Eubank's Life Stories with Piers Morgan, it was very interesting.
"I'm a big fan of boxing and I am quite familiar with some of Eubank's fights - his top British ones. Him and Nigel Benn and Michael Watson. I found it very interesting.
"And rugby is a game similar to boxing in the sense that you can’t fake rugby, you can't play at rugby. You can't just go out there and go through the motions because if you do that you will get beat.
"You need to have that fighting spirit, you need to have that dogged approach to what you do. Our ambition going into the Six Nations was to win it. For us to do that it means we have to win on Saturday.
"So full of steam ahead."
As a boxer, Eubank turned the fact that most fight fans disliked him into an advantage.
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
And that is just how England have it every time they cross the River Severn for these fierce Anglo-Welsh scraps.
Itoje, 26, added: "I think as an England team specifically, one could argue that’s pretty similar to how a lot of other nations see us.
"If you are in that position it's about relishing it, it's about enjoying the challenge, enjoying the competition, enjoying the moment, living in the moment, being present in the moment and do what you need to do, and do your best to take care of business."
Most read in Rugby Union
Itoje's teammate Jonny Hill has also spent the week warding off friendly fire.
The second-row goes out with Wales netball ace Sarah Llewellyn, who played in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
And he added: "It's one of those things. I spoke to her last night and she's fully supporting me this weekend, thankfully.
"It's not too bad. She's very, very supportive of me to be fair. Her dad is a little bit different. He's a bit harder to persuade."
