Given what occurred in Marseille over the opening weekend of Euro 2016, you would think people would avoid stoking the flames of regional hatred.
But then, when it comes to England and Wales, those flames take a fair bit of stoking.
Gareth Bale and Jack Wilshere have done their best, but when two nations combine to form a cricket team it is hard to view this as a rivalry on a par with the fiercest of club derbies. No matter how many times and in how many ways the players are asked.
Wales go into Thursday’s match in Lens as Group B leaders after their impressive 2-1 win over Slovakia. England, who beat the principality home and away in Euro 2012 qualifying, are confident they can take three points off their neighbours and all but secure passage to the second round.
With the Scots missing from Euro 2016 it is up to Wales, drawn in England’s group, to play the role of local agitators. Having saved their passion and singing voices for rugby down through the years, the southern neighbours do not have the Scots’ history of multiple Home Nations pitch invasions.
While the Scots have been relaying their lawns with Wembley turf, the Welsh have until now struggled to make any inroads into England’s footballing dominance of Great Britain.
Swansea’s 2013 League Cup triumph failed to send shockwaves through the home of football so it was left to Britain’s only global football superstar to lob the first grenade this week.
Real Madrid is rubbing off on Bale. Win a couple of Champions Leagues and you gain the confidence to pull the tail of the Three Lions.
“It is like any derby – you never want to lose to the enemy,” said the Welsh talisman on Friday. “I think we’ve got a lot more passion and pride about us than them. We’ll definitely show that on the day.”
On Monday, Wilshere, one player who can be relied upon to throw petrol on any footballing fire, responded in kind.
“We know that Wales don’t like us. Do we like them? Not really!”
Good lad Jack, we knew there was a reason Roy Hodgson brought you to France instead of the more meek and mild Danny Drinkwater.
Adam Lallana is not buying into #ENG #WAL rivalry hype. Reckons Welsh desire to beat England is not unique #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/FZumt9lRCA
— Mikey Stafford (@me_stafford) June 14, 2016
At England’s training base in Chantilly on Tuesday, however, Adam Lallana and Ryan Bertrand came armed with buckets of sand to try and quench this fire before things were said that could not be unsaid.
Even if their suspiciously choreographed responses could be interpreted as more condescending than anything Wilshere could say. Effectively the Liverpool midfielder and Southampton full-back both dismissed the Welsh as another team who are hell bent on “claiming England’s scalp”.
It’s almost as if countries struggle to motivate themselves for matches against anyone other than Roy Hodgson’s side, whose impressive qualifying campaigns are rarely backed up with successful finals appearances, be it the World Cup or European Championships.
Ryan Bertrand joins Adam Lallana in playing down #ENG #WAL rivalry. Jack Wilshere must not have got the memo pic.twitter.com/f42kryEPjr
— Mikey Stafford (@me_stafford) June 14, 2016
This variation on the Millwall mantra of “Nobody likes us and we don’t care” sounds far less antagonistic when it comes from the mouths of Lallana and Bertrand, but the Welsh may not appreciate it.
However, having qualified for their first major tournament since 1958, Chris Coleman’s side appear to be motivated by a chance to make history rather than scoring points in a regional squabble.
A win for Wales on Thursday will place England’s progression from the group in grave peril. A positive result in Lens will render all this pre-match talk very, very cheap.
