Man for man we're ready to stand up - Macleod

Flanker Josh Macleod says he feels a unity in the Wales camp that he has never before experienced and they are ready to stand together against England on Saturday.

Wales travel to Twickenham in their Six Nations opener, a game in which few fans and pundits are giving them much of a chance.

But Macleod says they 100% believe they can pull off an upset otherwise "they wouldn't be playing the sport".

He added: "Call it what you want - underdog - we'll stick to our principals, our game model and we'll leave everything out on the pitch and if that's enough, that's enough."

Going into a 'war zone'

Macleod credits Wales head coach Steve Tandy for the feeling of togetherness, especially when Welsh rugby has been rocked by regional uncertainty.

"I haven't really felt it as much as I have coming into this campaign, how tight the boys are, how connected the boys are," he said.

"Man for man we're ready to stand up for each other and fight and I think that is going to be massive on Saturday.

"It's purely down to Steve and his coaching group, the values that they've set - care and connection being the main ones - and the boys have really bought into that."

Scarlets captain Macleod is set to make his Six Nations debut, five years after being named in Wales' 2021 squad, but as it has so often in his career, injury cruelly struck.

Saturday will also be a first outing against England and a first trip to Allianz Stadium, something he said would be "an unbelievable honour".

"It will probably feel like going into a war zone," said Macleod.

'We'll be ready'

England have won their past 11 Tests and risen to third in the world rankings, while Wales have lost 21 out of 23 internationals, including record home losses to England, Argentina and South Africa in the autumn.

But Macloed still thinks they can be competitive.

"There's a hell of a lot of talent in our team as well, let's not shy away from that," he said.

"We've got a pack that are willing to fight for each other and fight for every inch, a back line full of X factor as well, so as much as they've got their strengths, so have we.

"We had a really strong training week last week and that's rolled into the start of this week, we've built our game model and boys have adapted really well.

"They've named their side pretty early and they've got strengths across the park. We don't solely focus on one part of the team, there's 15 guys that we're coming up against, we'll get our nuts and bolts in order and whatever comes at us, we'll be ready."