Former Wales and Lions prop Adam Jones has fired back at Ireland pundits' claims that Wales are "rubbish" and are going to be "thrashed" this weekend.
The provocative comments came from Irish pundit Ger Gilroy on the Off The Ball show this week ahead of Sunday's Six Nations clash in Cardiff.
Gilroy kicked things off by describing Wayne Pivac's men as a "rubbish Welsh team that we have the opportunity to go and absolutely annihilate this weekend".
He added: "They have fallen so far in the stocks of this show that they don’t even merit a mention on the week where we are going to thrash them."
Pivac is now under pressure heading into his second Six Nations campaign bidding to improve on last year's fifth-place finish, but Jones believes the claims coming from across the Irish Sea are "disrespectful".
Harlequins coach Jones told the Irish Examiner : "I saw some pundit in Ireland said they would thrash Wales.
"I think that’s a bit disrespectful. Actually, it’s very disrespectful. Wales were Grand Slam champions two years ago. They got to the World Cup semi-finals and still have the majority of the same team.
"I think it’s disrespectful to say we’re going to get thrashed by a team which hasn’t won a Grand Slam in a while. That sort of thing does p*** me off a little bit."
While he admits the men in green are well run by the IRFU and perform on the domestic stage, he doesn't see why Wales can't beat Ireland, who they lost to twice in 2020: in the Six Nations and the Autumn Nations Cup.
"I guess there is a little bit of pressure on Pivac, but he is the Wales coach.
"I don’t know Wayne particularly well, but I do know Stephen Jones, Jonathan Humphreys and especially Gethin Jenkins incredibly well and they will leave no stone unturned to get the best performance."
