A third victory of the Championship would give the reigning champions real hope of a record-breaking hat-trick of titles after they responded to the disappointment of defeat in Dublin with a crushing win over France.
Wales are currently in a four-way tie at the top of the table, with England, Ireland and France all level with the holders on four points with two games remaining. The Irish have a healthy lead in terms of points difference, though, despite their defeat in London last time out, with Joe Schmidt and co 36 points clear of Wales, 21 ahead of England and 41 in front of the French.
But those figures will be far from the front of the Welsh players’ minds as they get set to head to London this weekend, with Jenkins insisting that a win and nothing but a win will be the sole focus prior to Sunday.
“This week is all about the win. You can’t go into a game thinking about points difference,” Jenkins told the BBC.
“Even last year when we beat England at the Millennium Stadium the points difference wasn’t on our mind, it was just winning the game and obviously that happened. But if you go into any game thinking that then you’re going to come unstuck.”
Wales needed victory and a points swing to seal the Championship when the two teams met in Cardiff this time last year but, with another round still to play after the weekend, things won’t be decided in the same way on Sunday.
If Wales fail to leave London with a ‘W’, though, their hopes of retaining their Championship crown will be all but over and Jenkins knows they will have to be at their very best at RFU HQ to avoid that sobering fate.
“Usually, there’s not much of a margin between us,” added Jenkins, who believes England will prove tough opponents up front despite opposite number Dan Cole’s withdrawal through injury last month.
“They’re quite a young, fit team – similar to us, really. So it’s going to be a very physical game and we really have to be up to speed.
“They’ve got some good scrummagers in England and some good front-five forwards coming through as well. Cole’s been a big player for them, he’s coming towards 50 caps, but Wilson (replacement tight-head David Wilson) is very experienced, he’s been around the block quite a few times and he’s doing very well at Bath.”
