The Scarlets second row delivered a commanding performance out in Rome despite having eight stitches at half-time to mend a cut above his eye. Wales welcome RBS 6 Nations champions England to Principality Stadium this weekend in a bid to end their 15 game unbeaten run.
And Ball is already relishing the opportunity to test himself against the Red Rose in front of a packed Cardiff crowd.
He said: “I’ve got 11 stitches in there at the moment, I had eight at half-time but they all fell out, it’s all good now. There will be no problem this week, they’ll leave the stitches in and pad it out. I’ve had a couple of bad ones over the years, that’s why I started wearing the scrum-cap but it snuck up underneath.
“The support has been brilliant, it’s always the same with the Welsh public. They really get behind us after coming back with a win and that will be the same this week. It’s massive. They’re defending champions which makes it even bigger, let alone it being against England.
“I thought England played really well in a tough game last weekend. It was a tough encounter and France threw everything at them in the first half. They did well to get back into the game and win it.”
Wales have won eight of their last 10 matches under the guidance of head coach Rob Howley, going back to their RBS 6 Nations win in 2013. They had to toil hard before scoring 30 unanswered points in the second half. And Ball wants to keep on improving ahead of their Cardiff clash.
He said: “We’ve been able to take a lot out of that game from the weekend, it was a tough game. The Italians put in a good defensive shift and by no means was it an easy game. We showed some good composure to come away with the scoreline we did. It’s all on us as players now and how we prepare that’ll impact the outcome of the game.”
