Captain Sam Warburton has called for a confident approach from the squad and veteran prop Jones says there’s no danger of the reigning champions being downbeat in the lead up to the February 2 fixture.
“There’s always a bit of a buzz around the place and it’s nice to come back into the squad,” said Jones, who missed the autumn internationals with injury but is now fit and available for selection for a week on Saturday.
“It’s a bit different to Poland this year in that there’s a bit more of a buzz because it’s the 6 Nations and the whole country gets up for it.
“The mood is all right – no one is panicking. In parts we played well in the summer and the autumn and, had we played a bit more sensibly and had the bounce of the ball, we would have done a bit better, especially with the four games against Australia.
“But it’s history now and we’re looking forward to getting back on the field.
“When we’ve been champions before we’ve never really backed it up. We’ve done it three times and we want to push on as a team.
“It’s something we want to put right but there’s five very good teams there so it’s not cut and dry.”
Ireland provide the first obstacle to that goal and they’ll head to the capital with plenty of confidence from the performances of their provincial sides in recent seasons.
Leinster have won three of the last four Heineken Cups and both Munster and Ulster are through to the last eight this time around, with the latter having fallen to their countrymen at the final hurdle in 2012.
But while Jones admits that winning with your club side can be a boost, he insists it doesn’t always translate on to the international stage and it won’t affect Wales’ chances of success against the Irish.
“Ireland are a good side and their regions always do well. Ulster are on a bit of a role and Leinster are packed full of Lions,” added Jones.
“Their provinces are fantastic and have always done well in Europe but they’ve then been criticised for not backing it up with the international side.
“The domestic stuff doesn’t matter one bit: you’re not playing for your region, you’re playing for Wales and it’s all about who is better on the day.
“It doesn’t mean anything otherwise Ireland would have won the Grand Slam for the last five years.We’ve got the better of them the last few times and played a bit smarter.
“But they have some world-class players, which will obviously make it difficult. When you have the Heaslips and O’Driscolls, who would get in most teams, they will always be hard to play against.”
