'Niggly' Mann aims to get under England's skin

Wales flanker Alex Mann says he likes to try and get under the skin of the opposition as he prepares to face England in their Six Nations opener.

The 24-year-old is set to pack down in the Wales back row at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday (16:40 GMT).

The Cardiff forward's previous international outing saw him eye gouged by South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth, for which the two-time World Cup winner received a 12-week ban.

Etzebeth later posted a video claiming his actions were a reaction to being struck by Mann and the gouge was not intentional.

The Welshman was cleared of any wrongdoing, which sparked significant furore across the rugby world.

"I spoke about this before, that stuff is just part of the game," said Mann.

"I quite like trying to get under people's skin and I'm sure people try to do it to me as well. It is what it is and I'm just looking forward to what's ahead."

He could face another controversial character on Saturday with charismatic England number eight Henry Pollock named as a replacement.

Pollock is known for goading the opposition and extravagant try-scoring celebrations.

"I would say we are different characters," said Mann.

"I think we're both niggly, so it should be interesting.

"Fair play to him, he comes up every week and backs it up. That's his character, everyone is different and it is his style of play.

"He's a good player but I know what I can do as well."

Asked if he would be intimidated by Pollock's big shock of blonde hair, Mann replied: "I am not intimidated by much to be honest with you."

Mann has encouraging personal memories of Twickenham, having scored a try in the 16-14 defeat against England in 2024 in what was only his second international.

Despite the loss, the occasion gave him a glimpse of the importance of the fixture.

"It is big game for the country so we're going to do everything in all powers to get our win on Saturday," said Mann.

"It's a big occasion, it means a lot to the Welsh people and the Welsh fans.

"So we know that it's our job to go and put a performance in for Wales."

England have won their past 11 internationals, including four victories in the autumn campaign, which has lifted them to third in the world.

In contrast, Wales have lost 21 out of 23 internationals with the only victories against Japan in Kobe and Cardiff in 2025.

The run of defeats included an unprecedented 18-match successive Test losing sequence and record home losses against England (68-14), Argentina (52-26) and South Africa (73-0).

Wales have not won a Six Nations match since March 2023 against Italy in Rome, with the record of 11 successive defeats resulting in two winless tournaments.

But Mann says he is not concerned with Wales being written off.

"We have that inner belief as a group so it doesn't matter what other people say outside because that's irrelevant," he added.

"We know what we can do and the calibre of players we have got, so we have that self-confidence that we can go and put a performance in and turn teams over.

"That's the exciting bit for us."