Macleod credits Wales head coach Steve Tandy for the feeling of togetherness, especially when Welsh rugby has been rocked by regional uncertainty.
“I haven’t really felt it as much as I have coming into this campaign, how tight the boys are, how connected the boys are,” he said.
“Man for man we’re ready to stand up for each other and fight and I think that is going to be massive on Saturday.
“It’s purely down to Steve and his coaching group, the values that they’ve set – care and connection being the main ones – and the boys have really bought into that.”
Scarlets captain Macleod is set to make his Six Nations debut, five years after being named in Wales’ 2021 squad, but as it has so often in his career, injury cruelly struck.
Saturday will also be a first outing against England and a first trip to Allianz Stadium, something he said would be “an unbelievable honour”.
“It will probably feel like going into a war zone,” said Macleod.
