ENGLAND BOSS EDDIE Jones says Ireland’s level of cohesion makes them favourites for this Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash between the sides at Twickenham.
Ireland have lost on their last three visits to the London venue but won the most recent meeting between the sides, an impressive 32-18 victory in Dublin last year.
With Ireland and England both still in contention for the Six Nations title – even if Grand Slam-chasing France are leading the table – it promises to be an enthralling clash this weekend and Jones has the visitors down as favourites.
“Three teams can win the tournament and we’re delighted to be one of those three,” said Jones this afternoon.
“Ireland are the favourites for the game. They’ve been in good form in the autumn and are a very settled team, well-coached by Andy Farrell.
“Apart from [Andrew] Porter, I think they have everyone available.
“We’ve got a young squad, but a very good squad and I’m pleased with the development of the squad. We’re moving in the right direction, like any team it’s not a straight line. We’ve got ups and downs, but certainly the spirit of the team is good, the development of the game we want to play is good, and we’re looking forward to the game on Saturday.”
Jones has been impressed with the pace of Ireland’s attack and pointed to the level of familiarity between Leinster players as a key ingredient in their good form.
“They are literally, and I say it without any hesitation, the most cohesive side in the world,” said Jones.
“The bulk of their team train together for the bulk of the year, they’re very well co-ordinated in their attack, they’re very structured, they’ve very sequenced set-plays and they’re tough around the breakdown. So, they pose a great challenge for us.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge, we’re not intimidated by any team. We’re looking forward to playing against them.”
Last night, England announced that number eight Alex Dombrandt had tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, meaning he is now a doubt for the Ireland game.
Jones said there is still a chance the Harlequins back row could feature.
“We’ve got to wait and see how he recovers from Covid. He has to do all the cardiac tests and we’ll see on Thursday if he can train at the necessary level. If that’s the case, he’s a chance to play against Ireland.”
Bath’s Sam Underhill has been added to the England squad this week and Jones said he will be in consideration to come straight into the matchday 23.
England have faced some strong criticism for their form in this Six Nations, having suffered a narrow defeat to Scotland, beaten Italy, and notched a tight victory over Wales.
But Jones said he is pleased with the direction in which England are travelling, as the likes of young scrum-half Harry Randall, out-half Marcus Smith, and fullback Freddie Steward continue to gain valuable experience with the 2023 World Cup now in view.
“We’re in a very good position, mate,” said Jones. “We’ve got a little over 12 months until we get together for the last part of the project.
“It’s not a perfect straight line, sometimes we’re going a bit quicker than others and sometimes we’d like to go a bit quicker but we’ve got a great spirit in the side.
“Look at the spine of our side – our 9, 10, and 15 that played against Wales. They’ve got 12 times, 12 times the amount of caps that we’ve got. 12 times! What a fantastic experience for those young blokes and they got to edge out a win against a Six Nations side, it’s a real testament to where they’re going.
“How much better are they going to be in another 12 months’ time with another 10 caps under their belt?”
Originally published at 13.10
Loves Mind games this fella. Hope we batter them, because behind the mind games is a bitter coach who is under massive pressure.
@Gary O’Rourke: is he under massive pressure? Seems English RFU have accepted that 6 nations results can suffer provided World Cup performance is there. He’s already made one WC final (playing ridiculously well). He isn’t going to be sacked even if they finish bottom half again this year. Also he’s made huge money and his record means he’ll get another job easy if England do let him go.
On top of that – what he is saying is correct rather than mind games. We are favourites!
@Augustus hoop: Accept for the fact they have gone considerably downhill since he took over in late 15 from Lancaster who let’s be honest built an unbelievable setup. Let’s see how they get on in the next world cup.
@Ron: they made the World Cup final – completely outplaying New Zealand in the semi – I wouldn’t consider that to be ‘downhill’ from not getting out of the group in 2015!!!? It was a full 4 years after Lancaster had moved on. I think it’s a stretch to be giving Lancaster more credit for it than jones.
I dont particularly like how the man goes on, but his record of repeatedly managing/coaching teams that peak for world cups and perform better – not just results also performance (Australia, Japan, England and even s Africa when he was no2) – is surely no open to debate!!!?
@Augustus hoop: they made the world cup final 3 years ago in fairness and the lack of expansive rugby they have played since compared to Lancaster era and just after is clear to see. Agree that WC didn’t work out for Lancaster but by the time he left Eng were one the best teams imo. You could see how dangerous they were getting. Also going from 2020 to now it’s clearly a downward trajectory and you can see he knows it. I didn’t question his past coaching achievements.
@Gary O’Rourke:
Such a soccer manager! The game should be played on the field, not in the media!
Any compliment from him feels backhanded somehow. Waiting for the other shoe to drop
@G: His compliments have T’s & C’s.
We’ll have to be extra vigilant then Eddie, won’t we!
It will be tough and England will have worked out every weakness in our play. I hope it’s a great game. C’mon Ireland!
They will target us at the breakdown. They way to beat Ireland us to slow down our ball hence the Underhill inclusion. He is a breakdown specialist. It will be interesting to see how Farrell can counter this.
According to Eddie have England been favourites for any game in this 6 nations yet?
This guy…sly as they come…thinks he is anyway!
Can’t stomach that Jones fella he’s some spiteful ballix who just trys his best to wind up the opposition coaches and players. He has a serious chip on his shoulder with the Irish lads especially. Hope we batter them
In fairness Ireland probably are slight favourites. As someone else said England will target us at the breakdown. The best way to stop us playing is to target us there. But they’ll need to do a much better job than they did last year. I fancy an Ireland win by 10.
Soft talk from Eddie once again.
Probably his Last Game in Charge Won’t be Missed
@pat seery: can only hope….
No matter what this fella says it calculated for his own interests. Basically he’s saying they’re good why wouldn’t they be, sure they play together week in week out. Always a bitter narrative with him never take him a face value awful bitter.
He’s playing games again.
For once he seems to have told the truth. Yes, there are always mind games at play with him, but Ireland are and should deservedly be favourites and so what if he says so?! It is also true that his team is a work in progress. That’s obvious. Now all we have to do is prove him right! Wouldn’t that be nice?!
Eddie in wrong sport..should be in boxing with all his pre match mind games and fighting talk….