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.

Dombrandt is a doubt for England. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

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