Ireland eye Six Nations title but Farrell still wary of England

LONDON: Andy Farrell has insisted his native England remain capable of scuppering Ireland’s bid for successive Grand Slams even though the visitors will be overwhelming favourites to win Saturday’s Six Nations clash at Twickenham.

Ireland head coach Farrell’s men have been the outstanding team of the tournament, with bonuspoint wins over France, Italy and Wales suggesting their failure to get beyond the quarter-finals of last year’s World Cup in France and England’s thirdplace finish was as much to do with an absurdly lopsided draw as anything else.

Another bonus point success at Twickenham would mean reigning Six Nations champions Ireland had retained their title with a game to spare by winningtheirfithsuccessivematchagainstengland.

And with fit-again full-back Hugo Keenan restored to the side, Ireland are arguably an even stronger oufit than the team that defeated Wales 31-7 in Dublin last time out.

England, by contrast, go into the game on the back of a 30-21 Calcuta Cup defeat in Edinburgh that was more emphatic than indicated by Scotland’s nine-point margin of victory.

But with Ireland bidding to become ther first team in the Six Nations era to win back-to-back Grand Slams, a cautious Farrell said of England: “We just prepare for them to be at their best and if that’s the case it’s going to be one hell of a batle.”

Farrell won eight England caps as a player before becoming a member of Stuart Lancaster’s Red Rose coaching staff only to be let go by incoming boss Eddie Jones following the team’s woeful first-round exit on home soil at the 2015 World Cup.

But Farrell, the father of England record pointsscorer Owen Farrell, insisted Saturday’s match was “no different to any other game”.

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And when it was suggested to Farrell that Ireland needed to be more “direct” in atack than against Wales, his reply was telling.