ENGLAND MUST NOT FALL FLAT IN DUBLIN
Eddie Jones has armed his ‘poisoned’ players with a fabricated siege mentality for today’s showdown against ireland — hoping they use it to prove the epic win over France was not a fluke.
The england head coach is forever on alert for any trace of complacency — the ‘shadows in the corners’ he has spoken of so often. such is his desire to avoid a jarring comedown this week that he has purposely injected tension into a newly happy camp.
Having made it clear that he regards praise and criticism as dangerous twin imposters which need to be flushed out of his squad, Jones must hope that he has completed the emergency detox prior to kick-off this afternoon or his side are doomed in their six nations finale.
He has been antagonised by condemnation during the early stages of the tournament and acclaim for the last performance. His players may be bemused to find english wagons being circled after a supreme result.
Yet, similar, crude psychological ploys have worked before. Prior to england’s World Cup semi-final triumph over new Zealand in 2019, Jones suggested the All Blacks might have spied on england’s training sessions.
His logic will be that his team tend to scale the heights when their backs are against the wall. But his attempts to foster that mentality a week later were in vain as the springboks claimed the Webb ellis Cup in Yokohama.
The objective for the england hierarchy this week has been to guard against a slight mental switch-off after owen Farrell and Co conquered the French in a classic at Twickenham.
According to Billy Vunipola, that was a feat which should serve as a ‘springboard’ for prosperity.
This match against ireland provides the first opportunity to give substance to that optimistic theory. The expansion of england’s attacking repertoire has been productive and popular, so it would be a crying shame if what happened seven days ago turned out to be an aberration.
There appears to have been a concerted attempt to dampen english expectations, with grave warnings about how the conditions and the approach of the opposition can stifle ambition. Jones has set the scene for a cagier affair.
Asked if an attritional contest is likely, the head coach said: ‘Yeah, 100 per cent. A lot more aerial contests, a lot more working off kicks. ireland have, over the last period of time, kicked the ball a lot more. We are anticipating they will play like that.’
if that isn’t enough to stop pulses racing, Farrell echoed this sense that aerial ping-pong is in prospect, adding: ‘The game last week was obviously an exciting one for everybody to watch and of course it’s brilliant to be involved in matches like that.
‘But Test match rugby doesn’t always pan out that way. ireland have been getting a lot of change out of their kicking game recently. it’s something we’ve got to be ready for.’
Beating France does not allow england the luxury of cruising. They need another win, as a return of two from five games is unacceptable, even allowing for a degree of transition. That was the final tally in 2018 and it was deemed to be a crisis.
Conversely, victory in dublin would at least ensure a recovery from the depths of a shock home defeat to scotland on the opening weekend.
of course, eyes will be drawn to the half-back match-ups with obvious connotations beyond the confines of this match, as Conor Murray and Johnny sexton attempt to outsmart Ben Youngs and George Ford, in front of Lions boss Warren Gatland.
But the battle up front will largely decide this mid-table skirmish and while James Ryan will be missed by ireland, he has been upstaged during this championship by the outstanding iain Henderson and Tadhg Beirne.
england prop Kyle sinckler is another who is in the groove again and his presence on the same field as Tadhg Furlong will highlight how lucky the Lions are to have two men of such clout and skill vying for the Test no 3 shirt.
it is impossible to navigate an ireland-england build-up without mentioning the Farrell father-son dynamic. After emerging from a personal rut, owen and his teammates can keep the pressure on his father Andy, whose regime as ireland head coach has still not found its own springboard.
Whoever loses this one is destined to be confronted by a real siege situation. IRELAND: Keenan; Earls, Henshaw, Aki, Stockdale; Sexton (c), Murray; Kilcoyne, Herring, Furlong; Henderson, Beirne; Stander, Van der Flier, Conan. Replacements: Kelleher, Healy, Porter, Baird, O’Mahony, Gibson-Park, Burns, Larmour. ENGLAND: Malins; Watson, Daly, Farrell (c), May; Ford, Youngs; M Vunipola, CowanDickie, Sinckler; Itoje, Ewels; Wilson, Curry, B Vunipola. Replacements: George, Genge, Stuart, Hill, Earl, Robson, Lawrence, Marchant.