While Tests between England and Ireland are always viewed as extremely feisty and competitive, we may see a slightly less intense game here with both sets of staff looking to find a fine balance between having players fit and raring for the World Cup while also avoiding injuries.
Ireland v England
Saturday 19 August
Aviva Stadium
Ireland 1/9 | Draw 28/1 | England 56/10
They may have managed to sneak a win over Wales last week but England still look a rag-tag bunch of men playing with the most one-dimensional structure seen in rugby since the turn of the millennium.
The above has been evident during their two fixtures against Wales. In the first clash they gave the likes of Marcus Smith and Guy Poter a run and then decided to box kick at every opportunity which is madness considering Smith is meant to be an attacking fly-half who gets the ball through the hands. They ended up losing that clash at the Millenium Stadium 20-9.
After that disappointing defeat you’d have expected a strengthened English sde that featured veteran pivot Owen Farell to put on a better performance on home soil the following week or at least have a more dynamic game plan. You would be wrong as England were once again found wanting with ball-in-hand with their solitary try in the game and in fact the two-match series, coming from a rolling maul.
While England have looked dire, the Irish have only enhanced their reputation during the warm-up fixtures with the men in green beating Italy 33-17 with a second strength side at the start of August. They have also been more conservative with the amount of warm-up fixtures they have played with this game being only their second. They will complete their warm-up fixtures against Samoa next weekend, so we may well see them field a strongish side this Saturday and their fringe players the following.
I would be very worried if I was an English fan right now. Steve Borthwick looks out of his depth and you can sense it’s rubbing off on the players. While there’s nothing wrong with playing to a good system, the one England are currently implementing has less chance of succeeding than Os du Randt has of making a comeback for the Springboks at this year’s World Cup.
Money on a big Irish win this Saturday!
Ireland to clear the handicap.
