sport news England cannot become regarded as easy prey for Ireland ahead of Six Nations ... trends now
The St Patrick’s weekend festivities should reach a thunderous climax at about 7pm on Saturday when Ireland clinch the Six Nations title and the fourth Grand Slam in their history, after dispatching England.
There is no trace of jeopardy or doubt in the air here. Put green ribbons on the trophy now and line up the celebratory ‘black stuff’. Spoiling the party is beyond today’s visitors to the Aviva Stadium, as Steve Borthwick’s gap fear will be justified again.
England’s head coach knows just how far his side lag behind the sport’s current standard-bearers and after world No 2 France trounced them at Twickenham last weekend, the No 1 nation are ready to pounce on the exposed English jugular. This could be a bloody, brutal occasion.
The bookmakers are expecting such a no-contest finale on Super Saturday that they make Ireland 16-point favourites — a damning indictment of how far England have fallen. It is hard to argue with their assessment.
A culture clash awaits, too. This is all set to be a jarring collision between a finely tuned machine and a spluttering mass of parts held together by masking tape.
Ireland will win the Six Nations if they beat England at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday
Spoiling the party is beyond England, as Steve Borthwick’s gap fear will be justified again.
England’s boss knows just how far his side lag behind the sport’s current standard-bearers
The Irish game is structured to achieve Champions Cup and Test success, while the English game is mired in division and turmoil. Borthwick is battling institutionalised hassle and disruption. No wonder he spoke of Ireland having ‘an incredible pathway’ and a strong Leinster core which ‘must certainly help’.
England are standing on another precipice on Saturday, staring into the void where their Six Nations record lies in ruins. If they lose, as they surely will, it means a third straight year of winning two out of five Championship games. What an affront to English rugby heritage, yet the RFU have grown accustomed and almost resigned to lowered standards and expectations.
What the union hierarchy would have hoped for after ousting Eddie Jones was a bounce effect under a new regime. Instead, the decline continues.
Defeat by Ireland would leave them just a fraction above Jones’s seventh-placed Australia in the world rankings. That doesn’t fit with any long-term strategic plan issued from the corridors of power at Twickenham. Their faint chances of coming into this last weekend of the campaign with a title shot were buried under a Gallic onslaught last weekend, but there is a reputational factor here which should focus minds.
England cannot become regarded as easy prey for their neighbours. They have to at least re-assert themselves today, by playing with wounded-animal fervour. That is a non-negotiable.
The visiting pack should be hurt and hell-bent on making amends for what happened to them at Twickenham seven days ago.
England were hoping for a bounce effect after Eddie Jones's exit but the decline continues
