sport news CHRIS FOY: England must turn Owen Farrell farce into driving force - his dad ... trends now
After the toxic upheaval of the last week, England will attempt to harness a galvanising cause here in the Irish capital, to earn some precious respite and generate a late flicker of World Cup hope.
The visitors are in a corner, with backs to the wall, full of angst in relation to the treatment of Owen Farrell. Having identified what they perceive as ‘personal attacks’ on their as-yet unbanned captain – rather than protests about a glaringly inconsistent judicial system – Steve Borthwick and his squad are full of seething defiance and intent.
Perhaps it will turn this World Cup warm-up into something short of the foregone conclusion it might have been. Time will tell. Certainly, recent history suggests that England harness a cause to raise themselves against these currently superior rivals.
The last two encounters between these countries have yielded ultimately comfortable Irish wins but only after spirited English resistance in adversity. In the latest Six Nations, Freddie Steward was wrongly dismissed at the Aviva Stadium and Borthwick’s side raged against the dying of the light before going down 29-16. A year earlier, Charlie Ewels’ early red card sparked a stirring rear-guard action by his 14 team-mates before Andy Farrell’s team pulled away to win 32-15.
Go back further, to the same stage in the last World Cup cycle, and England delivered a half-century rout at Twickenham which launched them towards a thunderous campaign in the Far East and abruptly punctured Ireland’s belief at a critical stage. If there is to be a mismatch this time, it will surely reinforce a seismic shift in the northern-hemisphere balance of power.
Steve Borthwick's England side must use the farce of last week's red card as inspiration
Andy Farrell's Ireland are well placed to crush England, and are very nearly fully-loaded
Andy's brother Owen Farrell is waiting for the result of an appeal over last week's red card
The hosts are very nearly fully-loaded for Saturday's game, with only the suspended Johnny Sexton missing, while regular first-choice No 8 Caelan Doris is on the bench. The Irish have a formidable repertoire. The likes of Andrew Porter, Tadhg Furlong and Peter O’Mahony give them set-piece clout, while Tadhg Beirne and O’Mahony can wreak breakdown havoc. Jamison Gibson-Park brings vital attacking tempo and beyond midfield thrust there is pace and razzle-dazzle out wide.
In short, they have so many qualities which their opponents cannot hope to match. This could be the day when the desperate quest to fast-forward England’s World Cup preparation is laid bare as a lost cause, in a jarring contrast with the world’s No 1-ranked team.
And yet… England do have quality and nous. Without Farrell’s dominant presence alongside, George Ford is now solely in charge of running the Red Rose attack and he can be a masterful conductor when truly free to call the tune
