Six Nations Preview: England v Ireland

by Brendan Cole

Finally, we have reached the end of what will go down as a desperately disappointing tournament for both Ireland and England, no matter how this one goes. 

Both have played reasonably well in snatches, although it is telling that their best performances came against a rather underpowered and inexperienced French side which has only this weekend brought up the full deck of big guns.

In their other matches, Ireland beat a very poor Scotland while England lost to a slightly better Scotland. Wales beat Ireland and England. Ireland struggled to beat Italy, as did England.

Watch England v Ireland live on RTÉ Two and www.rte.ie/live (Ireland only) on Saturday. Commentary is live on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.

Both England and Ireland would claim that Wales were somewhat fortunate to come away from Twickenham and Croke Park with wins, but in reality, they were fortunate to have finished so close on the scoreboard.

Wales won 'going away' both times. If the Gatland/Edwards revolution keeps pace, ‘truer’ and more comprehensive defeats could yet be on the menu next year in Cardiff.

But it is the Italian matches that really demonstrate the shallowness of ambition and, ultimately, they were efforts that have marred the English and Irish tournaments.

Wales' record victory was achieved with flair, hard work and enthusiasm. That isn’t to say that Ireland and England are not trying, but nobody can say that they are playing out of the pit of their stomach in the manner of the men in red. There is a resignation, and an inability to fight against the tide.

Put it this way, if Wales were mentally in the same mode as Ireland and England have been this year, there is no way they would be heading into the final weekend in pursuit of a Grand Slam.

That said, mental strength shouldn't matter so much this time. It is a truism that motivation is normally not an issue when it comes to clashes between Ireland and England, and it would be surprising to see a lack of fight from either side decide matters.

What other edges are there?

It may boil down to England’s ambition and Ireland’s lack of a clear ability to disrupt it. England, for all that they have been overconfident and cocky, have at least attempted to play good rugby. While they have been looking at their capabilities through rose-tinted glasses, they have attempted new things.

Ireland, on the other hand, seem to have been trying to turn back to the clock to the team they used to be. They have changed personnel, but the ideas and methods have remained stultifyingly static, and the mantras gloomily familiar.

It seems that, until they figure out that the wave they rode to the fantastic form of last year is gone for good, Ireland will remain stuck. That pathway to excellence has closed, and the longer Ireland keep trying to play like the fantastic team they were a year ago, the longer they will keep looking like a pathetic and unbelievably predictable shadow of that team.

Innovation, in playing methods as much as personnel, and perhaps at the expense of the short term, must be the way forward.  Basically, Ireland must start trying to pass the ball to each other.

But that is the bigger picture. Ireland always have a chance against England, and it is hard to dismiss the memory of last year’s spectacular demolition job at Croke Park.

England have changed too since then though, and it is impossible to see them being blitzed into submission on their home turf by this particular Ireland team.

Danny Cipriani has, rightly, been brought in at out-half to try to ignite the back division. Natural out-half Shane Geraghty, currently injured, is probably the future there for them but if he is licensed to play and properly mentally primed, Cipriani could be a potent short-term fix.

From Ireland's point of view, Cipriani is an inexperienced player, and pressure should be put on him. Ideally, Cipriani would be made to feel as though he had no time on the ball, and had no time to think.

The problem is, it is hard to see where the pressure is going to come from: Ireland have not yet managed to make life difficult for a single back in this tournament, the occasional targeting of an Italian wing aside.

And in Ronan O’Gara and David Wallace, the men closest to Cipriani, they do not have the tools to force the issue in defence in the 10-12 channel. The new English out-half could end up getting a bit of a free ride.

Outside him, England have Toby Flood, who has matured into a very good internartional player over this Championship, and the limited but effective Jamie Noon.

It is often as much about the passer as the receiver – think of Fraser Waters with Wasps – and with Cipriani and Flood, also a very good distributor, pulling the strings, England’s 10-12-13 will be a threat.

In contrast, Ireland have only one player, Ronan O’Gara, capable of passing the ball well from the centre of the field. Needless to say, this makes them incredibly easy to defend against.

It is very difficult to see Shane Horgan, who doesn’t get enough time to do what he does well at 12, and Andrew Trimble really penetrating or threatening. Brian O’Driscoll is obviously a big loss.

The other hopes for spark are Geordan Murphy at full-back and Eoin Reddan at nine. For all that he played well, Murphy had an easy ride against Scotland and the English coaching team will surely have noticed that he actually dropped more high ball than he caught in that game. 

Ireland will target England's back three, but Flood and Cipriani will surely test Ireland through that avenue too. Reddan, meanwhile, has looked sparky, but needs the pack to get on top to have enough options in tight to make his variety and inventiveness a factor.

Luke Fitzgerald is an exciting player who looks very well suited to international rugby; a bit like Shane Williams, what he has is unique and potentially devastating. He could yet be a factor.

What about England? Scotland showed that by tearing into England they can be intimidated, although at home that will be far more difficult to achieve.

Again, however, Ireland do not look set up to do damage when defending. The defence seems to screen rather than rush up, and they have shown little inclination to compete for possession on the deck. Athletically, England have powerful runners, and if Ireland are put on the back foot they will struggle to stop them from scoring tries.

Up front, it is hard to see either pack dominating although in the back row, Ireland may have a slight edge. David Wallace and Denis Leamy are due big performances after last week’s very quiet showings, but they have both played well before against England.

Jamie Heaslip needs to show good form after being overshadowed by Ryan Jones, but he has a quality and class that has yet to fully flourish in this tournament. Again, a big game is due. The English 6-7-8 looks no more than average.

At the coalface, the tight-five battle looks a likely stalemate. Unless Ireland up the tempo and ambition, even in the tight, they could find themselves nullified fairly easily. 

England haven't troubled this Irish lineout, and the scrum battle should also be even. They may have slightly better ball-carriers - Andrew Sheridan in particular is powerful - but John Hayes is an excellent stopper. Neither side has an obvious game-winning edge.

The final factor is, of course, Ronan O’Gara. Captaining the team will have an effect; it may be that Ireland to play more in tune with their capabilities than has heretofore been the case.

O’Gara’s ability to kick the corners has been a longstanding boon for Ireland, but he is a winning rugby player rather than a conservative one. If the percentages say Ireland need to throw caution to the wind, he is possibly the only man in this Irish setup capable of both realising it and acting on it.

All in all, a more open contest might be on the cards. Ireland need the slight changes in ingredients and the sight of an opposition that rarely fails to get them up for the fight to bring about a huge change in attitude.

Unlikely as it seemed after last year’s seismic clash, they take the field at Twickenham in hope more than expectation.

England: I Balshaw; P Sackey, J Noon, T Flood, L Vainikolo; D Cipriani, R Wigglesworth; A Sheridan, L Mears, P Vickery (capt), S Shaw, S Borthwick, T Croft, M Lipman, N Easter

Replacements: G Chuter, M Stevens, B Kay, J Haskell, P Hodgson, J Wilkinson, M Tait

Ireland: G Murphy; T Bowe, S Horgan, A Trimble, R Kearney; R O'Gara (capt), E Reddan; M Horan, R Best, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, D Leamy, D Wallace, J Heaslip

Replacements: B Jackman, T Buckley, M O'Driscoll, S Easterby, P Stringer, P Wallace, L Fitzgerald