venue: twickenham stadium, london date: Saturday, March 9th kick off: 16:45 GMT |
coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Ulster. Live text updates, reports, reactions and highlights on the BBC Sport website and app. |
Ireland arrive at Twickenham as overwhelming favorites to beat England on Saturday after three big wins.
Andy Farrell's side can retain their title with a bonus point victory and maintain their bid to become the first in Six Nations history to win back-to-back Grand Slams.
After a disappointing loss to Scotland, England returned to their home base in London and are looking to improve their defensive and attacking cohesion.
Twickenham will be hoping Steve Borthwick's side will at least feature, but how will they beat a side who have won a record-equalling 11 consecutive Six Nations games?
Faye Waboso's X Factor?
England are yet to touch the papers in this Six Nations, which began with wins over Italy and Wales but saw their unbeaten start halted by defeat in Edinburgh.
They have been criticized for not being sharp enough offensively. Overuse of data when adjusting tactics.
England have dismissed that claim and perhaps handing winger Immanuel Fay-Waboso a starting role represents a more fluid plan to attack Ireland.
The 21-year-old opened his international account by coming off the bench against Scotland and scoring an eye-catching try on the verge of a breakdown.
Head coach Borthwick is looking for more ingenuity from his exciting young winger.
“After I told him he was starting, he was very grateful and thanked me multiple times,” Borthwick said. “Then he asked me, 'What do you want from me?'”
“I said, 'Find the ball and get it in your hands.' There were nuances, but the message was, 'I want you to get the ball in your hands as much as possible.'”
Fay-Waboso is one of three changes to the squad England need after Alex Mitchell returns from injury to regain the number nine shirt and George Martin is selected in the second row. It's a physical consideration.
Martin's ball-carrying ability will give England the opportunity to punch holes in the green wall and clear space for Fay-Waboso and others across the gain line.
Ireland narrowly lost to New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-finals, ending their 17-game winning streak, but the memory of that seems to have been quickly forgotten.
Borthwick is not alone in believing that on current form Ireland are better than world champions South Africa, who are officially number one in the rankings.
“Let's be clear about Ireland, we can all agree that they are the best team in the world at the moment,” Borthwick said.
'Twickenham is ready for rebellion', let's get off to a good start
Borthwick said the performance against Scotland was the first time since he became England manager that he had seen his players “shirt-heavy”.
Borthwick worries that pressure could intensify further.
It is rare for England to play at home when they are not favorites for the title. The odds appear to be stacked in the visitors' favor, with former Ireland winger Shane Horgan saying Twickenham could “revolt” if the game starts to slip away from England.
“The expectation is that England will win every game,” Hogan said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I don't think it's good for the England team to put themselves in an underdog position because that's when the pressure is on.
“Twickenham are poised to mount a rebellion this weekend, but it’s a big risk because you can see the damage it’s doing to the English side.
“If things go well, they'll back them up, but if things start going wrong early on or at any stage, there can be a lot of anger and resentment.”
But England captain Jamie George believes playing at Twickenham will motivate his team.
“I believe we will win,” he said. “We don't want anyone, any opposition, to come to Twickenham and take it easy.
“We respect them, I can't stress enough how much respect I have for Andy Farrell and Peter O'Mahony's team. They have great players across the board.
“But this is England. This is Twickenham. This is home. And we will protect it, as all Brits do.”
“England's error count must be close to zero”
England challenged Ireland last season with defensive discipline and fewer errors in their encounter in Dublin; Freddie Steward's controversial red card They duly completed the Grand Slam and shifted the momentum in the hosts' favor.
Former England scrumhalf Matt Dawson says the men in white can take inspiration from their performance in Dublin.
“I want to see England come out of the dressing room with a cold, cold death stare full of concentration and do something on the pitch to upset Ireland,” Dawson said on BBC Radio 5 Live. He spoke at
“It’s similar to last year at the Aviva when Ireland started doubting themselves for about 10 or 15 minutes.
“Stewards were then sent off, but by their own admission Ireland were a bit shaky so they were disjointed and didn't give their best performance.
“England have to get to that stage very quickly. The number of errors needs to be close to zero to have a chance.
“That can be applied to any aspect of the game, whether it's set-pieces, rucks or their discipline. It has to be close to zero.
“This Irish team is strong not only from set pieces but also from field break opportunities and England cannot afford to give them that.”