Can England upset Ireland’s Grand Slam aspirations in Twickenham this Saturday?
Don’t count on it says Andy Goode who was speaking exclusively to us here at BoyleSports ahead of this weekend’s big Six Nations clash.
While the former England fly-half is not bullish about his country’s chances of winning the game, he did reveal the approach that England could take to give Ireland the most trouble.
Goode also gives us his England v Ireland prediction and weighs in on Scotland’s chances of upsetting Ireland’s potential bid for a second consecutive Grand Slam in Dublin next weekend.
How England Need To Attack Against Ireland
Not many teams have beaten Ireland over the last four years, only France and New Zealand, but the way to do it seems to be high ball in play time. People may think it has to be risk averse rugby with territory and by winning the set piece battle, but people have tried that and look what happened there.
They have lost three games out of the last 36 or 37 games and they score 30 points regularly, so a blitz defence and a good kicking game isn't going to take you past that. You have to have an attacking mindset.
*England are 4/1 to beat Ireland in Twickenham this Saturday evening per the latest rugby odds at BoyleSports.
When New Zealand played at pace, moved the point of contact, moved the ball to the edge and then had two sides to attack on it did put Ireland under pressure. Winning collisions and getting over the gain line is a huge way of doing this; one way is to have big units run over people, which England aren't blessed with, so they have to use footwork and deviation of runners to give Ireland decisions to make.
If you're not going in with that attacking mindset, then you are not going to stress an Irish defence that is very well-organised and competes so well with jackals over the ball. It is a constant theme of theirs to have 13 players on their feet.
You have to stretch their defence, which is where a kick pass could be a dangerous weapon to get to the edges. But you have to play fast against them without becoming loose.
England have tended to slow it down in recent years and box kick, but you can't get away with that with Hugo Keenan in the backfield as he is one of the best players in the world in the air. You can't make that your headline-attacking point.
Elliot Daly said that they have a very clear plan on how they want to attack Ireland and how to beat them, but the proof will be in the pudding on Saturday. We've seen some reasonable shape in the first few games, including the set-piece try against Scotland, but the majority of the rest of the game we looked lost.
If you go in with one-up runners against Ireland they will eat you up and turn you over. We could be looking at a bit of a pasting otherwise, they have to move the ball with pace and have option runners to stretch the defence.
England v Ireland Prediction
Ireland have got to be way below their best to not win the game and England have got to play far better than anything we have seen from the first three games of this tournament.
It can happen because it's sport, but Ireland have not dipped below 80% of their potential in games and that will still be enough to beat England on Saturday. They find ways to win and they deal with issues and they look so comfortable.
I think Ireland will win this by 15 points plus and I would love for England to win, first and foremost, but I can't convince myself!
*Back Ireland -15 (to win by 15 points or more) at 11/10 per the latest rugby betting odds at BoyleSports.
I would love it to be down to the wire next weekend and for Scotland next week to have a chance to win the title from a neutral point of view.
It means a great crescendo on the Saturday if Scotland deliver a great win in Italy, but I just think Ireland are going to kick on and deliver another Grand Slam.
Scotland’s Chances of Upsetting Ireland’s Grand Slam/Six Nations Bid In Dublin
Losing Sione Tuipulotu for the rest of the tournament is huge for this Scotland team, and Darcy Graham as well. So when you don't have the depth like Ireland have and you lose a player like Tuipulotu, I wouldn't give Scotland a huge chance.
Cam Redpath will come in and he showed moments of quality against England, plus this Scotland team have matured hugely as a team over the Six Nations and they should have beaten France, which would mean you're then talking about a Grand Slam decider.
When you have players like Duhan van der Merwe and Finn Russell doing what they do, plus an abrasive pack, they have a chance.
They have got stardust and quality, but I just can't see how Scotland can beat Ireland.
*Ireland are 4/11 to win a second consecutive Grand Slam according to the latest rugby betting at BoyleSports.
*Prices subject to fluctuation.
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