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Mitchell: 'You never have Ireland's number. They're a tenacious side and a tenacious country'

By PA
(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

John Mitchell insists England refuse to be seduced by their four-Test winning run against Ireland as they prepare to face relentless opposition in Dublin on Saturday.

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The rivals clash in their final outings of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations with Eddie Jones’ team looking to build on their 23-20 victory over France in round four that has rescued their championship from disaster.

England’s last loss in the fixture came in 2018 and since then Ireland have struggled to match their physicality, but defence coach Mitchell insists past results will be meaningless when the countries clash for the 138th time.

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“You never have Ireland’s number. They’re a tenacious side and a tenacious country,” Mitchell said.

“They fight bloody hard for each other. They’ll rip in, there’s no doubt about that. But we’re ready for all that.

“They’ll see the breakdown as an opportunity against us. It’s going to be a war at the breakdown which is something we’re ready for.

“It comes down to being able to get on to the front foot and being able to implant how we want to play the game. We have to get on to the front foot and stop their momentum.”

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France’s Grand Slam march was ended by a mixture of attacking endeavour and resilience, but Jones has cautioned against the expectation that England will be able to show similar enterprise against Ireland.

It is a theme continued by Mitchell following a training week during which extra time has been spent honing aerial skills in expectation of the hosts’ finely-tuned kicking game.

“We want to perform well and finish positively as a group. This game will be somewhat different to the last Test match and we need to be very clear about that,” Mitchell said.

“This game is going to be highly unstructured with a lot of kicking in the air and it will be very physical. It will certainly challenge us and them in different ways.

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“What will actually unfold in the game is based around the characteristics that exist within the opposition.

“At scrum-half they’ve picked Conor Murray, who is excellent with his box kicking, and they’ve shown a tendency on advantage to go to the air as well, so we’re under no illusions what to expect.

“Ireland will rely on crumbs which can come from the aerial contest. That’s probably the area where everyone will have to be most alert.”

Among the key battles in Dublin will be the duel between fly-halves George Ford and Johnny Sexton.

Sexton turns 36 in July but Mitchell insists he remains the ringmaster of Ireland’s side as they go in search of a first win against major opposition since Andy Farrell took charge after the 2019 World Cup.

“Johnny is still a huge fulcrum in how he organises and drives them. You have to admire his competitiveness and drive,” Mitchell said.

“But definitely there are others being used as distributors from first phase. That allows Johnny to be involved in secondary attack and take away the ability to create inside pressure on him. He’s evolving his game subtlety to suit the needs of his team.”

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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