England head coach Eddie Jones has labelled Ireland the most cohesive side in the world and believes they are the favourites in Saturday’s Round 4 contest.
The two teams meet at Twickenham in a crucial match, with only the winners likely to still be in contention to win the title on Super Saturday.
Ireland have impressed in bonus-point home wins against Wales and Italy, while they were narrowly beaten by France 30-24 in Round 2.
The Grand Slam may no longer be possible but Ireland can still win the Guinness Six Nations if France slip up in their final two matches.
England can also become champions and have a greater say in the run-in, considering they have to play both Ireland and France.
Winning on Saturday is a must, however, and England’s home record against Ireland is strong, with the Men in Green succeeding at Twickenham just once in their last five Championship visits.
But Jones believes Ireland will pose them a major threat this week.
“It’s an important week in the tournament, there are three teams left in the tournament and we’re lucky enough to be one of those three,” said Jones.
“Ireland are favourites for the game, they’ve been in very good form in the autumn, they’re a very settled team, and very well coached by Andy Farrell.
“And, apart from Andrew Porter, I think they’ve got everybody available and ready to go.
“They are literally, and I say this without any hesitation, the most cohesive side in the world. The bulk of their team train together for the bulk of the year.
“So they are very well-coordinated in their attack, they are very structured, they’re very sequenced in set plays. And they’re tough around the breakdown.
“So that poses a great challenge for us. But we’re looking forward to the challenge, we’re not intimidated by any team and we’re looking forward to playing against them.”
Jones paid tribute to his young team for the way they have bounced back from the opening-day defeat to Scotland.
England beat Italy 33-0 in Round 2 before holding off a spirited Wales 23-19 at Twickenham last time out, with the likes of Marcus Smith, Harry Randall and Freddie Steward coming to the fore.
“Just look at the spine of the team, our 9, 10 and 15 we played against Wales and they’ve got 12 times, 12 times the amount of caps we’ve got; 12 times,” he added.
“So what a fantastic experience for those young blokes, and to edge out a win against the Six Nations side is a real testament to where they are going.
“How much better are they going to be in 12 months with another 10 caps under their belt?
“The game is evolving and we feel like we’re in a really good position to take any opportunities there are to evolve our game in that position.
“And Marcus Smith, Harry Randall and Freddie Steward particularly have added to that mix.”
