Ouch, Eddie, ouch…
Ireland are facing into one of their most daunting tasks in recent memory.
With the excellent victory over the All Blacks in November, although Ireland had never beaten Steve Hansen’s side before, no one really expected them to win.
This time, however, the general mood and confidence surrounding this Irish rugby team are dependent on Ireland’s result against England.
If Ireland claim a victory, then we can breathe a sigh of relief that we are still a good rugby team, who from time to time hit an annoying level of inconsistency.
If we lose, then the quality and status of this team will be under further scrutiny.
After the November internationals, Irish fans were in buoyant mood, with many tipping Ireland as pre-tournament favourites and potential Grand Slam contenders.
Of course, as things transpired, this is clearly not the case anymore and England head-coach, Eddie Jones, provided a firm, painful reminder of Ireland’s favouritism before the tournament began.
“They’re an extremely well-coached side, they’ll be grossly disappointed by their performance on Friday,” Jones told the Irish Times at a media briefing today.
“I’ve just been reading all the predictions at the start of the tournament and a number of people tipped them to win the competition.
“They were favourites, they haven’t won the Six Nations and they’ll be carrying the expectation of their country to do well.”
Jones’ comments are a firm punch in the gut for the players, management and fans alike.
As if we needed reminding of the disappointing campaign so far.
Of course, this is likely to be some sort of psychological game by Jones and you wonder if he is attempting to divert attention away from the pressure surrounding his own side, in their attempt to clinch a Grand Slam and a record-breaking streak of 19 Test victories.
Whatever the motives, it’s bound to be an incredibly tense game on Saturday.
