Ireland have been priming this bear-trap for the past 12 months.
Ever since Ireland clinched the 2014 Six Nations, Joe Schmidt has been plotting for his second cut off the English.
Flanked by Les Kiss and John Plumtree, in March 2014, Schmidt proclaimed Stuart Lancaster’s men as his team’s biggest threat – the team his champions needed to beat.
Plumtree is back in New Zealand now [replaced by Simon Easterby] but, for Schmidt, the English threat remains. Clear and present.
Almost immediately after Ireland beat Italy in Rome, the Kiwi trained his focus on England and admitted his team would have to up their levels by 40% to stand a chance of winning in Dublin on March 1. He raised a similar sentiment after the 18-11 triumph over France.
Following Ireland’s training run in Galway, today, Kiss took up his boss’ theme. He said, ‘Our preparation starts with the analysis and that’s been pretty scary with what they can do.
‘If you look at that scary relationship in midfield with George Ford, and he has a relationship already with Anthony Watson and Jonathan Joseph, those types of combinations seem to be coming through for them nicely’
Kiss, who looks after Ireland’s defence, added, ‘I think also their back-row has been brilliant, James Haskell and Billy Vunipola are big threats, and Chris Robshaw is excellent. The momentum that they give them is critical for them, and they can take the ball deep and still make yards.
‘You’ve got to be really on your game and make sure you do hit and stick in your tackles. You’ve got to get them to the deck early, make them make decisions about how they load their attack.’
‘They are loaded across the park and they have got options too. Danny Cipriani comes on late and shows some magic as well. The analysis of it has opened our eyes to the challenge ahead and what it presents.’
In truth, Irish eyes have been open for a number of months. Now, with England coming fully into view, those eyes are glaring. Ireland’s biggest threat touches down at Dublin Airport next week.
