If Simon Easterby reckons Ireland’s self-esteem is lacking currently and feels the need to give his squad an ego boost, he should dial up Steve Borthwick.
He may have masterminded a famous win that denied Ireland a Grand Slam in Twickenham in 2024, but the England head coach wasn’t about to countenance the idea that they have an edge going into the 2025 Six Nations opener as a result.
Instead, Borthwick heaped praise on Ireland and positioned his side as a plucky underdog making their way across the Irish Sea.
No doubt he has a plan to turn Ireland’s strengths into weaknesses, as his side did in 2024, but he wasn’t about to share it at Tuesday’s Six Nations launch in Rome.
“(It’s a) different game. A different game now. You look at the way the England team has changed over the last six months after that point in time, seeing the new caps we’ve got in our team. It’s very different,” he said.
“You start looking at what Ireland have, you know, 1100 caps in the team, they’re going to have an average age probably somewhere around 28, 29, and what are England going to have? We’re going to have an average age of 25, (the) number of caps, maybe 650, 700.
“And again, you’ve got an Ireland team that’s been one of the best teams in the world for so many years now, so well-coached. So, this is a different context where we’re at at this point in time.”
Still, you wonder if there’s a template there for England to follow.
“We’re very conscious, we know we’re playing one of the best sides in the world,” said the 45-year-old.
“I’ve studied them, I’ve watched Leinster and you look at Leinster this season, their results, where clearly it’s such a huge contingent of the Ireland team. So, you look at Leinster’s results this season, they’ve just been in so many ways incredible and you see the strength of Irish rugby.
“I think it’s a team that keeps getting stronger. Now we know it’s a great challenge, we’re going to have to be very, very good.”
England were dealt a blow on Tuesday when five players, including former captain Jamie George, were withdrawn from their squad who are preparing for the Ireland game in Girona.
However, there was some good news with Alex Mitchell set to be fit despite appearing to hurt his knee when playing for Northampton against Munster.
“We are very optimistic that he will be available next week and he’s been playing really well,” he said.
“He is clearly crucial to the way we want to play. We know that the breakdown is going to be hard-fought, so getting that ball away is going to be very, very important to us.”