Pre-match analysis – Ireland vs England



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?Ireland against England.

The rugby calendar has few interesting matches and, as a competition for the opening week of Guinness Six Nations, it is difficult to rank first, with both teams counting towards the five titles of the tournament. champion since 2014.

After getting rid of the blocks of the post-2015 Rugby World Cup, England has recognized its dominance of North American rugby in Ireland, but is now heading to Dublin – in a year in the World Cup. world – with the main goal of retaining the title and going to rugby this year in a position as strong as possible. Ireland, meanwhile, has gotten rid of the outsiders' etiquette and is now ready to take its place at the top of the international rankings.

The coaches

At a meeting of two of the world's most clever rugby operators, who ranks first?

Joe Schmidt is 2-1 to Eddie Jones in the dual between the two coaches in their current mandates and the New Zealander is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the pinnacle of current international coaches. He conquered Ireland – which has always been perceived as an underperforming country on the international scene – and turned it into a team that has recorded multiple wins against the All Blacks, in addition to winning the third Grand Slam of their country in their history of Six / Five Nations.

As for the Australian, he had a remarkable success with England at the beginning of his reign, but he found that this initial momentum was tempered by a difficult 2018. His intense training methods have drawn criticism and he is no stranger to controversial selection decisions, but he has always headed England. He presided over 28 wins in 35 test matches, with an impressive 80% win rate.

Advantage: Schmidt

Continue reading below …

Watch: Six Nations Overview: Ireland in Profile

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The players

Tadhg Furlong (92) vs Mako Vunipola (87)

Without a doubt, the best league title in the world of rugby to face the most complete coward. As for the decisive fight, this confrontation must go in favor of Furlong, with a melee score of 88 on the RPI exceeding that of Vunipola out of 70. The contribution of the loose party leans more towards Vunipola, but with the score Influence of 76, which demonstrates an involvement in goals scored, thus exceeding the mark of 62 for the Leinster propeller. Last season, Furlong's dominance in the set would be enough to tip the scales closely, but with its 2018/19 form slumping slightly below its 2017/18 bullish displays, this is too close to a contest to call.

Advantage: even

James Ryan (93) vs Maro Itoje (93)

Ryan has apparently replaced Itoje as the golden boy of European rugby, thus helping to bring Leinster and Ireland to the triumphs of the Europeans and Six Nations, just as Itoje had done before with the Saracens and England. The growing number of penalties in international matches has seen the spotlight move from the English lock to Ryan, but that is the role Jones is asking Itoje to play for his team. He is the chief spoiler of England, while Ryan enjoys a little more freedom to influence the match with his transport. It's an extremely tight competition to follow, but Itoje's ability in the lineup – taking a line-up of 89 and an alignment flight of 92 – is at the limit, with Ryan at 86 and 91 respectively for these RPI measures. Itoje's propensity to create turnarounds and a quick transition to rugby could be decisive in deciding Saturday's result, as evidenced by his index of influence of 82 against 64, that of Ryan.

Advantage: Itoje

Conor Murray (80) vs Ben Youngs (68)

On paper, this could be seen as a one-way contest. Murray is widely considered to be the best world rugby scrum-half, with Aaron Smith beating his best last year and Faf de Klerk effectively but unorthodox. That said, Youngs is not far from this leading trio and it is probably only because of the standards that Murray has maintained in the northern hemisphere that Youngs is not further congratulated for its consistency with England. . Tempo, marginal opportunities, questionable box-kicks and accurate distribution are all areas in which Young does well, but these are also areas in which Murray probably has low to significant advantages over his counterpart.

Advantage: Murray

Jonathan Sexton (92) vs Owen Farrell (92)

The British and Irish Lions are getting closer to the British and Irish Lions in the center, the box office matches are just going on. In its most recent form, the needle floats a little more in the direction of Sexton, but it's another contest that could go both ways, especially if one of the two packs can still deliver a right foot and a fastball for his team. Sexton undoubtedly has the advantage in multiple participations in the same phase and in the same manipulation of space, while Farrell conceals it late on the winning line and on the physical aspect that He will bring in defense. Of course, it could cost England as much as it would help them. This confrontation may be dictated by what the players around this pair do, rather than by their individual merits, but the advantage of the situation will go to that of the Irishman.

Advantage: Sexton

Jacob Stockdale (84) vs Jonny May (73)

Perhaps a bit unorthodox of a tête-à-tête, especially given the likes of Manu Tuilagi, Garry Ringrose and Bundee Aki who are not mentioned, but besides being the best finishers of their respective teams, they will also be the key to the success of the punt match on Saturday. Boxing is only half the battle in the fight for the territory, the hunt being often made to make or break a scrum half match. In this area, May may have a slight advantage over Stockdale, but it's impossible to ignore the offensive form of Ulsterman. He makes his way over the test line, beating the men to get a good pace outside, accumulating cross kicks and even following the ball in midfield as a carrier. He is as versatile as an attacker today, as evidenced by his influence rating of 80, an extremely high score for a player from Ulster, which does not necessarily create the number of milestones that Leinsters and Saracens of European rugby do.

Advantage: Stockdale

Battlegrounds

Gain line

It will be a very competitive and physically demanding competition, with two of the best defenses that international rugby can offer. So, no matter which team succeeds in breaking this winning line, it will have a considerable advantage in the match. A pair of Vunipolas in form gives a lot of momentum to England, but is it enough for a group that has struggled to generate that foot ball before in the last year, especially against a defense as well defended as that of Ireland?

CJ Stander, Furlong and Ryan, meanwhile, have the firepower necessary for these two or three meters are always worn. They allow Ireland to continue to advance on the ball rather than crack sideways or step back. .

Advantage: Ireland

Alignment

Can Peter O'Mahony and Ryan plunder the English play or will George Kruis and Itoje be able to disrupt the Irish unit? The hooker advantage probably lies in England and Jamie George, whose throwing regularity is well known, but O'Mahony has destroyed the most effective tuning controls of the past. If he can refuse to England a platform from which to build and shake their confidence to be able to play a territory match at Aviva, he will have Ireland on his way to victory.

That said, England has one of the best international rugby lineups and Itoje and Kruis, two best jumpers. Finding a third rider that they can still resort to could be essential if Ireland reads early throws from England, but they have Courtney Lawes in reserve so you do not miss out on options. They will also be confident that they can put pressure on Rory Best, and if they can do it without imposing penalties, the pendulum should play in their favor.

Advantage: England

Conclusion

Ireland is the number two international rugby team with 86 points, while England is third with 83 points, and it is hard not to share this view. Throughout this pre-game badysis, Ireland has tended to overshadow the tight competitions and it would take a brave person to bet against a similar event on the billboard in Dublin on Saturday. .

Ireland is Grand Slam champion, it eliminated New Zealand at the end of 2018 and it has the wind in the sails thanks to good performances of the provinces in the Heineken Champions Cup. England can spoil the party on Saturday, but Ireland has the advantage of participating in the contest.

Ireland by 5.

Watch: Six Nations Overview: England in Profile

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