Cape Town - England's defence coach John Mitchell expects Ireland to adopt a boring game plan in their Six Nations clash in Dublin on Saturday.

"And Ireland, for me, are a side that through being a well-coached side are resilient, they will try to bore the s*** out of us, basically, and ultimately it will come down to a small piece of possession when you're not focused that can hurt you in a contest like this," Mitchell was quoted as saying on the Independent.ie website.

The New Zealander, who was still the Bulls' coach in Super Rugby last year, did however acknowledge that and Ireland "are arguably the best in the world".

Ireland are the defending Six Nations champions and currently ranked second on the World Rugby rankings behind New Zealand.

However, Ireland beat New Zealand November 16-9 in Dublin last November to record their first ever home victory over the All Blacks and England coach Eddie Jones recently said they were the best in the world.

"Ireland are the best side in the world," the England coach said after naming his squad earlier this month.

"They are a very well coached and drilled side and have particular things they do well in the game," he added of a team who have become a major force under Kiwi boss Joe Schmidt.

"To beat Ireland, we need to compete brutally in all the contest areas of the game."