‘It's going to be a war at the breakdown’ – England coach John Mitchell

England defence coach John Mitchell

Ruaidhri O'Connor Twitter

March 19 2021 01:28 PM

England defence coach John Mitchell says Ireland will try and make tomorrow's final Six Nations match a chaotic battle and he believes his players are ready for that challenge.

Echoing his boss Eddie Jones, the former All Blacks supremo said he expects a lot of kicking from Conor Murray and Co at the Aviva Stadium as Ireland look to end their losing streak against the old enemy.

England are buzzing after coming out of an epic, entertaining encounter with France at Twickenham last Saturday but Mitchell says tomorrow's game will be a much different affair.

"We want to perform well and finish positively as a group," he said.

"This game will be somewhat different to the last Test match and we need to be very clear about that.

"This game is going to be highly unstructured, a lot of kicking in the air and it will be very physical. It will certainly challenge us and them in different ways.

"They've picked Murray who is excellent with his box kicking and they've shown a tendency on advantage to go to the air as well, so we're under no illusions what to expect, it's just a matter of making sure you win your possession and look to attack in other ways."

Despite winning the four previous meetings between the teams, Mitchell said England do not have Ireland's measure.

"You never have Ireland's number. They're a tenacious side and a tenacious country. They fight bloody hard for each other. They'll rip in, there's no doubt about that. But we're ready for all that," he said.

"It's going to be a war at the breakdown which is something we’re ready for.

"It's the responsibility of everyone in today's game to be urgent over the ball. Ireland will rely on crumbs, which can come from the aerial contest.

"That's probably the area where everyone will have to be most alert."