Ireland must dodge a potential English sucker-punch

Ireland and England will square off in Twickenham on Saturday evening, as the Guinness Six Nations championship returns.

Ireland will be favourites despite having to travel to London. There are issues on and off the field in England at the moment and Twickenham as a home ground isn't the fortress that it once was.

However, I'd be very wary that there’s one big performance in this England side during this tournament.

Andy Farrell will focus on their own performance, because that’s the only thing that they can really control.

However, England have a chance to use Ireland as a stepping stone to refocus their current rebuild under Steve Borthwick, which is a dangerous prospect.

England’s biggest issue currently is that their stuck between Borthwick’s style of play - which is quite reliant on structure and kicking compared to other teams in the championship - and a more expansive game.

England have the players to embrace a more attacking mindset. We’ve seen it in the past from teams like Bath and Saracens, and Northampton are currently taking on that mantel as England’s fast-attacking side.

Tommy Freeman and George Furbank represent this exciting brand of rugby, while Alex Mitchell was key to its success before getting injured.

However, others have played a more attacking brand of effective gain line decision making in the past.

George Ford (above) is an underrated attacking orchestrator when he’s got the right game plan and tools around him. His ability to pick the right pass is greater than most, but he’s been pigeon-holed into being this kicking maestro.

One of the most exciting parts of England’s game at the moment is identifying which style of kick will come off Ford’s boot, the spiral bomb being a luxury and a difficult skill in