Tommy Bowe: Ireland need to ignore England’s war of words
Former Ireland winger Tommy Bowe insists they must not be drawn in by England head coach Eddie Jones’s pre-match talk as the men in green look to keep their Six Nations hopes alive at Twickenham tomorrow.
“I think Ireland are favourites,” Bowe told City PM “I think they’ll feel that they have that responsibility on them.
“It doesn’t help when you have the likes of Eddie Jones telling them they’re going to be favourites.
“The war of words, the little bit of excitement he does to try and stir it up adds to the drama. My fear is that Jones is kind of leading the Irish into a bit of a false sense of security.”
Saturday’s clash between England and Ireland is effectively a knockout match. The winners will have the opportunity to win the Six Nations next weekend while the losers will see their chances all but eradicated.
“This year we’ve [Ireland] had France and England away from home and they’re normally the two toughest matches,” added 69-cap Bowe, who retired in 2017.
“It’s interesting Jones saying it’s like a knockout to them. I’d be interested to see if it was a knockout because I don’t know whether he would pick the same team.
“But he’s trying out players and giving them an opportunity. We’re still a year and a half out from a World Cup.”
One of the most anticipated elements of tomorrow’s match is the contest between the two packs, with both sides hosting outstanding players of skill and power.
“We’re [backs] the piano players and they’re [forwards] the piano shifters,” said British and Irish Lion Bowe. “Forwards win the match but backs decide by how many.
“You can’t really depend on the brilliance of one person, that’s why you see players put their bodies on the line, making crazy tackles and putting their heads into rucks.”
Ireland were arguably the best team on the planet leading up to the 2019 World Cup but failed to capitalise, continuing their record of never winning a knockout game.
“My fear for Ireland is that we are really excited,” added Bowe. “We’re peaking, we’re playing some brilliant rugby at the moment but I fear we are playing a little too well too early.
“You want to keep your powder dry. It’s a delicate balance. Do you try and pull the confidence and keep going or try stuff?”
Ireland are the favourites ahead of tomorrow’s clash, but as history tells us in matches between these two sides – it’s a lot more than form dictates the result.
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Bowe on…
Tadhg Beirne
He has been outstanding for the last four months, he’s undroppable. I would suspect he could be moved outside of the second row to add a bit of bulk in the back row. He is unbelievable at getting over the ball and sealing and has brilliant hands.
Caelan Doris
He 100 per cent would have gone on the British and Irish Lions tour if it hadn’t been for injury and he’s just growing more and more.
Marcus Smith
He looks like the real deal, he’s such an exciting talent. I still don’t know whether he has quite found his feet yet in the No10 jersey. But I think he’s going to be such a prospect for England going forward, we saw that when he got his opportunity with the Lions.
Freddie Steward
I like him. He’s had a tough start to the Six Nations, he’s been tested, but the style and type of rugby is one to look out for. He’s like Iain Balshaw, so comfortable on the ball.