Ireland boss Andy Farrell insists under-fire England remain capable of representing one of the ultimate tests in world rugby ahead of a tantalising Twickenham showdown.
Farrell’s in-form side are odds-on favourites for a fifth successive victory over their rivals to stay on course for back-to-back Guinness Six Nations Grand Slams following bonus-point wins over France, Italy and Wales.
Amid ongoing criticism of their performances, Steve Borthwick’s hosts are battling to stay in title contention after suffering a 30-21 Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland last time out.
Englishman Farrell has little interest in the negativity surrounding his native country and is preparing for “one hell of a battle” on Saturday.
“I’ve no doubt that England would have loved to have put the best performance out against Scotland and come away with the victory there,” he said.
“But I’ve no doubt now that over the last two weeks that concentrates their mind to have another chance to have a crack at us.
“You expect them to be at their best and if they’re at their best you expect them to be as hard as anyone in world rugby to beat.”
England were two minutes away from reaching the World Cup final in October but have struggled to fully convince since Borthwick succeeded Eddie Jones in December 2022.
“I don’t get involved with the criticism at all,” continued Farrell. “I don’t look at it.
“I look at the individuals the way that they’re playing, the coaching staff that they got, the plan that they’ve got, a fantastic side that is going to be preparing to give it everything they’ve got at the weekend, so that makes them unbelievably dangerous.
“We just prepare for them to be at their best and if that’s the case it’s going to be one hell of a battle.”
Ireland twice lost to Jones’ England in 2020 – the first year of Farrell’s reign – but have since dominated the fixture, including clinching last year’s championship clean sweep with a 29-16 success in Dublin.
Extending the winning streak could see the visitors retain their crown with a fixture to spare.
While Farrell was not entirely satisfied with his side’s performances in their last two Six Nations wins over the Red Rose, he refused to rule out another fragmented affair this weekend.
“I’m not Mystic Meg, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he replied, when asked if he was confident of avoiding a repeat of the disjointed displays.
“You take every game on it’s own course really and judge it and England did very well at slowing us down last year.
“There were a lot of stoppages within the game and it wasn’t just errors, the game was slow.
“Whether that’s a tactic of theirs or not, I don’t know, but we’ll have to expect more of the same I would have thought.”
Farrell won eight England caps during his playing days and later served his country as a coach under Stuart Lancaster before being let go by Jones following a dismal home World Cup in 2015.
The former dual-code international dismissed any notion of sentiment as he prepares for his latest Twickenham return.
“It’s no different to any other game,” said Farrell, who has recalled fit-again full-back Hugo Keenan in place of Ciaran Frawley in the only change to his starting XV.
“We, and certainly I, concentrate on the week ahead and this game is no more important than the first game in Marseille or no more important than the Italy game or the Wales game at home.
“It’s another chance for us to go out there and show the best of ourselves, albeit a tough old task.
“Everyone knows it’s a tough place to go and get a victory. But that’s the challenge in front of us every week.”
Bayern star Kane scores 400th senior goal
Harry Kane surpassed the 400-goal mark for his senior career as his double helped Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Kane moved within one of the milestone as he put Bayern 1-0 up after just nine minutes, coolly finishing from close range after Konrad Laimer's pass had set him up.
Then, after Frankfurt levelled through Hugo Ekitike, Kane slotted home a penalty with typical aplomb following a foul on Thomas Muller to move himself onto 400 career goals and ultimately lead Bayern to victory.
Kane scored 280 of his goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham, overtaking Jimmy Greaves to become the club's all-time leading scorer when he netted for the 267th time in Spurs colours against Manchester City last February.
His tally of 213 Premier League goals, meanwhile, puts him just 47 behind the competition's all-time leader Alan Shearer, who scored 260 times for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
Kane is also the most prolific player in England's history, his 62 goals for the Three Lions coming in 89 international appearances.
He memorably missed the chance to surpass Wayne Rooney's previous record of 53 when he blazed a penalty over the crossbar in the Three Lions' quarter-final defeat to France at the 2022 World Cup, only to clinch his place in history in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy three months later.
The very first goal of Kane's senior career came in League One during a loan spell with Leyton Orient as they thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 in January 2011.
That was the first of five goals Kane scored in O's colours, while he also netted nine times in a loan spell with Millwall in 2011-12 and twice during a stint with Leicester City the following season.
Bellingham alone won't win Euros for England - Desailly
England cannot rely on Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham alone to win them the Euro 2024 crown, according to France great Marcel Desailly.
Bellingham has enjoyed a sensational debut campaign at Madrid that has seen him score 21 goals in all competitions and assist eight more.
Despite still being aged just 20, the youngster will already have the weight of a nation on his shoulders in the European Championship finals.
Desailly is a big fan of Bellingham, but he suggests Gareth Southgate may have to consider tweaking formation if England are to succeed.
"Too much quality can kill the quality," Desailly told Stats Perform. "This is your problem, you see?
"All the players have to be able to perform at the same time and help each other. The Dutch have had this kind of problem in the past.
"The Dutch always have high levels of expertise, but every time it was difficult for them to all unite together at the same time and perform.
"The talent is there for England, even though Fabio Capello has said their defence is a bit weak, which I agree with.
"But too much quality kills the quality. Let's see how the coach is able to adjust the side and make certain choices.
"He may have to remove some of the players into a different tactical system to protect the team for the performances needed."
Bellingham's latest goal came in added time to earn Real Madrid a 3-2 win over Barcelona in a thrilling Clasico clash last weekend.
He is already being mentioned as a frontrunner to win this year's Ballon d'Or, which could depend on how England perform in the Euros.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund ace is also being likened to one of the all-time greats in Zinedine Zidane, but Desailly says there is a long way to go.
"In the game against Barcelona, he wasn't outstanding yet he was still key for his team," the World Cup 98 and Euro 2000 winner said.
"Carlo Ancelotti took Vinicius Junior off because he knew what Bellingham could give him in that position.
"He also has the legs to defend and score the killer goal, or use his cleverness for the collective of the team.
"He's a good player. But trying to compare him to Zidane? It is difficult for us to accept he could be at that level.
"There are differences between them, but the potential of the talents is quite similar."
Nyeem Young to lead West Indies Academy squad named for Ireland tour
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has unveil the squad selected for the upcoming West Indies Academy tour of Ireland, slated from June 8th to June 29th, 2024.
This tour will comprise five matches, encompassing three 50-over matches and two four-day matches against Ireland’s Emerging Men’s Team. It signifies a reciprocal tour following Ireland's visit to the West Indies in November 2023.
“We continue to be methodical in our approach by exposing our academy players to various opposition and conditions across different formats. This is key to their development and fosters resilience and adaptability," said Miles Bascombe, CWI Director of Cricket.
Nyeem Young will continue as Captain, with Teddy Bishop as Vice-Captain for both formats.
"Nyeem’s leadership qualities have been evident throughout his tenure, notably steering the Academy team during the Super50 and West Indies Championship campaigns. His continued captaincy is a testament to his exceptional leadership skills and contribution to the team,” noted Graeme West, CWI’s High-Performance Manager in reference to Young.
Regarding Bishop's selection as Vice-Captain, West highlights, "Teddy Bishop's elevation to Vice Captaincy underscores his growing stature within the team. His adept handling of leadership responsibilities during Young's absence and his invaluable experience with the West Indies A Team and Senior Teams make him an ideal choice for the role."
The full squad is listed as follows:
Nyeem Young - Captain
Teddy Bishop - Vice Captain
Kadeem Alleyne
Jewel Andrew
Ackeem Auguste
Joshua Bishop
McKenny Clarke
Joshua James
Jordan Johnson
Leonardo Julian
Johann Layne
Ashmead Nedd
Kelvin Pitman
Ramon Simmonds
Carlon Tuckett
Team Management Unit:
Head Coach: Ramesh Subasinghe
Assistant Coach: Rohan Nurse
Physiotherapist: Neil Barry
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Shayne Cooper
Manager & Team Analyst: Kesh Ramphal
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
