As we all know, Eddie Jones is not averse to using mind games in order to give his team the edge in the buildup to a big Six Nations game. The Aussie is fond of throwing in a comment or two in order to pile the pressure on the opposition.
That has certainly been the case ahead of this weekend's fixture against Ireland, with the England manager all but making out that his team of minnows are about to take on the most dominant force in world rugby.
The reality is altogether different, although he has attempted to ratchet up the pressure even further this afternoon.
Jones attempts to pile pressure on Ireland ahead of Six Nations clash
Speaking at his team announcement, Jones labelled Ireland as 'red hot favourites' and said that nobody outside his camp were giving England a chance in this game.
We’re more concerned about ourselves, mate. What I do know is they’re red hot favourites.
I went to the coffee shop yesterday and the girl says, “That Irish team must be good, all their ex players think they’re going to win the game and all the ex-England players think they’re going to win the game. They must be a pretty good team. How you feeling?'
I said, 'Just give me the coffee please'...
It’s a semi-final. One of the two teams progresses to the final, which is the last game. Both teams know what’s at stake. But if you read the papers there is only one team that has a chance of winning it...
As we’ve spoken about, they’re a very cohesive team - 80% of the team train for 11 months of the year (with Leinster).
They’re a highly organised national union that gets the players in the best condition so we’ve got to break their cohesion.
Once we break their cohesion, we’ll have opportunities to attack and we’ve then got to be good enough to take them...
I don’t try to guess the opposition’s selection, mate. I’ve got enough to worry about here.
Ireland are seen as slight favourites for this game by many, with their form over the last 12 months or so much more consistent than Saturday's opponents.
However, to suggest that nobody is giving England a chance of victory in this game is well wide of the mark. Twickenham is never an easy place to travel for any opposition team and Jones knows this better than most.
He is certainly attempting to set Andy Farrell's side up for a fall here, while also covering his own back if England do indeed lose the game and tumble down the Six Nations table.
SEE ALSO: Six Changes For Ireland Team To Face England In Six Nations
