The war of words in the buildup to Saturday's England - Ireland Triple Crown decider in Twickenham has taken an interesting turn, with Ronan O'Gara making the claim that England's backs would not get into the Irish squad.
Speaking to the Irish Sun, O'Gara said "I look at George Ford, Luther Burrell, Billy Twelvetrees, Brad Barritt and I don't think they would get into the Irish squad because our backs are so good.
"They haven't made an impact at European level and there's a step up from that to Test level.
"There are very few weak links left in international rugby whereas in Heineken Cup you could potentially have four or five in every team"
He singled out one ex-teammate for particular praise: "The perfect example is Gordon D'Arcy performance against the All Blacks in November. He brought his game to a new level".
The Grand Slam winner's comments come shortly after Stephen Jones' digs at Brian O'Driscoll (as well as some backhanded compliments) in yesterday's Sunday Times. Saturday can't come quickly enough.
[Irish Sun]
