Eddie Jones rubbishes claims Ireland hold Six Nations advantage over defending champions England

Eddie Jones has rubbished claims that Ireland hold an advantage over England heading into the Six Nations because the likes of Munster, Leinster and Ulster are outperforming Premiership sides in Europe, with the head coach insisting that it will come down to 15 vs 15 on 17 March when the two sides face off at Twickenham.

The match could prove to be a title-deciding encounter, and game week will no doubt see last season’s clash in Dublin brought up time and time again, when Ireland prevented England from winning a second consecutive Grand Slam and inflicted the only defeat on Jones since taking on the job.

Of course, there is plenty of rugby to be played between now and the St Patrick’s Day meeting, with attentions firmly on the final European round this weekend where the quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup will be decided. Leinster have already qualified for the last eight, while both Ulster and Munster top their pools and know their destiny is in their own hands.

On the other hand, the Premiership is struggling to have any representatives in the last eight, with Exeter Chiefs needing a win at Glasgow to give them a chance of qualification and Saracens, Bath and Wasps seeing their hopes severely dented with defeats last weekend.

But Jones does not believe that European form has any impact on the Six Nations, despite the momentum that the Irish players will have behind them when they arrive in Joe Schmidt’s camp next week. The Australian, who otherwise was in good spirits following the extension of his England contract by two years this week to 2021, was not best pleased with the assessment that his side are not the favourites to win the tournament even though they’ve won the last two championships.

“If you read the papers, then we might as well not turn up. I don't even know why we're having this press conference,” snapped Jones. “Ireland are dominating Europe, their sides are going well. They have this central contracting system that allows them to have their players at their peak.

“As you've seen, we've got 13 players out [injured], so we've got no hope,” before the sarcasm ended. “I'm not a bookmaker but I know we have a squad that's good enough and that will work very hard and maximise the ability we have and put us in a position to win the Six Nations.”

Much has been made of the way that Pro14 sides rest their key players in the league in order to save them for European fixtures due to the absence of relegation, whereas Premiership sides tend to deploy their strongest sides each week unless they are forced to rest internationals due to their agreement with the Rugby Football Union.

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But Jones believes that using a theory such as the one suggested gives his side an excuse if they lose against any of their Six Nations rivals, and that is something that he simply doesn’t intend to do.

“You can only put 15 players on the pitch and those 15 players have got to play with heart, passion and pride,” he said. “At the end of the day it doesn't matter what system you have, it's up to the quality of the players you put on the field. If I say 'Yes, they've got an advantage', I'm saying we've got an excuse. We don't have any excuses. We've got what we want, we've done well with that system and we will continue to do well with it.

“[European rugby] doesn't affect international form. There's a distinct difference between club rugby and international rugby. Whilst you always like your players to win, if they’re not successful at club level it doesn’t mean that you can’t be successful at international level.”

Before Ireland come onto the English radar though, Jones must negotiate his way through a path that involves Italy, Wales, Scotland and France in an order that could well see each game prove tougher than the last. Jones will also have to negotiate the absence of one of his leading players in Billy Vunipola, with the head coach confirming that the fractured arm that he suffered last weekend is “definitely a 12-weeker, potentially”.

With Nathan Hughes also injured and James Haskell suspended, Jones elected to call Bath’s Zach Mercer up to a 35-man squad for the first time after serving as one of his two apprentices, while Sam Simmonds looks certain to start the opening fixture in Rome in two weeks’ time.