England assistant coach John Mitchell has delivered his own verdict of the world rankings ahead of the upcoming Six Nations.
The
former All Black coach has stated that Ireland is the current team to beat
ahead of New Zealand.
However,
Mitchell was far from complimentary about Ireland, who his team face in the
opening Six Nations match this weekend in Dublin.
Speaking on the eve of the
“It’s
our aim to win the Six Nations but first up is Ireland and arguably they are
the best team in the world.” Mitchell said
“If you’re going to play the best team in the world, you might as well get into them straight away.
“They
deserved all the honours that came their way in 2018. It’s always been tough
playing there (Dublin) but it’s even harder now because they’re a well-coached
side.”
Mitchell
believes Ireland will look to halfback Conor Murray’s expert kicking to
overcome England.
“Through
their process and being a well-coached side, they are resilient, they will try
and bore us basically,” he said.
England star Owen Farrell is likely to lead the side after the Saracens fly-half recovery from thumb surgery, while Mitchell said former Hurricanes forward Brad Shields is progressing well from a side strain.
