England defence coach John Mitchell believes that Ireland will attempt to “bore the s—” out of England when the two sides meet in the Six Nations opener this weekend.
Ireland defeated England in the tournament on their way to claiming the Grand Slam last year and Mitchell is convinced that Ireland will execute a negative gameplan in Dublin on Saturday.
“Ireland are arguably the best in the world and, for me, are a side who — through their process being a well-coached side — are resilient and they will try to bore the s— out of us basically,” he told BBC Sport.
“Ultimately, it will come down to a small piece of possession when you’re not focused that can hurt you in a contest like this. In many ways it will be (about) who wants to be more patient than the other.
“They are a huge momentum team who love to keep possession and that’s where that patience comes from. That will be the challenge.”
Mitchell added that loose forward Jack Clifford had returned home after suffering a head injury at a training camp in Portugal and would not be replaced in the squad.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.