Maro Itoje says England have no time to stop and smell the coffee if they are to upset the odds against Ireland.
Eddie Jones claimed that even the barista who served him his cappuccino reckons they are rank underdogs at Twickenham tomorrow.
“The girl in there thinks Ireland are red-hot favourites and are going to win,” he revealed after making three changes to the side that beat Wales.
“I said to her: “Just give me the coffee please.”
Itoje admits his coach’s experience tallies with the “external” mood he has detected in the build-up to a game which will decide whether England go to Paris with the title on the line - or as also-rans.
But he said: "With all these types of external pressure, my mindset is to walk towards it as opposed to think of myself as a victim.
“I want to embrace all challenges, positive or negative that are being written or said, and keep walking forward.
“As players our responsibility is to focus on what we can control," he added. "Every England team that I am aware of - football, rugby, cricket, athletics - you guys [media] make us work for it. It comes with the territory. It is a responsibility we have to bear.
“But also, the way high-performance professional sport works, with teams pushing it further and further, if you don’t keep moving you fall behind.”
England have won their last three Twickenham Tests against Australia, world champions South Africa and Wales - so hardly constitute no-hopers on their own patch.
Indeed, Jones bullishly declared: “We have one intention in this game and that’s to go after Ireland. We are going to chase them hard down the street.
“Everywhere they go, we’re going to be in their faces. We’re going to take time and space away from them. We are a very physical team and they haven’t played against a side as physical as us for a long time.”
But they have misfired in this championship and the side former England coach Andy Farrell accompanies on his return to Twickenham have the sharper credentials.
Jones says he will do whatever it takes to get his side up for the challenge. In selection terms that means giving the No.8 shirt to Sam Simmonds, as Alex Dombrandt missed too much training after testing positive for Covid to play a starting role.
Joe Marchant comes in at outside centre in place of Elliot Daly, who underwhelmed against Wales, Jamie George replaces Luke Cowan-Dickie at hooker. Joe Launchbury makes his long-awaited return from injury on the bench.
But in the games of the mind Jones also sees a role for himself and is unapologetic about it.
“Look, mate, my job is to put our team in the best mindset it can be for the game,” he said. “How I do that, and there’s a variety of strategies we use, I’m certainly not inclined to share now.
“I’m happy to have a cup of coffee with you, we just need to make sure we’re not in the coffee shop where the girl thinks Ireland are red-hot favourites and are going to win!”
England: Steward; Malins, Marchant, Slade, Nowell; Smith, Randall; Genge, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Ewels, Lawes (capt), Curry, Simmonds.
Replacements: Blamire, Marler, Stuart, Launchbury, Dombrandt, Youngs, Ford, Daly.
Ireland: Keenan; Conway, Ringrose, Aki, Lowe; Sexton (capt.), Gibson-Park; Healy, Sheehan, Furlong, Beirne, Ryan; O'Mahony, van der Flier, Doris.
Replacements: Herring, Kilcoyne, Bealham, Henderson, Conan, Murray, Carbery, Henshaw.
