Bullish Eddie Jones has vowed that England will "rip into" Ireland in their Six Nations Twickenham clash tomorrow.
Ireland's rise under Andy Farrell began in the third round of last year's championship and really solidified with the comeback victory against England that finished the campaign at the Aviva Stadium.
A run of 10 wins in their last 11 games for Andy Farrell's side has the England boss worried.
But Jones is banking on the Red Rose overpowering the visitors in the type of physical game that, he claims, Andy Farrell's men haven't had to deal with in years.
"Whenever you play Ireland, the breakdown is a significant part of the game," said Jones.
"They pride themselves on that area, but we are a very physical team and they haven’t played against a side as physical as us for a long time.
"If you look at their record, they haven’t played against South Africa since 2017. We played against South Africa last year and did well in those physical stakes - so we intend to really take it to them."
Jones has spent the week praising Ireland to the hilt - yesterday he described them as "red hot favourites".
He has written before of using headlines to his own advantage.
"I don’t know whether that helps us or not, but I know we have one intention in this game and that’s to go after Ireland," said Jones.
"We are going to chase them hard down the street. Everywhere they go, we’re going to be in their faces and we’re going to take time and space away from them. Do we enjoy that challenge? Yes.
"We love playing at Twickenham. We love playing in front of 82,000 people.
"I’m sure that all the guys and girls who came to the game against Wales will wish they had a ticket for this game and those who are there will enjoy a great spectacle.
"Those watching it on television will be able to enjoy watching an England team that’s going to rip into Ireland."
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