Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has warned his side of England’s physical presence ahead of their Six Nations opener in Dublin.
Since taking charge of Ireland, Schmidt has failed to lose a Championship match at home and led the Irish to a Grand Slam last year with a 24-15 victory at Twickenham.
The 53-year-old has excelled in charge of Ireland and has recently been linked with the head coach role for the British and Irish Lions’ tour of South Africa in 2021.
However, Schmidt has rebuffed those claims and will stand down from the Ireland role after the 2019 World Cup to take a break from full-time coaching.
And when asked about England’s potential threats and how Ireland will set out in their Six Nations opener, Schmidt, talking to the Six Nations’ official website at the tournament’s launch day, said:
I think England are going to be very physical, and they have the firepower to do so with the likes of (Billy) Vunipola, (Nathan) Hughes and (Ben) Te’o.
We will look at what we think is the best way to try and approach the game and we will pick our team based on who we think will be most effective against England’s game plan.
We will keep trying different combinations and as long as no-one is spying, people won’t realise and hopefully, we’ll get the right one to combat England.
Schmidt has lost just 15 of his 62 games in charge of Ireland since taking the role back in 2013 and is looking to land his fourth Six Nations title this year.
