• Australian’s wants to engage us in phoney war, says Ireland forwards coach • Ireland dispute statistics suggesting they kick away too much possession

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Ireland must refuse to engage in Eddie Jones’ phoney war ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations clash at Twickenham, according to Simon Easterby.

England’s new head coach Jones likened Ireland’s approach to the tactics once employed by the Premier League football club Stoke City, claiming Joe Schmidt’s men kick possession away “60 per cent of the time”.

Schmidt was quick to reject his England counterpart’s barbs, branding the Australian’s statistics inaccurate.

Now Ireland’s forwards coach Easterby has warned the squad not to allow themselves to be distracted by a war of words.

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“Someone like Eddie is going to throw things out there, throw some comments out there, and that’s great,” said Easterby.

“We’ll take that and bat it off. We’ve got to focus on what we’re doing. I think there’s a temptation to be drawn into something there with what he has to say, about any team, whether it’s us or any team that he’s coaching against.”

Ireland are looking for their first win at Twickenham since 2010, with the reigning double Six Nations champions arriving without a victory in the competition’s opening two rounds following their draw with Wales and defeat in France, and also battling a raft of injuries.

Schmidt had been keen to set the record straight after Jones’ jibe that Ireland play safety-first rugby, insisting “Ireland have kicked less than a quarter of the possession we have had, which doesn’t correspond with the statistics which have been reported”.

Jones has now twice cited Stoke City when referring to a limited gameplan. Stoke’s captain Ryan Shawcross took to the club’s official match programme after Jones’ first reference, calling on the England manager to “stick to what you know”.

Easterby however is keen for Ireland to ignore the comments from England’s new head coach, who has already freely admitted he will chase any available edge, including via mind games.

“We’ve just got to focus on what we’re doing and not get drawn into too much of what he’s talking about,” said Easterby.

“It is what it is. Characters like that are good for the game, and we’ll see come Saturday night how much of that rings true.”