When England face Ireland in their Six Nations clash at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon, very few onlookers will be expecting the home side to emerge victorious.
That is quite the change to previous years, with the London venue having often been a difficult place for Irish sides to visit. The English have handed out some big beatings to Ireland in this competition down through the years, although many feel that the opposite could be the case on this occasion.
Looking at both teams, it seems clear that they are at very different stages in their development. Whereas Andy Farrell who has put together a slick attacking and defensive unit, Steve Borthwick's side still look as though they are well off in those two areas.
READ HERE: Jamie Heaslip Makes Big Claim About Ireland & All-Conquering All Blacks Side
Rugby: Moore sums up stark difference between England & Ireland
It will be interesting to see how England approach this fixture.
They have attempted to incorporate a more attacking game plan during the Six Nations, although such an approach could well play into Ireland's hands on this occasion. They may opt to return to the more conservative style that was effective at last year's World Cup.
Writing in The Telegraph, former England hooker said that you need only look at Ireland's attacking prowess in comparison to England's in order to sum up the difference between the two sides.
If you want to contrast the two attacks you need look no further than the triple-layered challenge that Ireland manage to pose for defenders. Most of their ball-carriers have support runners who offer options for the carrier to pass flat balls inside or outside and right on the gain line...
Players like James Lowe and Tadhg Beirne constantly feature in this sort of multifarious attacking strategy and, at the moment, are a long way off producing anything similar.
It is true that attack is not as easy to sort out as defence and, in terms of the latter, England have made improvements. The problem is that with regard to the former, the problems in attack are nothing new and it is a fact that over this Six Nations England, if anything, have actually regressed in this regard.
It is clear that Ireland are a completely different animal compared to England when it comes to the attacking side of the game, with Andy Farrell's men having played some scintillating rugby during this year's championship.
England will be hoping that they can limit that as much as possible this weekend.
SEE ALSO: Trevor Brennan Seemed To Enjoy Son's Top 14 Scrap Over The Weekend
