England’s soap tactic to stop an Irish aerial bombardment

ENGLAND are expecting such an onslaught from Ireland’s kickers in their opening Six Nations clash that Eddie Jones has had his side catching soapy, smooth-sided balls.

Ireland kicked the ball 30 times when they beat world champions New Zealand in November and England will face a similar bombardment from influential duo Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton.

No international duo have attempted more ‘box’ and ‘bomb’ kicks than Murray and Sexton since Joe Schmidt took over as Ireland coach in 2013.

A ‘box’ kick is taken by the scrum half, while a ‘bomb’ is a classic up-and-under by the fly half.

England have also had their struggles under the high ball — it was a huge kick from Sexton which led to Ireland’s opening try in their victory over England in last year’s Six Nations.

Former England captain Lewis Moody said: ‘Those box kicks can be a great attacking weapon as much as anything else, as well as putting people under pressure or trying to get field position.’

Ireland have not just used the weapon the most — they have also been the most successful. In Schmidt’s reign, Ireland have had the most box kicks ‘contested’. A ‘contested’ kick is one either caught or touched by the kicking team — where the opponent is forced to make an error or are driven straight into touch after catching the ball.