England may be at a disadvantage going into the Autumn Nations Cup clash against Ireland as they have not been tested by high-ranking teams in recent matches compared to Saturday’s opponents, coach Eddie Jones has said.
England beat winless Italy, who Jones referred to as a ‘tier two’ team, in their final Six Nations match to seal the title last month before thumping Georgia 40-0 in their opening Autumn Nations Cup match over the weekend. Ireland have played three times since the sport returned after the Covid-19 hiatus, beating Italy and Wales while losing to France, and Jones said they were a “massive step-up”.
“You’ve just got to look at the world rankings. It’s like going from playing Nishikori to Djokovic,” Jones told reporters, referring to tennis players Kei Nishikori and Novak Djokovic, who are 40 and 1 respectively in that sport’s ATP Rankings.
“Our difficulty is that we’ve played two tier-two countries and we’re going to play against a team who have had a great preparation against Wales and France.
“(Ireland) are a tough, physical team, they’ve been at the top of world rugby for the last four or five years, in the top four or five teams.”
Ireland are ranked fifth in the world and finished third in the Six Nations under Andy Farrell, who took over the reins this year when Joe Schmidt stepped down after the World Cup.
“Obviously they’ve had some great European success and had a change of coach after the World Cup and Andy has made their attack a little bit unpredictable,” Jones added. “They present a massive physical challenge and a good tactical challenge.”

Willis revels in excitement of first test cap after delayed England debut
England’s 40-0 win over Georgia on Saturday may have been nothing more than a routine victory over a tier-two side but the match was truly special for Jack Willis who finally made his much-awaited debut and marked the occasion with a try.
The Wasps flanker, who was crowned the Premiership’s player of the season, had his debut delayed by two years after a knee injury in 2018 saw him sidelined for 10 months.
Nine tries in the 2019-20 season convinced Jones to recall Willis to hand him his first Test cap and even though the Covid-19 pandemic barred fans from Twickenham Stadium, it did little to quell the 23-year-old’s enthusiasm.
“It doesn’t make the moment or the occasion any less special. It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was a young lad, it was an incredible feeling to finally get here,” a beaming Willis said while wearing his cap in a virtual news conference.
“I loved every second of it. It was incredible to get out there and a massive honour. It was a very strange experience not having family and friends there,” adding he was hopeful of another opportunity to impress.
After a stellar season with Wasps, his team lost out to Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership final last month but Willis was quick to move on from the narrow defeat.
“I wasn’t really thinking about that the last few days. It was just excitement, nerves, all sorts of emotions,” Willis added. “As it got closer, it was just pure excitement. I couldn’t wait to get out there and get stuck in.”
England next play Ireland on Saturday at Twickenham.