Rory Best believes the scrum is going to be a key battle in Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations clash at Twickenham on Saturday, admitting Dan Cole’s absence will be a huge blow for England.
To enter our fantastic competition to win RBS 6 Nations tickets and witness the magic of the 2014 tournament first-hand click here
Cole, who along with Best toured with the British & Irish Lions last summer, has been ruled out of the rest of the Championship with a neck problem, leaving England light at tighthead prop.
Davey Wilson returned to domestic action for Bath last weekend but with Cole absent, Ireland will be hoping they fare better at the scrum than their last trip to Twickenham – a 30-9 defeat in 2012.
“Dan’s only missed two of Stuart Lancaster’s squads and that’s when he’s been away with the Lions,” said Best.
“From an English point of view it’s coincided well with Davey Wilson playing for Bath last weekend.
“The scrum’s going to be a massive part of this game.
“Two years ago we certainly got beaten up there, to put it mildly, and it cost us the match. And it’s going to be no different this weekend.
“They have a very good scrum, no matter who they bring in, whoever gets the opportunity to fill Dan Cole’s shirt, they are going to be very tough.
“Their scrum has been going very well, their line-out has been exceptional, and we know that we need to at very worst match that.”
Meanwhile, Ireland have been handed a boost with the return of second row Donnacha Ryan, who was named in Joe Schmidt’s 33-man training squad this week.
Ryan’s return is particularly timely after Ulster lock Dan Tuohy was ruled out of the Championship with a fractured arm although Luke Fitzgerald has not recovered from his hip problem.
Visit our official RBS 6 Nations Instagram page to follow all the best images from the Championship
