England smashed up Ireland again and it's worrying says Darren Cave
- Published
England were able to run past Ireland seemingly at will in Saturday's World Cup warm-up game
Darren Cave says Ireland's failure to match England physically for the second time this year is a worrying sign for Joe Schmidt's squad going into the World Cup.
England followed up their 32-20 Six Nations win in February by demolishing the Irish 57-15 in Saturday's World Cup warm-up game.
"It wasn't too dissimilar to the Six Nations mismatch," ex-Ireland centre Cave told BBC Radio Ulster's Sportsound.
"England came off the line and smashed us. That's the most concerning thing."
Joe Schmidt paraded the majority of his expected first-choice World Cup players in Saturday's warm-up game at Twickenham but they proved no match for Eddie Jones' fired-up side who scored eight tries.
Ireland will be 'embarrassed' - Marshall
The result was Ireland's heaviest-ever defeat by England and represented the first time Schmidt's side have conceded 50 points since he took the Ireland job in 2013.
"This game meant nothing [in terms of the result] but I thought it was just a tiny bit worrying because this Ireland team love to get momentum. They love to get quick ball. But we couldn't do that," added Cave, whose 11 caps included being part of Ireland's World Cup squad in 2015.
"We looked really, really average and as a result of that, shipped 50 points.
"They are a little rusty and maybe a bit of fatigue from a hard training camp.
All the tries in two minutes as England run riot against Ireland
"I do think England are a couple of weeks ahead of Ireland but it doesn't hide the fact we struggled to get a gainline and looked pretty clueless for a lot of that game."
Also speaking on Radio Ulster's Sportsound, Cave's former Ulster team-mate Paul Marshall said Ireland's players will be feeling "embarrassment" after Saturday's Twickenham trouncing.
"Whenever you get beaten that badly, it does dent your confidence," said Marshall, who won three Ireland caps.
"If Ireland lost that game 20-16, we would say, 'it's only a warm-up game' but 57-15 is a big, big defeat. They will be feeling it.
"They have to turn it round now. They need to bounce back against Wales next week because they definitely can't back up that performance with another one like that so close to the World Cup."
Tadhg Beirne and Sean Cronin were introduced in the second half at Twickenham but England were already out of sight by that stage
Beirne's versatility could earn him nod
It's difficult to argue that any of the Ireland players involved in Saturday's game advanced their prospects of World Cup selection.
Schmidt will have to reduce his 40-man squad to 31 for the trip to Japan and despite Saturday's awful display, the primary selection issues appear unchanged.
With locks James Ryan, Devin Toner and Iain Henderson looking certain to travel, the Irish boss must decide whether he needs additional second-row strength which could advance Tadhg Beirne's chances given that he can operate at lock or in the back row.
"In the back row, you have Peter O'Mahony, Jordi Murphy, Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier and CJ Stander," said Cave.
"That last slot is between Tadhg Beirne and Rhys Ruddock. Do you need Tadhg Beirne because you have only three locks?
"But Joe does go for using Rhys Ruddock as captain in the lesser games. We've got a five-day turnaround and in the game against Russia Rory Best and Peter O'Mahoy aren't going to play.
"Is he looking at Ruddock as captaining the side in that game or does he need that extra cover in the second row which would be Tadhg Beirne or Jean Kleyn?
Ulster's Addison facing nervous wait
Paul Marshall believes Beirne's versatility may see him getting in the 31-man squad with Ruddock perhaps battling with Ulster's Jordi Murphy for the final back-row spot.
"We've seen Beirne coming off the bench and being so prolific in that role. I just feel Beirne has to go. . .I'm looking maybe whether it's a Rhys Ruddock versus Jordi Murphy type scenario [for the last back-row berth]."
Marshall and Cave both believe Ulster's Will Addison will battle for Munster's Andrew Conway for the final backs berth.
"I would have loved to see Addison playing either two weeks ago or today," said Marshall after Saturday's game.
"I'm a massive Will Addison fan and I've only seen him play a handful of games for Ulster.
"I just fear that he's been injured for so long, will he be up to speed? Will he be involved next week? I really hope he is. He is a phenomenal rugby player."