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Moody not looking beyond England or Ireland for Six Nations
By Peter Hanson
Lewis Moody says it is difficult to look beyond England or Ireland as favourites for this year’s Six Nations, but is expecting an “attractive” Scotland side to pose a challenge.
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England have won the past two tournaments, but were denied a second consecutive Grand Slam by Ireland in a Dublin decider last year.
That remains England’s only defeat under head coach Eddie Jones and they have the chance to inflict a measure of revenge on Ireland at Twickenham on St Patrick’s Day next month.
And 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Moody believes one of the two sides will be champions come March 17.
“I think it’s really clear and simple in my mind, there are two key contenders and that’s Ireland and England,” Moody, a Land Rover ambassador, told Omnisport.
“I don’t see anyone beating England at home so for me it would take a mighty performance from anyone to oust England from that top spot, so for me England would be favourites.”
Asked if Ireland’s win last season will provide extra motivation for England, Moody replied: “Yeah, absolutely I do.
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“Ireland are a quality side and there a lot of quality sides in the Six Nations.
“Ireland are always a team to go out and challenge any side, you only have to look at the provinces and see how well they’ve done over England and Wales to see maybe the confidence they can come in with.
“But England are so strong, their strength in depth is possibly as strong [as] since that 2002-03 era [when England won the World Cup], no matter who gets injured you’re able to replace them with someone of equal quality who’s got a good string of experience under their belt.
“And Eddie Jones can mix [it] up with a couple of key uncapped players to just keep expanding that competition for places, which is important when you’re trying to win trophies.”
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Some pundits see Scotland as outsiders for glory this year, having beaten Australia in November just a week on from a gutsy 22-17 defeat to the fearsome New Zealand.
And Moody likes the way Gregor Townsend’s men are going about their business.
“They really are playing well, they play some very attractive rugby and every team they play they push,” he said.
“The autumn was another good experience for them with the teams they played. You talk about [Stuart] Hogg about how important he is, but [John] Barclay now is in as captain instead of [Greig] Laidlaw – that imposing forward figure.
“You look at the likes of Glasgow Warriors as a side during the Champions Cup, the fact they dispatched Exeter [Chiefs] in such style.
“They are founding the basis of their play on exciting club rugby. They can be a challenge and will be a handful.”
Lewis Moody is a Land Rover ambassador. Land Rover has a heritage in rugby at all levels; from grassroots to elite, supporting the game for two decades. @LandRoverRugby #WeDealInReal
