Ireland assistant coach Mike Catt has stressed the need for patience from England supporters following his team's recent struggles, saying things will take time to get going.
Ahead of their Six Nations clash with the Red Roses at Twickenham on Saturday, March 9, Cat was asked about England's form following their defeat to Scotland.
The former England international believes Steve Borthwick's accusations are a “dangerous” proposition as Ireland look to avoid derailing their Grand Slam bid next weekend.
'Competent' England
Asked if the team had improved since Eddie Jones left the hotseat, he urged England supporters to give their coach some time as he looks to make his mark at Twickenham.
“To be honest, that's not something I can say,” the 2003 World Cup winner said of England.
“It takes time to work, especially from an attacking standpoint. It's hard to get it (right), especially when you're at the top end of the sport.
“The individuals there can definitely cause the team (problems).
“They are third in the World Cup and everyone is still there apart from Owen Farrell, but everyone else is there and they are fully capable.
“It's tough at that level, but they'll do well, I have no doubt.
“This England team is a dangerous team and we know what they are capable of.
“Now we can definitely take the next step and the next step is against England at Twickenham. That's all we're focused on at the moment.”
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Ireland defeated France, Italy and Wales in the opening game of the Six Nations and advanced to Round 4 with an incredible winning record of 3 bonus points from 3 games.
But Catt insisted there was room for improvement after the recent 31-7 win over Wales at the Aviva Stadium, and felt the Welsh side had “progressed well”.
“I reviewed the Wales game and it was by no means perfect,” Cutt said.
“We really understood what we have to do in the next 10 days to prepare properly for England.
“Against Wales we took away from what we were really, really good at.
“This is an issue we have been working on and we need to make sure we get it right.
A little disappointing
“We just went through the motions a little bit rather than implementing the way we wanted to play and we were a little disappointed in certain aspects of the game.
“But we have dealt with it and we have to do it right for England so we will do it.”
Ireland are looking forward to the fitness of center Gary Ringrose and full-back Hugo Keenan ahead of next weekend, with coach Catt saying they are “progressing well''.
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