England are coming to Dublin and the Six Nations is in danger of going out with a whimper for Ireland. Top spot is out of our reach after last weekend’s defeat in Cardiff and we could even finish as low as fifth if results go certain ways. It’s a far cry from the optimism and joy of last November but it’s not all doom and gloom. Beating England is always enjoyable and stopping them from winning the grand slam in Dublin has its charms. The closer the game comes, the more the players will be excited about it – and I’m sure the stadium will be hopping once the anthems start on Saturday evening too. The sight of the English rose focuses the mind.

Eddie Jones and his men have wrapped up the title with a game to spare and are chasing a new world record for consecutive victories. The aura of arrogance is back for the English but maybe it is deserved. They tried to soften their image under Stuart Lancaster but being humble doesn’t seem to work for them. They’re at their best when they think they’re the best and Eddie Jones has certainly brought their swagger back.

Changing focus

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For Ireland, the week will have started slowly with the inevitable review sessions and regrets over what went wrong in Cardiff but this game is always special. How can Ireland win? We have to take a leaf out of the Wales playbook from last weekend and get in England’s faces from the first second till the last. And we have to be smart about it. There’s always plenty of passion involved when you face England but passion alone doesn’t win you rugby matches; it has to be paired with precision. If you go out and try to beat the other team into submission with hot heads, you could very well find yourself out of ideas with 20 minutes on the clock and have a couple of tries against you on the score board. It’s all about control and following the plan.

We were probably just a couple of mistakes away from winning last weekend so there’s no need to panic. I’d like to see us switch the point of attack around the maul a bit though. Every team does huge amounts of analysis on their opponents’ strong points and I think we could do with a bit more variation. England will be ready for anything we’ve shown in the past so we have to bring something new. Every team has to evolve their game plan and I’m sure a lot of work has been done on specific aspects of our game with England in mind. We have to make them doubt what they’re doing and question each other on the field. Italy caused them lots of problems with their tactics and made some of the England players look daft with their questioning of the rules while the game was going on. That sort of doubt brings panic, and panic brings mistakes. We have to spread the doubt just as we have to spread our attacks.

The players will believe they can win. England put up a big score against Scotland last weekend but that won’t matter to Joe Schmidt and the players. We have to play without fear and make it an uncomfortable experience for the English. Every time one of them puts their heads up they have to be confronted with aggression. I’d love to be playing. These games are the challenges by which you measure your rugby career. To plan all week and make beating England your sole focus sharpens the mind. And sitting in the dressing room after you’ve done it is the best feeling in the world – especially when you feel like you’ve got to make up for the mistakes of the week before.

The flip side is clear too. A losing dressing room is not a fun place to be – you just can’t wait to get out of there and get back home and away from it all. Those emotions are part and parcel of top-level sport; it can be cruel but the highs are as good as it gets.

Wales played with the fear of losing a third match hanging over them and their desperation saw them hold out against us. We have to do the same this weekend.

Every England player has to know when they get tackled that the person who put in the hit enjoyed doing it and will be ready to do it again the next time they get their hands on the ball. It has to be relentless and it has to be controlled. And that’s exactly what the Ireland players will be planning for all week. Beating England won’t undo the fact that we didn’t win the championship but it’d mean we finish on a high and will set us up well for the summer.

We won’t be lacking motivation. This is England. Roll on Saturday. CL