Defeat could leave England in fifth place in the final table after a turbulent campaign, but their management believe back-to-back losses against Scotland and France has provoked a reaction in a chastened squad.
“I’d say they’re angry and I’d say they’re competitive as well. There’s obviously a certain bit of anger over what’s happened across the last two weeks which is what you’d expect from this group of players,” said scrum coach Neal Hatley yesterday.
“You learn from losing. There have been big lessons for us to take and we have to make sure that we learn them quickly.”
Ireland have been as surprised as anyone at the slump but they are assuming the real England will show up today back at Twickenham where they have not lost in the championship for six years.
“We’ve got to assume that they will play to the level that we expect them to do which is right up there as one of the top two teams in the world,” said Ireland captain Rory Best.
“England certainly are not just going to hand us a victory. They’re far too good a team and they have far too good a record here to suggest that will happen. It isn’t going to take just an ordinary performance.
“Everyone strives for perfection. It’s impossible in a game where we don’t control the opposition but that’s what we all strive for. We have to get very close to it.”
With the championship gone, England captain Dylan Hartley has no interest in where England finish in the table but plenty in how they round off their stuttering campaign.
“This is our last game for a while together so we want to finish on a high,” he said.
“Our fans are brilliant – everywhere we’ve been this tournament they’ve been there – and Twickenham again is a special place to play so we want to give them something to cheer about this weekend.”