Martin Johnson is getting a little tired of being told that England have reached a decisive crossroads in his managerial tenure. There have already been plenty of junctions and cul-de-sacs this season but a major statement against higher-ranked opponents with a sprinkling of world-class players – a team, in short, just like Ireland – would alter perceptions overnight. If nothing else, a vibrant win against the reigning grand slam champions, who have taken this fixture in five of the last six years, would recapture a lot of hearts and minds.
Those with half-decent memories might just recall England doing exactly that two years ago, thrashing the Irish 33-10 with Danny Cipriani spectacularly wielding the conductor's baton at fly-half. The then-coach, Brian Ashton, was rewarded with the sack and just three players – Steve Borthwick, Simon Shaw and Nick Easter – survive from that starting line-up. If England stumble to an ignominious defeat, with Cipriani in exile, it will be hard to congratulate the wise owls of the Rugby Football Union on their foresight.
Such an outcome, though, is far from guaranteed. Mix English frustration with visitors on the rebound from a serious shellacking in Paris and all the ingredients are in place for a memorably tight Anglo-Irish summit. England, buoyed by the recovery from illness of Mark Cueto, have not lost at Twickenham in four Six Nations outings under Johnson and are sitting pretty in the table with two wins from two. Beauty, as ever, is in the beholder's eye and winning ugly has never bothered Market Harborough's favourite son.
The more urgent priority is to neutralise an outstanding Irish back row and, by extension, cramp the style of their outstanding backline, not least Brian O'Driscoll, who is expected to start despite missing training today because of illness. If not, the battle of the two Jonnys could easily be settled in favour of Johnny Sexton, the long-levered Leinster fly-half who has been preferred to Ronan O'Gara. Sexton has already played at Twickenham this winter, depriving London Irish of victory last month, and will be seeking to rekindle memories of Ollie Campbell's tactical masterclass in 1982 which prefaced a first Irish triple crown for 33 years.
It seems almost as long since Jonny Wilkinson was hoisting England to World Cup nirvana, which just goes to show Test rugby waits for no man. Should their iconic No10 belt the ball endlessly into the skies of south-west London towards aerially-strong former Gaelic footballers such as Geordan Murphy or Tommy Bowe, the unimaginable sound of a Twickenham audience booing their poster boy might just be heard. "The battle is to get tempo in the game when we have the ball," Johnson. "We will have to be better than we have been to beat them. There will be huge intensity but that intensity can't be headless, it has to be controlled."
Much could hinge on Dan Cole's scrummaging opposite Cian Healy, and John Hayes's 100th cap for Ireland adds another dimension to the front-row equation. Given that Ireland concede relatively few penalties, keeping the South African referee, Mark Lawrence, sweet will also be critical. In the Super 14 officials are showing zero tolerance to tacklers who decline to release or roll away at the breakdown. England must be slicker and smarter if they wish to answer their pivotal Irish question satisfactorily.
