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Kearney says Ireland need to win trophies after a barren spell. ©INPHO/Colm O'Neill
Twickenham Test

'We probably haven’t fulfilled our potential over the years' - Rob Kearney

The Ireland fullback admits that ‘it’s very difficult to win Triple Crowns these days.’

“IT’S GOING TO be a true forward battle that possibly determines what else happens around the field.”

Ireland defence coach Les Kiss sums up what many of us have felt about this game all week. There are, of course, so many other areas of the game that will contribute to the outcome but Paul O’Connell’s pack fronting up against this English herd of beasts looks like being the most decisive.

The John Plumtree-driven maul has been a real strength in the opening two rounds of the Six Nations, but England are likely to have formulated and practiced a plan for dealing with its power, even if Kiss says Ireland can still develop that area.

“We certainly know that we have a lot more improvement in the maul, but we have worked hard to make it a real strength. If there’s a game where we’ll find out if it is a strength, it’s this one.

So there may be some variation from it from both teams, but I do think they are going to lock horns at some stage. We’re set for that, and I’m pretty sure that they’re set for it as well.”

Fullback Rob Kearney echoes Kiss’s sentiments of looking for improvement today when he mentions that “we feel internally we’ve got more to give. There’s a lot of areas we feel we can work on.”

Up until yesterday, talk of the Triple Crown had largely seemed unimportant, but the Leinster man admits that this game is more than a rung on the ladder towards a possible championship win or overall development as a rugby nation.

“There’s no stepping stone about it, there’s a trophy on the line; it’s very difficult to win Triple Crowns these days. It’s been a while since this team has won some silverware, we probably haven’t fulfilled our potential over the years.”

Conor Murray and Les Kiss 21/2/2014 Kiss with Conor Murray at Twickenham yesterday. ©INPHO / Dan Sheridan ©INPHO / Dan Sheridan / Dan Sheridan

The scrum is another aspect Kiss has highlighted as worthy of serious focus for Ireland, even if England have lost their cornerstone in Dan Cole. Dave Wilson replaces the Leicester Tiger at tighthead prop, bringing his own strengths with him.

“Without a doubt losing Dan Cole is a blow but Wilson has a lot of international experience, and he scrummed well last week for Bath against Exeter. The danger for us is to take our eye off the ball there, and think that it will come easy to us – it won’t.

We expect the typical ferocious onslaught from an English forward pack, and the fact that they have had some changes there is something we’re not taking our eye off. There are other areas of the game where the English forward pack can hurt you and Dave Wilson can hurt you, we know that; we’ve seen it.

In the backline, Brian O’Driscoll looks like being a key man, up against the relative inexperience of Luther Burrell. The Northampton Saints centre has real power in contact, with his game being all about direct physicality.

O’Driscoll’s intelligence and defensive decision-making will be tested, but those same attributes can see him excel in that particular head-to-head. Kearney is just pleased to have ‘Drico’ on his side.

“He’s been huge, there’s a huge part of Irish rugby that is Brian O’Driscoll, but we don’t want to win it any more just because it’s his last game at Twickenham. It’s something that’s very much there on the outside, but not internally.

“What’s fantastic about how he’s evolved over the years is how he’s adapted his game to suit his body and the style of rugby being played.”

‘As a man he’s exceptional’ – England forwards coach Rowntree on Brian O’Driscoll

Step 1 in England’s plan: park the bus and make their players walk through the crowd