Ronan O'Gara: Surely the English chariot has to go down swinging?

Where the respective countries are at is reflected in the bizarre situation where a World Cup semi-finalist is hosting a side knocked out in the quarter-final and it’s the latter who are unbackable favourites.

DEFIANT: Talismanic England lock Maro Itoje.

NOT because it was my birthday, but I delayed compiling some thoughts until Thursday to see the composition of England’s 23 for Saturday’s meeting at Twickenham. I wanted to see how they are setting themselves up to succeed.

When Steve Borthwick and his staff presented on Monday morning, they would have accentuated the positives, the three things England must do well against Ireland. These cornerstones do not guarantee a victory, but they are something to hang your hat on, to build your case upon. Having an idea of the thought process in the set-up it’s fair to assume that the high ball, kick chase and kicking metres figured heavily. From what we have seen so far, this has become their default setting.