BRENDAN O'BRIEN: Uneasy lies the head that wears the out-half crown

Richard III’s remains may have been discovered in a car park in Leicester earlier this week but Owen Farrell would do well to pay greater heed to Shakespeare’s Henry IV ahead of England’s visit to Dublin this weekend.

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” says the titular character in the first scene of the third act, his words borne of a conscience troubled by his ruthless seizure of the throne from Richard II whom he subsequently has murdered.

It is 10 years since Martin Johnson took that wrong turn down the red carpet at the old Lansdowne Road and, if sections of the English press are to be believed, we should be rolling the welcome mat out for Farrell rather than Michael D this Sunday when Ireland host Stuart Lancaster’s side.