Back determined to be hero rather than villain
It has been proposed in some quarters on this side of the water that Neil Back would fit the bill admirably.
They state their case using as evidence the flanker's unorthodox swipe from the side of the scrum during last season's Heineken Cup final which stifled Munster's last chance of glory from the afternoon and stretched the bounds of sportsmanship to the limits.
For those considering a heckling fest at Lansdowne Road, then the advice is to think again. Back is not a man to be messed with and he appears a little annoyed at the suggestion.
"I think anyone from Munster should put that behind them and realise that Leicester won 15-9," Back said. "That's history and they've got to get over it.
"I've always had a good reception from the Irish public and fans. I think it's a fantastic place to go and play and I'd be disappointed if there wasn't any banter, but I think that's all it will be.
"After that game I went to the bars around Cardiff and spoke to a whole host of Munster guys. Some of them were aware of the incident, some weren't, but it was a case of arms round each other's shoulders, a few photographs, a few autographs and a few beers. So I'd be very sad if it was anything more than that."
And if it is more than that, Back is more than ready to deal with it.
"Noamountofintimidation," he begins, punching each word slowly and deliberately into the public domain, "from...any...fan...in...any...stadium...in...the...world...has...affected ...my...performance...in...a...negative...way."
A good point, and brilliantly advanced. In fact, these England boys would love it, just love it, to borrow from Kevin Keegan, if the whole of Ireland turned up at Lansdowne Road on Sunday afternoon and heckled them from first minute to last.
"In every stadium in world rugby now, there's a fantastic atmosphere and as a player coming into an away stadium you've got to live off that. The more noise the better as far as I'm concerned and it all adds to the occasion.
"But in terms of intimidation or knocking you off your game, it probably has the opposite effect. It probably stimulates you to perform even better. So I hope it is noisy, and as always England v Ireland will be a fantastic weekend in Dublin."
As a player who has experienced so many big occasions for club, country and on two Lions tours, Back knows a thing or two about the necessary ingredients for a classic encounter. Having both sides going for glory is definitely one of them.
"I'm glad they won in Wales last week," he said of Ireland's last-gasp victory at the Millennium Stadium, "because had they come into this week having been beaten they would have come in just to spoil England.
"Now they've won all their games and are going for the Grand Slam themselves, they're going to have to play their rugby and create their own opportunities and that will make for a great game. They have to try and play to win effectively so hopefully it won't be a negative game and there'll be lots of tries.
"Ireland are a much better side than they were two years or even a year ago.
"They are a year on in their professional game. They've encouraged, very sensibly, a lot of their players to play for the Irish provinces and the European Cup has helped them develop and given them exposure to high-pressure games.
"That can only help them in the international team. With the exception of Geordan Murphy at my own club and Kevin Maggs, all the rest are based in Ireland and that's very healthy. They've a good playing structure and it's benefiting them.
"But every nation has improved from last year. They're all developing their games and that's why this year's is the most difficult Grand Slam to win. It will take an extreme effort from any team to do it.
"The two sides that have got to here have had hard games all the way through. Last week, Ireland were a dropped goal away from losing and it all makes for a fantastic occasion.
"There's no better place to play for me than in Dublin. It's always been my favourite weekend and place to go and play," he said before adding, with a chuckle, "and winning there makes it even better."
Back's fellow Tiger, Geordan Murphy, may have something to say about that but the England flanker is delighted nonetheless that he is finally getting the recognition for Ireland that his club-mates have long felt he deserves.
"My view of Geordan is that I'd have him in any World XV. He's an exceptional talent and I don't think Ireland or the world has seen the best of him at international level. I was very pleased when he got injured against us last year at Twickenham because he's a real handful. He's an exceptional talent, a great gamebreaker and a game winner."
Such a talent is Murphy that Back would be loath to lose him as a team-mate.
"I've spoken to Geordan a fair bit and he's getting a lot of pressure to go back and play in Ireland. We're obviously very keen to have him playing at Leicester because he's such a fantastic player and a good lad off the pitch.
"He's got a beautiful girlfriend as well, and that always helps," he adds with a grin.
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