Hickie welcomes Slam challenge

IT’S a good indication of how many international matches Ireland play these days that left wing Denis Hickie will be winning his 38th cap against England on Sunday.

The 27-year-old has had his career regularly interrupted by injury since he made a try-scoring debut against Wales in 1997.

Now, he is one of the senior players in the Irish squad going into this game. He certainly took his responsibilities on board when making that dramatic charge-down of an attempted dropped goal by Stephen Jones in the dying seconds of last week’s game in Cardiff. He is now relishing what lies ahead this Sunday.