Red Rose a thorn in Kearney side

Rob Kearney has more reason than most to get stuck into England at Twickenham on Saturday.

The Ireland full-back will be playing against the English for just the third time, on St Patrick’s Day, having not faced them since the Grand Slam year of 2009, when Declan Kidney’s team eked out a 14-13 home win at Croke Park.

His previous appearance was a painful experience at Twickenham the previous year as a 33-10 defeat brought the Eddie O’Sullivan era to an end.