Forward thinking key as Ross out to right wrongs of 2012

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since Mike Ross left the field injured at Twickenham two years ago and England stormed to victory over a seriously pressurised Irish front row.

Ireland had only one prop forward – Tom Court – on the bench that day and the loosehead was forced to pack down in the unfamiliar tight side. Naturally enough, the Ulsterman suffered in his new surroundings and England prospered.

But with the rules changed and teams now allowed to include specialist loose and tighthead props in a match-day list, such an outcome is unlikely to happen again — and certainly not on Saturday as Ireland chase their first Triple Crown since the 2009 Grand Slam, insists Ross.

Recalling that embarrassing day, Ross said: “You wouldn’t want to think about that, to be honest. There’s nothing to be gained…it was different times, different personnel and different rules. I mean two years ago you had a loosehead trying to play tighthead. That situation simply wouldn’t happen now.

“The first scrum went down and I got crunched in between Corbisiero’s head and Hartley’s head. My entire left shoulder locked solid and I could hardly turn my neck. I just kept getting worse throughout the game so eventually I had to come off.”

As Ross prepares for battle in Twickenham on Saturday, the shoe is now on the other foot, with England the side under pressure in terms of front row resources.

The auld enemy’s problems have intensified with a player of Dan Cole’s calibre ruled out for the remaining three games of the RBS Six Nations with a bulging disk pinching a nerve.

Cole’s absence means David Wilson will start against Ireland, despite having played just 47 minutes of his comeback match last weekend.

Wilson has been out for two months with a calf problem but Henry Thomas, who was on the bench against France and Scotland, is deemed unready to face the Irish.

Lancaster accepts that England must develop greater depth at tighthead: “This is probably the one position where we’ve got the least depth,” Lancaster said.

As a result, Ross should feel considerably less uncomfortable, but he’s not thinking that way. We are always wary of what is coming, always, because England have terrific resources.

“If you look at Wilson’s form during the Autumn Internationals he is probably pushing Dan (Cole) pretty hard for a spot so we are not really seeing it as a big a loss to them.”

Ross is anticipating a strong front row challenge, in the midst of which will surely be Dylan Hartley.

However, Ross respects what the abrasive Hartley brings to the party: “He brings an aggressive edge to it and he’s always chirping away in the middle of it, you know, nothing offensive.

“He does talk a fair bit to his front row and keeps them under control.

“If you remember last year in the Aviva, the first scrum, everyone was roaring at us. I think we did pretty well that day, so I think generally what happened two years ago is irrelevant. It was a salutary lesson of what not to do.

“We’re all pretty embarrassed after that, I mean probably a personal low. As I said though, different time, different rules, different personnel, so I would like to think we don’t have to go through all of that again.”