Young guns will be up to task, says Rowntree

Graham Rowntree insists England’s youngsters will not be overawed at the thought of facing Ireland’s legends when they run out for their first international at Twickenham today.

Jack Nowell, Jonny May and Luther Burrell are playing for England at Twickenham for the first time and Rowntree admits his biggest challenge this week has been keeping their emotions in check.

And the England’s forwards coach says he is not concerned his side will be overcome by nerves when they prepare to play against Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell and Jonny Sexton, who have 262 Ireland caps between them. Rather, Rowntree believes his men are ‘desperate’ to prove a point and will take the game to their visitors.

“We want them to go out there and be fearless, but also understand what other people (opponents) can bring to the game. There’s a difference,” said Rowntree.

“You have to respect people’s caps and what they’ve achieved and you have to cover traits in terms of analysis, but ultimately it is about us. That’s what we’re trying to instil in these guys. We’ve got a young group who are hungry and I would even say they are desperate to perform. It means everything to us to be back at Twickenham. It’s a special place this stadium, we love playing here.

“We’ve been on the road for two games which brings its own challenges. We’re back here with our fans in our house. For a big game at home like this, the lads are ready and we have to keep them down (emotionally).

“Particularly today, we are training in the stadium itself and you’re filling them with confidence. We want them to go out there and bring their best game, without being worried about things.”

And Rowntree acknowledges it would mean ‘everything’ to Brian O’Driscoll if he could sign-off with a second Grand Slam. The centre will match George Gregan’s world record of 139 caps at Twickenham today and Rowntree, who played with O’Driscoll on one Lions tour and coached him on another two, knows the 35-year-old needs no motivation.

“I imagine to do that (signing off with a Grand Slam) would mean a lot to him. It would mean everything. To hear the way our guys speak about him is very impressive, he commands a lot of respect and will receive a lot of attention tomorrow. I played with him in 2005. I was impressed with him then. He has had a stellar career and achieved just about everything in the game. As a man he’s exceptional, professional. He took that disappointment of the Lions series (when O’Driscoll was dropped for the final Test) on the chin. I remember on that day he was left out, that afternoon he was sat down with the guys going through things on the computer, helping them and coaching them. That speaks volumes about the man.”