Ryan: Now it’s all about getting to right physical and emotional pitch

As trajectories go, Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations campaign is turning out nicely, although with England waiting for James Ryan and company at Twickenham on Sunday, it needs to be.

A hard-fought, fortunate victory over a misfiring Scotland side was an uncomfortable beginning to Andy Farrell’s reign as head coach yet despite the misgivings and bad omens foretold in the public arena that followed that first-round win, Ireland treated that opening run-out under new management as a positive building block.