Caelan Doris braced for Twickenham test against 'pragmatic' England

“We saw a stat during the week that they've scored almost half their points directly from penalties.”

BRACED: Caelan Doris poses for a portrait after a Ireland rugby media conference at the Sport Ireland Campus Conference Centre in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

The chat over in England this week is whether Steve Borthwick decides to stretch his team’s boundaries as an attacking force, or if talk of evolution is placed on hold and they stick with the meat and veg offerings that have been their staple this past 12 months.

The boss has the fit-again half-back pairing of Marcus Smith and Alex Mitchell available as a possible tandem for the first time in this Six Nations, but it’s beyond imagination to think that the side will suddenly click as a fluid unit with ball in hand whatever the personnel.