They say (at least Warren Gatland does) that it is the game neither side can afford to lose. Judging by the formidable Ireland team Joe Schmidt has selected for it, the Ireland coach does indeed seem keen to avoid defeat in his side’s final World Cup warm-up, against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Rory Best is given his first start since the Six Nations in what looks like something close to a first-choice lineup but there is still no sign of Cian Healy, even though Ireland’s premier loosehead was described by Schmidt earlier in the week as fit to play. “He could have,” the head coach acknowledged at the team announcement. “It’s just that he probably hasn’t done enough team runs. There’s no point putting him out there if he’s out of kilter. Twickenham’s not a place where you go to give game time for game time’s sake.”
Neither, you might say, is a World Cup but Schmidt thinks there are ways within the training ground’s fences of bringing Healy up to speed following his recovery from neck surgery in May. And Canada and Romania, Ireland’s first opponents in the tournament, ought to leave some room for manoeuvre on that front, in a way that an England side chastened by their recent defeat in Paris, will not.
That explains the powerful lineup. There is no Rob Kearney at full-back, which would raise an eyebrow if this were a World Cup semi-final (as it may yet be in October). Simon Zebo wears the No15 shirt instead, having been man of the match there against Scotland three weeks ago. Otherwise the big guns are all present and correct, even if Iain Henderson must feel aggrieved that his heroics in the home defeat against Wales last weekend did not earn him so much as a place on the bench.
That was the result that enabled Gatland to fire his barb at England and Ireland. The loser on Saturday will go into the World Cup with the less than rousing send-off of two consecutive defeats, barring a draw, which would bring its own kind of disappointment to both. This would not be the preparation hoped for by either of the Six Nations’ pre-eminent teams in the last two seasons.
That raises the stakes. If both sides have seemed in two minds about what to reveal in their summer warm-up games (England seemed in more than that in Paris), the imperative to win this one is suddenly sharp. That said, Ireland will feel less under pressure than England, being mere visitors to Twickenham on Saturday and, with luck, again in October. They certainly have the gentler pool in the World Cup, their fixture list building smoothly towards a climax against France. They can take a little longer to find their rhythm.
Best and Zebo are among seven changes to the team that started against Wales last weekend. Tommy Bowe comes in on the wing, looking to impose his class on quite the gaggle of outside backs in Ireland’s squad; Jared Payne reforms the centre partnership with Robbie Henshaw that worked so well in the Six Nations; Mike Ross returns to anchor the scrum; Devon Toner has a chance to respond to Henderson’s challenge at lock; and Sean O’Brien takes his place in Ireland’s favoured back row.
Ireland team to play England, 2.30pm Saturday 5 September
S Zebo (Munster); T Bowe (Ulster), J Payne (Ulster), R Henshaw (Connacht), D Kearney (Leinster); J Sexton (Leinster), C Murray (Munster); J McGrath (Leinster), R Best (Ulster), M Ross, D Toner (both Leinster), P O’Connell (Toulon, capt), P O’Mahony (Munster), S O’Brien, J Heaslip (both Leinster). Replacements R Strauss, T Furlong (both Leinster), N White (Connacht), D Ryan (Munster), C Henry (Ulster), E Reddan, I Madigan (both Leinster), D Cave (Ulster).