Big away win 'massively important' for Ireland's growth - Herring

Rob Herring believes a big away win is the next step Ireland have to take in their development, ahead of their Guinness Six Nations trip to Twickenham against England (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player) next week.

While Andy Farrell's side have won 10 of their last 11 games, eight of those have come away from home, with away victories against Scotland and Italy starting that run.

But after defeat to France in Paris last month, the opinion of Ireland's campaign will be shaped largely by their final two matches.

If Ireland were to pick up two wins from two it would cap off a largely positive campaign, regardless of whether or not it's enough to lift the trophy.

But should Ireland follow up their loss in Paris with another in London, it would represent a missed opportunity for progress.

"It's massively important for us," said Herring following this afternoon's open training session at the Aviva Stadium.

"Against France I thought we played really well, we just didn’t come on the right side of that game. Going away to England, we challenge ourselves to play the game we want to play and not be afraid when we do that. To do it away from home in a cauldron like Twickenham, the atmosphere there, it’s a different experience.

"For the growth of the group it’ll be really good for us to go and put in a good performance."

Having held the starting hooker role in last year's Six Nations, the Ulster veteran saw himself overtaken by Rónan Kelleher in the Autumn Nations Series, while a minor calf injury at the end of January saw him fall further behind in the depth chart, with Dan Sheehan moving ahead of him onto the bench.

But Kelleher's tournament-ending shoulder injury saw Herring climb back onto the bench against Italy last week, and he looks set to