Preview: Confidence trumps complacency as history looms for Farrell's Ireland
rte.ieIt's unfamiliar territory for Ireland, and we're not even talking about the prospect of winning a first Grand Slam at Lansdowne Road.You could listen to every rugby podcast in Ireland and England this week, you could read every preview and talk to every punter, and you'd struggle to find anybody confidently predicting anything other than an Irish win at the Aviva Stadium.Almost every rugby metric points to an Irish victory, the bookmakers giving Ireland a 14-point head start as they go in search of their fourth Grand Slam title.
England, meanwhile, come to Dublin at their lowest ebb since their 2015 World Cup failure, reeling from a record defeat to France at Twickenham.For a lot of Irish rugby supporters, the more that the signs point towards a win in a big game, the less comfortable they feel.
We've seen this 'Slambusters' movie before, and Ireland have often been the leading character in ruining other teams' parties.But this Irish side don't seem burdened by expectation, and it's why they will finish the job this evening.The contrast between where these two sides is clear in the selections.Andy Farrell's starting line-up could have been named on Monday morning, the only question marks being over the fitness of Dan Sheehan and Caelan Doris, both of whom have been passed clear to play after injuries against Scotland.
Robbie Henshaw and Ryan Baird's inclusions seemed inevitable after Garry Ringrose and Iain Henderson were ruled out, while Jamison Gibson-Park's return also seemed a cert following his explosive impact off the bench at Murrayfield.By contrast, England boss Steve Borthwick still seems uncertain over his best team as his first Six Nations draws to a close.
Read more on rte.ie
