England vs Ireland live: Six Nations rivals meet in must-win clash to keep title hopes alive

We can expect to see a fired-up England in the opening quarter today, with recognition within the squad that they had not reached the requisite physical level in the first 15 minutes against Scotland.

George Ford retains his starting fly half place ahead of Fin and Marcus Smith, backed to go again after a rare misstep in a redemptive year for the veteran. I found out what makes him tick:

It was a Marcus Smith drop goal that settled this fixture here two years ago, but an attempt to slot three points went awry for George Ford and England last weekend, resulting in a Scottish score. Don’t expect, though, England to go away from the tactic should ball be slow in the Irish 22.

Henry Pollock is one of a number of uber-confident kids coming through the English system. Getting the best out of them may be key to Steve Borthwick’s success, as we explained ahead of the Six Nations:

And here’s why England have turned to a sort of human Berocca to help cure their Edinburgh hangover:

Another real character within the English squad is Henry Pollock, hard to miss with his bleached blond hair. Steve Borthwick sent a message of advice to the No 8 as he prepares for his first international start:

Joe Heyes has had to source more than 20 tickets at Twickenham today, largely for the friends and extended family of his Irish mother. He’s a fascinating, and charming, character, as I found out in November:

England’s scrum, meanwhile, has been going rather well. One of those looking to do the dismantling today will be Joe Heyes, among their most improved performers in the last 12 months - even if not everyone knows who he is just yet...

Another major concern for Ireland from the Italy win was the performance of their scrum. What has gone wrong with their set-piece, and how might England exploit it?

Ireland boss Andy Farrell backed Sam Prendergast to bounce back from being dropped as he admitted neither of his leading fly-halves were in particularly good form ahead of the Six Nations.

Prendergast has been left out of the matchday squad for today’s round-three clash away to England following a tough outing in last weekend’s tense 20-13 win over Italy.

Jack Crowley will start at Twickenham after his impressive cameo against the Azzurri, with Ciaran Frawley providing back-up from the bench.

Prendergast, 23, began six of Ireland’s last seven Six Nations fixtures and has been overlooked for a matchday 23 in the championship for the first time.