Ireland v England: Rugby World Cup warm-up international – live

The form team of the past 18 months against a team that need to turn their form around in the next 18 days, both without their captains in the 10 shirt.

England have had quieter weeks. The Owen Farrell not-red card saga continues to play out, with World Rugby and now the England captain’s dad weighing in on the inexplicable decision made by Tuesday’s disciplinary panel. While this will not be exactly welcomed by Steve Borthwick, it has meant that the many questions regarding the recent performances of his team have been put aside while fans and media alike focus on Shouldergate.

But those questions remain and if the England seen in the past fortnight take the field in Dublin against what we know Ireland are capable of, the result with be like a being voluntarily fed into an immaculately maintained threshing machine; even with Ireland a week behind their opponents in game time, with a comfortable and uninspiring victory over Italy a couple of weeks ago their sole outing of the summer so far.

Everything points to a home win. Many England fans will accept that if there is something resembling a significant improvement in performance.