By Kath
August 26 2011

England take on Ireland in Dublin on Saturday for the last of their Rugby World Cup warm up matches.

Ireland v England 

RWC Warm Up Match 

27th August 2011

To be honest, I really can't get excited about these warm up matches, if we had gone as we did in  2003 down under and warmed up against the All Blacks and Australia then that would be a different matter. Whilst I can understand the need for warm up matches, to my mind it is just another chance for more injuries.  However, we can't wrap them up in cotton wool can we?  

So, we have Mike Tindall leading the side into battle again, James Haskell declared fit again and Jonny Wilkinson eight years down the line starting again at No10 again!  I could coin a football phrase and say 'it's a funny auld game'  but really I am not laughing.   I wonder in 4 years time from now if we will be seeing Jonny in another RWC set up, hopefully as a kicking coach maybe?  

Picture by Empics

This is not a have a go at Wilko piece, far from it.  I know more than most that Wilkinson is dedicated and solely focused on rugby and in particular England Rugby.  It has been said all before he is a model example for young ones and a hero to many and if you want someone to perform under pressure then he is your man.   Good luck to him on Saturday and yes perhaps he is the England talisman, I don't know but I do think we have to move on after this Rugby World Cup.

I am hoping Ashton and Tuilagi will shine on Saturday and for England to turn on the style, score tries and use this last game as a springboard to give confidence and belief.  Am I looking through rose tinted specs., perhaps.   If however, England fail to win on Saturday then I fear it will weigh very heavily on all the players/management going into this year's Rugby World Cup.

Ireland: G Murphy (Leicester); T Bowe (Ospreys), K Earls (Munster) G D’Arcy (Leinster), A Trimble (Ulster); R O’Gara (Munster) E Reddan (Leinster); C Healy (Leinster), J Flannery (Munster) M Ross (Leinster), D O’Callaghan (Munster), P O’Connell (Munster, capt), S Ferris (Ulster), D Wallace (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster).

Replacements: R Best (Ulster), T Court (Ulster), D Ryan (Munster), D Leamy (Munster), C Murray (Munster), J Sexton (Leinster), F McFadden (Leinster).

England: B Foden (Northampton); C Ashton (Northampton), M Tuilagi (Leicester), M Tindall (Gloucester, Captain), M Cueto (Sale); J Wilkinson (Toulon), R Wigglesworth (Saracens); A Sheridan (Sale), S Thompson (Wasps) D Cole (Leicester), L Deacon (Leicester), C Lawes (Northampton), T Croft (Leicester), J Haskell (Black Rams), N Easter (Harlequins).

Replacements: D Hartley (Northampton), M Stevens (Saracens), S Shaw (unatt), T Wood (Northampton), J Simpson (Wasps), T Flood (Leicester), D Armitage (London Irish).