Martin Johnson will urge his England players to raise their game and their battered bodies for a final time this season on Saturday, when they go to Dublin in search of a first grand slam for eight years.
Victory would guarantee they head for the World Cup as the highest-ranked team in the northern hemisphere and with the genuine expectation of making a real impact in the tournament in New Zealand.
The team will share a reported £500,000 bonus if they beat Ireland to complete a clean sweep of wins in the RBS Six Nations Championship.
But money will be the last thing on their mind as England seek their first silverware since 2003, when Johnson himself led England to glory.
They may have to attempt the feat of a thirteenth “slam” without Mike Tindall, their captain, who limped out of the scrappy 22-16 win over Scotland at Twickenham yesterday with damaged ankle ligaments. It did not prevent Tindall from collecting the Calcutta Cup from the Princess Royal, his future mother-in-law and the patron of the Scottish Rugby Union.
Advertisement
However, he was due to have a precautionary X-ray last night to assess the severity of the injury, which happened at the end of the first half. If Tindall is unfit, Nick Easter would be expected to lead the side into their most important game since the 2007 World Cup final.
The chances of Matt Banahan, who replaced Tindall at half-time, featuring in Dublin could also be in the balance. The outside centre may be cited after appearing to smash into Kelly Brown, the Scotland No 8, with his forearm. The game had to be stopped for five minutes before Brown was carried from the pitch on a stretcher.
James Haskell, the man of the match, said all mention of the words “grand slam” had been banished by the players. “It’s a dirty word, we don’t like to talk about it,” the Stade Français flanker said. “Dublin is a final. It will be the biggest game any of us play in.”
He described yesterday’s game as one of the toughest of his life. “I couldn’t have run any more,” he said. “If the game had gone any longer, I might have passed out.”
England won unconvincingly with a try by Tom Croft, four penalty goals from Toby Flood and a fifth by Jonny Wilkinson, who also converted Croft’s score. But England made hard work of defeating Scotland, coached by Andy Robinson, who five years ago was in charge of England. Scotland have to beat Italy next Saturday to avoid the wooden spoon.
Advertisement
“It was not a bad game for us to go into next week,” Johnson, the team manager, said. “When everyone is telling you how good you are it can leak in a bit. We’ve got lots to be better at. We know we can play a lot better.”
Tindall added: “It [the grand slam] won’t be discussed. It’s just another game. Winning the game [yesterday] is the most important thing but we’re not happy with how we’ve played.”
With their vastly superior points difference of plus-67, having scored 12 tries and conceded only three, and with Ireland and France losing at the weekend, England are champions in all but name.
However, they will want to finish in style.