England missing dark arts to trouble Irish

Borthwick's men know they must put on a show of strength to restore pride but don't have the bad guys to spoil hosts' big day

- Nick Purewal

ENGLAND’S Aviva Stadium mission tomorrow would be sorely boosted by the addition of a clutch of archetypal bad guys.

Steve Bortwick’s earnest Red Rose men will set out to spoil Ireland’s Grand Slam party in Dublin, yet they will do so without any recognised Test-match villains.

Every classic England era in the international game has been punctuated by a nucleus of central casting spoilers, who know just how to ruin an opponent’s day.

From Wade Dooley through to Martin Johnson, all the best England teams have boasted a number of tight-forwards who seem almost entirely focused on niggle. Such absolute head-wreckers could ruin the opposition’s day, while at the same time keeping their own cool and helping England take control.

For all the quality in the current England ranks, there appears no one able to fill that brief in the classic style — and head coach Borthwick’s side are all the poorer because of it.

Make no mistake, Ireland are rightly streets ahead of the rest of the world and fully deserving of their global No1 status. Andy Farrell has whipped Ireland into some shape, while at the same time removing the edge of niggle and panic that had beset the final days of the Joe Schmidt era.

However, even all that progress cannot stop tomorrow’s hosts having the odd twitch about a chance to make history by completing a Grand Slam in Dublin.

And England ought to have several forwards nasty enough, and emotionally intelligent enough, to pounce on any ounce of fear.