Captain James Ryan admits there may be nervousness amongst Ireland’s returning stars as they bid to generate World Cup momentum by producing a press release show in opposition to England.
The bulk of Andy Farrell’s first-choice gamers are poised for his or her first Test appearances since clinching a Six Nations Grand Slam in opposition to Steve Borthwick’s facet in March.
Head coach Farrell has modified his full beginning XV for Saturday’s conflict after an experimental facet stuttered previous Italy a fortnight in the past to present his most important males much-needed motion forward of the upcoming event in France.
Leinster lock Ryan, who will skipper his nation within the absence of the suspended Johnny Sexton, insists the competition is much from a warm-up match and feels the world’s top-ranked nation should “bring our A-game”.
“I think there’s a bit of nerves heading into this game,” stated the 27-year-old.
“It’s the first game for a lot of us of this summer and playing England at home, there’s always a little bit of pressure.
“Lads are keen to make a statement with selection and everything coming up.
“This has never been a warm-up game for us. It’s been very much a Test match, that’s the way we’ve prepared for this game all week.
“It’s obviously a lot of the guys’ first appearance of the summer, so it’s going to be tough but we’re not going to make any excuses.
“We need to make sure that we take a step forward for the group and we put in a performance that will give us confidence with the World Cup coming around the corner quickly. We’ll definitely need to bring our A-game.”
Ryan watched from the sidelines as Ireland overcame Italy 33-17 on August 5.
Farrell described that disjointed show as a “bit clunky” earlier than taking his squad away to Portugal for a week-long coaching camp.
Ryan believes the Englishman is hanging the suitable steadiness between arduous work and making certain gamers “aren’t burning out”.
“He is able to create that environment where people are really switched on but we also get windows where we can relax and chill out for a bit as well,” he stated.
“That’s going to be huge coming into France as well, spending a lot of time together, a lot more hopefully than we even would on a summer tour.
“Making sure lads aren’t burning out by being too on all the time is going to be important.”