Johnson is one of the few people in the England camp to have experienced victory in Ireland having captained the side the last time they won in Dublin.

That was back in 2003, also in a Grand Slam decider, but Ireland have experience of spoiling the party when they denied England the slam two years earlier thanks to a try from Keith Wood.

“We all know it's an opportunity to win a Grand Slam but if we start badly for the first 10 minutes that will feel a long way away,” said Johnson who was out injured for the 2001 defeat.

“The guys have had nine games this season and every one seems to have been bigger than the last.

"That's great. We want to go out with a big finale and a big win. We know what's at stake and that's great. We've worked hard to get there and we think we deserve to be here.

"Contrary to popular belief we have never banned anything in this squad, certainly not talking about Grand Slams. We couldn't win the Grand Slam in any other game, but we can in this one."