Eddie O'Sullivan's men registered a stunning 19-13 victory over England in last year's tournament, ending their 22-Test unbeaten run on home soil - a sequence which stretched back to the 1999 World Cup.

The Irish were magnificent at Twickenham - O'Connell and Malcolm O'Kelly cleaned-up at the set-piece but the stand-in skipper is not expecting more easy pickings on Sunday, despite evidence against Wales and France indicating that England are still struggling in this department.

''Last year England had a few crooked throws and a few missed calls. That, coupled with us stealing two or three of their balls, made it look like we had done a big job at their line-out,'' said O'Connell.

''We had done well but they suffered a few system errors and I can't see those being repeated on Sunday.

''The mistakes of last year are not going to happen again. Days like that are always around the corner if you're not clicking at 100 per cent.''

'He added: ''England are a very good side - they only just lost to Wales and France. There aren't many weaknesses in their game.

''Maybe their pack has lost a bit of experience with guys like Martin Johnson and Neil Back retiring, but that's the only thing missing. It's going to be a very tight match - only a few scores in it.''

The satisfaction of winning at Twickenham was all the more acute for those players humiliated 42-6 by England in the 2003 Grand Slam decider - a match O'Connell vividly remembers.

He said: ''It was 13-6 when I came off the bench and 42-6 when it was finished. I hope there's not a connection there! But we've developed since that match - we've picked up a little more experience.

''You only realise the longer you're in the game how much experience counts for. You think when you're young you can do things as well as the guys who have been there for 10 years, but it's not true.

''We've picked up experience at international level and a lot of us know what it's like to win big games at provincial level.''