But those ghosts were laid to rest on Sunday, as a Robshaw-inspired England edged a ferocious encounter thanks to four penalties from Owen Farrell.

And after a brutal clash at the Aviva Stadium that leaves England as the only side still capable of winning the Grand Slam, Robshaw revealed the magnitude of the result was not lost on Stuart Lancaster’s men.

"We came here to put a marker down and we will build on that," said Robshaw, who was named man of the match.

"We knew we hadn't won here in ten years and we knew why. We got it spot on.

"We are always fired up and the message was 'no backward step', whether it is little off-the-ball stuff or going after them from minute one and we did that.

"It was all about defence at the end of the day and someone like Owen kicking the goals. That performance was definitely right up there."

England looked impressive in beating Scotland 38-18 on the first weekend of the Championship, but they showed a different side to their game in Dublin.

Ireland struggled in the wet conditions but tested England’s resolve, and assistant coach Andy Farrell was delighted with the way the Red Rose handled the men in green's rough-house tactics. 

"I put that up there as an absolutely massive win, a huge win," said Farrell. "We have come to Ireland and we have played against a very good Ireland side.

“We are a team and everyone has each other’s backs. We never took a backwards step and it shows this team can roll the sleeves up and get stuck in.”