Both countries have under-achieved during the past six weeks to such an extent that pressure is mounting on England head coach Brian Ashton and his Ireland counterpart Eddie O'Sullivan.

England's poor Calcutta Cup display against Scotland in Edinburgh last weekend destroyed any lingering hope Ashton's men had of landing a first RBS 6 Nations crown since 2003.

Ireland, meanwhile, have paid the price for losses to France and Wales, which ended any chance of them recovering from a World Cup nightmare by securing RBS 6 Nations silverware.

Despite England’s Murrayfield display, Ashton has made just a solitary change, although it is a seismic switch in English rugby terms with Wasps youngster Danny Cipriani replacing fly-half icon Jonny Wilkinson.

Wilkinson has paid the price for what Ashton believes has been an "inconsistent" tournament by the Newcastle star's high standards, and he reverts to bench duty.

His 14 Murrayfield colleagues remain though, which amounts to a surprising vote of confidence from Ashton, who clearly believes they will produce an improved performance.

Ireland will be without injured skipper Brian O'Driscoll - Andrew Trimble and Shane Horgan forge an untried midfield partnership - while fly-half Ronan O'Gara, arguably the biggest single threat to England, takes over as captain.

And so low is English confidence that Ireland will fancy their chances of completing a third successive Twickenham win, something they last achieved between 1972 and 1976.