Expectations around the country might have ballooned following the demolition job enacted on Wales at the Aviva stadium two weeks ago, but as Joe Schmidt’s side prepare for this afternoon’s battle in Twickenham the players are talking down

Much has been made of Joe Schmidt’s exact and thorough nature of preparation and the Irish squad are taking that clinical, detached edge when looking ahead to the clash in London.

Conor Murray says Joe Schmidt’s adherence to a tough preparation regime has meant the squad haven’t had the chance to become overwhelmed by the hype.

“It’s a great position to be in. Yeah, you do think about it but Joe has put us right this week and we’re kind of knuckling down and getting down to the hard, training well and trying to get as well prepared as we can,” Murray said.

“We know how hard it will be and at the end of the day if that pulls off then great.”

Paul O’Connell echoed Murray’s sentiment, even going so far as to dismiss the idea confidence is “sky high”, saying the feelings in the camp are more “realistic”.

“There is a good buzz around the team, but I’d say the confidence, you know it’s certainly not sky high. I think it’s realistic, you know it’s going to be a big step up this weekend. It’s our first away game since Joe’s taken over.

“We’ve prepared well but we’re realistic about how good we need to be to try and win the game,” O’Connell said.

Kick off is at 4 o’clock and you can keep up to date with the action on Off the Ball