Wilkinson has team backing

Chief among the World Cup winner's allies is the man inside him on the pitch, Danny Care, the Leeds-born scrum-half who is seven years Wilkinson's junior and thriving on the privilege of playing alongside a man who will go down in English rugby folklore.

Care was the focal point of England's more expressive performance against Wales on the opening day of the Six Nations three weeks ago and it is on his shoulders that the hopes of a nation rest again today.

Fly-half Wilkinson, on the other hand, has been criticised in sections of the media for his lack of play-calling on top of a rare inaccurate performance with the boot in the far-from impressive win over Italy.

But Care believes people have short memories when ignoring the impact the inspirational Wilkinson has on the team.

"It's great to be out there with him," said Care, who has spoken in the past of how he watched in awe as a youngster as Wilkinson kicked England to World Cup glory.

"He's the most experienced fly-half I've ever played with and he's done everything in the game. He doesn't stop talking to you and that's exactly what you need as a scrum-half.

"You need a fly-half shouting at you the whole time.

"Everybody is entitled to their opinion but I think Jonny is a fantastic member of the squad, he's great to be around and none of the criticism is coming from anywhere in the camp, that's for sure."

The boot was on the other foot 12 months ago when it was Care who was public enemy No 1 following his reckless charge into Marcus Horan that saw him sent to the sin-bin in England's narrow defeat in Dublin.

Since then he has reclaimed the No 9 shirt from first Harry Ellis and then Paul Hodgson and is determined not to relinquish it again through petulance.

He said: "I'm a bit wiser now. I've learned an awful lot. I know now that little mistakes at a high level can cost you the game. You have to cut them out or you won't get picked.

"It was the fact that I'd let my team down and ultimately let the country down. I learned a lot of lessons from that moment and hopefully it won't happen again.

"Discipline is something we've really tried to look at this year. Tight games can come down to one silly penalty. Hopefully, it won't be from us."

Care is becoming a pivotal pawn in Johnson's evolving England team with his game based on quick-thinking, scampering runs and quick-tap penalties.

All of which will be required again today against an Ireland side smarting from their defeat to France two weeks ago that ended their six-match unbeaten run in the Six Nations.

"We are building each week and everybody is learning more about each other, such as where they are going to make the little breaks," said Care.

"When we do click it could be very exciting to watch. When you put the rose on everybody expects you to win the game and win by 20 or 30 points, but it's such a hard tournament.

"All the games are tough and you need that bit of luck to score four or five tries.

"It's very easy to sit in the stands and say they should be throwing it around but when you are in the moment, you have to do what you think is right.

"We'd love to throw the ball around the whole game but at this level you can't do it because if teams catch you out they'll punish you. Sometimes you have to put boot to ball."

Johnson received a boost yesterday when Mark Cueto was passed fit, with the team manager under no illusions as to the size of the task.

"This is the sort of game you get involved in rugby to play in," said Johnson. "There will be a full house at Twickenham, the Grand Slam champions are coming and we have a chance to try and beat them. It is a good game to be involved in and it comes at a good time for us.

"Ireland come here as the best team from these islands, they certainly have that tag at the moment. We will have to be better than we have been to beat them."

Twickenham line-ups

England: D Armitage (London Irish), M Cueto (Sale Sharks), M Tait (Sale Sharks), R Flutey (Brive), U Monye (Harlequins), J Wilkinson (Toulon), D Care (Harlequins); T Payne (Wasps), D Hartley (Northampton), D Cole (Leicester), S Shaw (Wasps), S Borthwick (Saracens), J Haskell (Stade Francais), L Moody (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins). Replacements: L Mears (Bath), D Wilson (Bath), L Deacon (Leicester), J Worsley (Wasps), P Hodgson (London Irish), T Flood (Leicester), B Foden (Northampton).

Ireland: G Murphy (Leicester), T Bowe (Ospreys), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), G D'Arcy (Leinster), K Earls (Munster), J Sexton (Leinster), T O'Leary (Munster); C Healy (Leinster), R Best (Ulster), J Hayes (Munster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), P O'Connell (Munster), S Ferris (Ulster), D Wallace (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster). Replacements: S Cronin (Connacht), T Buckley (Munster), L Cullen (Leinster), S Jennings (Leinster), E Reddan (Leinster), R O'Gara (Munster), A Trimble (Ulster).