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Paul O' Connell fears England could be set for a big performance against Ireland

IRELAND COACH Paul O' Connell feels that Ireland need to be 'better and a huge improvement is needed when Ireland play England on the 12th of March.

Ireland lost to France 30-24 and followed up that result with a thumping of Italy, but it was never a contest after Italy were reduced to 13 men.

Both sides are looking to catch leaders France at the top of the table.

O' Connell knows a thing or two about playing England and knows how tough it will be for the current Irish side.

The last trip to Twickenham ended in a 24-12 Twickenham loss in the 2020 championship. England have beaten Ireland four times on the spin.

Ireland's forwards coach was speaking at the opening training session in the Aviva Stadium on Thursday and said:

Dublin , Ireland - 10 July 2021; Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

"It's a very tough place to go to and win," he said, predicting that the Red Rose are "on the verge of a big performance."

"We’ve had some tough experiences in Twickenham in recent times and that’s because England are such a good side. They are so physical and so well-coached.

"It’s something that some guys have to acknowledge that they haven’t a lot of experience of, due to Covid - there isn’t a lot of experience of these away games in hostile environments where the opposition might get on top of you for a little while.

"And then the crowd might get behind them because they’re getting on top of you.

"Sometimes you just have to acknowledge that's going to happen and use your smarts to ride it out, to try and get back on top.

"I've no doubt that there'll be a period like that in Twickenham. It will be exciting and interesting to see how our players react."

"England are just bubbling," O'Connell also warned.

"Every part of what we do needs to be done better."

Ireland will miss Andrew Porter, as the Leinster Prop has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament with an ankle issue.

O' Connell has backed loosehead veterans Cian Healy and Dave Kilcoyne to fill the void.

O' Connell is a big fan of Healy

It's incredible. He’s a little bit of a secret trainer, Cian. He’s very much into his recovery.

"Some of the ways Andy wants to play is a bit of a challenge for some of the older guys who have been around for a while, and Cian has been very good at figuring it out and hanging in there."