Dublin showdown can bring out the best in Johnson

Almost exactly a decade ago, Will Carling's England were obliterated by a pumped-up Irish side swept along at a rate of knots by an equally adrenalin-charged Dublin crowd. It was not an enjoyable experience. Jon Webb never played for his country again; nor did Stuart Barnes, Jeff Probyn, Wade Dooley, Mike Teague or Peter Winterbottom. Some big names tumbled into red-rose oblivion that day. The fall-out was enormous.

As a sporting anorak of considerable repute, Martin Johnson is quite aware of these 10-year-old facts. Uncomfortably aware, it is tempting to suggest. Johnson refused to be drawn on his own international future yesterday – indeed, he was seriously grumpy about the line of questioning – but he has suggested more than once that this autumn's World Cup in Australia will mark the end of a long and rewarding road at the highest level. If that turns out to be the case, Sunday's Grand Slam decider at Lansdowne Road will be the celebrated Leicester lock's final fling in Six Nations rugby.

One or two others are almost certainly in the same boat: the chances are that Neil Back and Jason Leonard will be inhabiting the past tense this time next year. This, then, is an occasion to moisten the eyes and tug at the heart-strings. It is also an occasion to put the fear of God into hardened England players who know the history of England-Irish confrontations in Dublin and understand how damnably difficult these fixtures can be.

"I would say this is the best Irish side I've encountered in terms of consistency; they're certainly better than they were when they beat us in 2001," the captain acknowledged yesterday, shortly before heading for Heathrow and the brief flight to the Emerald Isle – a business-class trip for a man with business on his mind.

"They play less often than us, too, and that is to their benefit. I've played a Powergen Cup semi-final and a tough Premiership match at Newcastle in between these Six Nations games; the Irish guys spent a quality three or four days together in training camp. There again, I don't suppose this is something we'll be talking about after the game, whatever happens."

Typical Johnson. To his great credit, he views excuses in the same way Mrs Thatcher viewed the European Union – that is to say, with suspicion bordering on complete contempt. Asked whether England's previous Grand Slam failures, at Wembley and Murrayfield and dear old Lansdowne Road, had their mitigating circumstances (injuries, bad weather, poor preparation and all the rest of it), he shook his head and replied: "In rugby, you generally get what you deserve."

Warming to the theme, he continued: "Let's go back to the Wales game at Wembley in 1999. Should we have kicked that penalty late on to put us clear? Yes. Should we have tackled Scott Gibbs and stopped that last-minute try? Of course we should.

"But in the end, the only thing worth recalling is that we lost the game, just as we lost to Scotland in 2000 and Ireland in 2001. Players tend not to point to reasons why – to people who should have been on the field but weren't, to the weather conditions. They just say: 'We were beaten.' Simple as that."

It is, however, worth mentioning that Johnson missed both the Murrayfield trauma and the defeat in Dublin 18 months ago, and that England had good reason to mourn his absence.

Having played Ranfurly Shield rugby in New Zealand when he was still learning how to shave, and been thrown into the blast-furnace environment of a Lions-All Blacks Test match with only 80 minutes of international rugby behind him, he has learned to treasure adversity and the challenge it offers. Had he been around on either occasion, it might well have been different.

Lansdowne Road represents its own challenge, a unique brand of the adversity on which Johnson thrives. "I think it's a great place to play rugby," he smiled. "It still has an individuality about it, a personality of its own. It is not a giant, impersonal, concrete stadium like so many others around the world." If he was thinking about Twickenham, which has all the charm of a ketchup-smothered plate of cold mushy peas, he resisted the temptation to say so.

Interestingly enough, one of Johnson's club colleagues could also be heard singing the praises of the oldest international venue in world rugby yesterday. Geordan Murphy, whose own individualism could play a decisive part in Sunday's outcome, suggested that Lansdowne Road was of tangible value to an Irish side seeking a first Grand Slam since 1948. He was also tickled pink at the prospect of an afternoon's rough and tumble with so many of his Leicester peers: Johnson, Graham Rowntree, Ben Kay, Neil Back and, if he gets a run off the bench, Dorian West.

"Some of the England players are my friends, but I hope they'll be very disappointed come Sunday night," said the full-back. "We'll knock one another around, bash each other up and then enjoy a drink together afterwards. It's the fun of rugby, isn't it?"

For all that, Murphy accepted that if England catch fire, it will be no fun attempting to rein them in. "They are not a side you can afford to let loose. You must keep them pinned down. Mind you, this Irish side will not go out with a defeatist attitude and will not simply attempt to contain the English. We have won 10 consecutive matches, and, while England haven't done too badly themselves, we're pretty keen on number 11."

Trevor Woodman, the mobile Gloucester prop, was last night declared fit to take his place among the England replacements. Woodman missed Wednesday's training run at the team headquarters in Surrey after complaining of back problems, but took a full part in yesterday's session. Robbie Morris, the Northampton tight-head specialist who played in the victories over Wales and Italy, can therefore concentrate on tonight's A international against the Irish at Donnybrook.