Six Nations Diary, Ireland v England: This is a big game alright, but it's important that we don't treat it differently from any other game.

The levels of professionalism within the squad are such that the same preparation goes into every Test match, and that's the way I'm viewing this one.

There will be something special about it come kick-off but it's important that we don't lose focus about what's at stake, and that's another win. Fellas will be up for it; that's taken for granted. It's a question of executing. We haven't played at home for a while, and you don't know what that feeling is like until you run out there again. There's no bigger game than England at home, especially after we've won our first two matches, which sets this up as a crunch encounter.

You can never underestimate the role the crowd can play. If the crowd are up for it and the team give them something to shout about, then it makes it so hard for the opposition; especially so if it's an Irish crowd. When Munster are up for it and the crowd are up for it at Thomond, it's very rare when Munster under perform. With four times the amount of people in Lansdowne Road, it should make for a four times better atmosphere.

It's been a strange week because of the snow. It really hasn't featured since we've become professionals. But we've trained well, and it was good to get that feel of Lansdowne Road and that home buzz.

We had training on the Monday after the Scottish game and then a double session on the Tuesday. I have to confess I went to Westlife last Friday night. I took Jess to it. We got into the car and she thought we were going for a meal, but we ended up going to the concert.

The minute you get into the shower after the Scottish game, you're already thinking about the English match. It's always there. That's the next challenge. It's not eating away at you, but it's something you're looking forward to. I practised my kicking - a little bit of everything - with Christian Cullen last Saturday, and then did goalkicking on my own last Sunday.

We reassembled on Sunday night, trained on Monday morning in Naas - the pitch was covered in snow - followed by a gym session in the afternoon. On Tuesday morning we trained in Terenure, and had another gym session in the afternoon. We trained in snow again at Terenure on Wednesday, had a rest in the afternoon and Christy Moore came in later to play for the squad. His brother Luka Bloom played along with him and they wrote a brillian song about The Bull (John) Hayes. It was a fantastic night.

The advantage of playing at home meant we could practise our kicking at Lansdowne Road on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as well as a good training run yesterday. It was interesting to read those kicking stats which had me at just under 70 per cent, but the more kicks you take the harder it is, and I know my ratio has gone up this season. In Test matches this season it's been 18 out of 23, which is 78 per cent.

You can't beat hard work and the benefits of expert coaching, in getting the angles right. I have a very consistent set-up now, and I feel I'm in the same spot for every kick. Sometimes you need that expertise to point that out to you. It's hard to believe, but every kick is the same, whether it's in front of the posts or on the touchline, although that partially depends on conditions. And if you put Lansdowne Road into the equation that can make it a bit trickier.

It's a more open stadium, whereas usually the wind has little effect. Last season in the home games against Wales and Italy the conditions were so windy you couldn't pass the ball, never mind kick it. But this season it's gone well. You can get too carried away with stats as well though. Basically, there's some kicks you just shouldn't miss; that's always the way I've looked at it.

And there's so much more to a kicking game than goalkicking. I was made aware of that by the Italian game, so it's important that you take the whole package.

It's good to have Drico (Brian O'Driscoll) back. He's a class player, full stop. There's no substitute for it. You either have it or you don't, and he has it. There's very little in his game that he's not the best at, be it poaching, defence or attack. He can even throw in a dodgy spiral now and then - a worm burner.

I'll be doing most of my chatting with Shaggy (Shane Horgan), and I'm used to that. He's grown with every game and nothing surprises me as to how good he is. I'm looking forward to playing with him. It's amazing how things pan out. England could easily have two wins from two. There are many strengths to their game. There hasn't been much talk of the likes of Lewsey and Robinson, but they can cut you apart in one second. It's important we start well, and we haven't done that in the last two games.

It's a huge honour to be winning my 50th cap for Ireland. The 19th of the second, 2000 is a date I'll never forget. Fifty caps in five years isn't bad. But, to be honest, it's not something I'm giving a lot of thought to. There's enough at stake. I don't want it to be a distraction. It'll be something nice to reflect on afterwards, but only if we win.

We will have to play the way we did against South Africa, with raw aggression and hunger. I think first-up tackles will be crucial. If they break the line, you're probably looking at seven points. That's how dangerous they are, so it's important we're defensively very sound.