Rugby/Six Nations Championship: Geordan Murphy, the Ireland winger who will be thoroughly familiar with Saturday's opponents, writes Johnny Watterson

A constantly revisited theme within the Ireland squad is the ability of any player to step up to the plate. Another is the importance of performance, what it means to lose, what it means to win.

Coach Eddie O'Sullivan put it succinctly on Tuesday when asked about this Saturday's match in Twickenham. "The players know the consequences of playing badly against England," he said. "And they know the possibilities if they play well."

One player who acutely understands the knock-on effect of a flat Irish performance and its possibilities is right wing Geordan Murphy. The Leicester player has stepped up to the plate in an almost seamless transition following injuries to Shane Horgan's heel and ribs, which have kept him frustratingly out of contention.

At Welford Road, Murphy is hamstring deep in team-mates who are English international players, now the opposition. One of those, England right wing Austin Healey, is a player he is likely to knock heads with. It will be the first time at international level but an experience that may have all the comforts of familiarity.

"I actually get on well with Austin," says Murphy. "I'm one of the few who do. He's quite an unusual character. I find him very amusing. We were having a bit of a banter during the week. He had automatically picked himself for the team and he was promising big things.

"Austin is a confident player. He has no problem telling anyone at Leicester, no matter who they are, Martin Johnson or Josh Kronfeld, legends in their own right, that he should be picked and how good he thinks he is. That's admirable.

"He's created a bad reputation for himself from the fact that he's not afraid to shoot his mouth off, but in fairness he's backed it up on the field. There can be no doubt, whether you like him or not, he's an exceptional player."

The English players also happen to believe Murphy is the real deal. The clamour when he was not selected for Ireland in previous matches was more deafening in Britain than on this side of the water. Those who saw him play Premiership rugby on a regular basis and watched as he was selected for the Premiership side of the season for the second successive time found it difficult to fathom Ireland's willingness to be casual about his ability for so long.

Murphy heard the calls, but the issue won't be a distraction. "A lot of the guys calling for my inclusion in the Irish side were Leicester team-mates and stuff," he says. "They were always going to have a vested interest. Yeah, I suppose it is good those guys see I'd have ability to trouble them. It would give you confidence but it is not something I've thought about."

It will only be Murphy's third Six Nations Championship start, having begun the games against Wales this month and Scotland before Christmas. The England match will only be his eighth cap, but the signs are that the winger is growing into the position.

"I'm used to playing against all of the players that will line up on the English side. But we identified already that they do have that something extra when they pull on the white shirt. It is not like the Premiership or the European Cup, it's another level, so you've got to double efforts and perform on that level.

"I definitely believe that step up is there in the Irish team now. I think we can sustain it for an entire match. It is the first time in a while that we have been putting decent performances together in the big games."

Not usually a nervous player, Murphy will feel nerves in London, though not enough to scramble his thoughts, rather sharpen his senses. His style and off-pitch manner is unfussy and capable, and he's one of the team's natural athletes.

Having played in several positions for Leicester, including outhalf as a replacement for Joel Stransky, centre and full back, Murphy is more the traditionally quick and elusive winger than Horgan. He will play a different role to the more physically dominant player he replaces.

"I won't be nervous, I mean, I'm not generally before a match. I mean, I'll definitely be nervous, but, you know, not that nervous," he explains.

Healey will probably play right wing, but given the player's cheeky ability to pop up anywhere on the pitch, he is bound to be a significant irritant to the entire Ireland team. Everyone will want to hit him at least once in a tackle. But even that can be difficult.

"Austin has a lot of talents, too many to say he is going to do this or he's going to do that. That I might have seen a few of them before might be an added advantage to me. But one-on-one, no I don't think I'd be able to tell which side he'd go off, but if it came to that he wouldn't know what I was going to do either.

"I can't tell what shape the match will take. I fully expect England to run the ball, but they've also Jonny Wilkinson, who can turn the back three.

"It is tough not to be optimistic about it when we've had a win like last week. But in fairness that was a different game and there is no point in getting too excited about it."

It should be Murphy's most significant match for Ireland. In squad-speak it is an opportunity. "A few cheeky caps" as he described them last year, against Canada and the USA, a Test against Japan and another run against Romania, not forgetting two tries against Wales, all add up to bankable experience, but England at Twickenham is of a different magnitude.

As O'Sullivan says, a match of consequences and possibilities.

The venue for Munster's Heineken Cup semi-final against Castres (to be played on April 27th at 3.0 p.m.) will be announced today.