England are hell-bent on signing off another average RBS 6 Nations campaign by beating Ireland tomorrow, with wing Mark Cueto admitting: "We owe it to ourselves."
Andy Robinson’s reign as England head coach will show just a 50 per cent success rate from 16 Tests in charge if the world champions come unstuck against a Triple Crown-chasing Irish side.
Sale Sharks wing Cueto has been an ever-present during the Robinson era, which started with a 70-0 victory over Canada and also includes wins against Australia and South Africa.
However, regular defeats continue to scar Robinson’s record, and despite overseeing just nine Six Nations games, only Italy have not lowered English colours during that time in European rugby’s blue riband event.
Ireland will now look to pile fresh misery on England, who will end the tournament in an embarrassing fifth place if they lose tomorrow, Wales beat title favourites France and Scotland topple Italy at Rome’s Stadio Flaminio.
Should such a scenario unfold, it would represent a startling demise less than 18 months before England begin their World Cup defence.
But Cueto continues to accentuate the positives as England look to bounce back from their humiliating 31-6 loss against France in Paris last Sunday.
"There is so much talent in this squad, the lads don’t deserve to go out and play the way we did," said Cueto, recalling England’s heaviest championship reversal for 20 years.
"It is down to us, but the amount of potential and ability in the squad is unbelievable. We owe it to ourselves, individually and collectively, and we owe it to the management to go out there and perform.
"The supporters want to see performances, results, tries and all the rest of it. Effectively, there is not a massive difference between the players and fans - we both want exactly the same thing."
"It is a massive test for us," Cueto added. "Ireland are a strong, well-balanced side.
"They’ve got a big pack which can provide the platform for the likes of Ronan O’Gara to kick to the corners and relieve and exert pressure, while Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy and Shane Horgan give them balance out wide.
"We are under no illusions about how difficult it is going to be. There are no easy games at this level, and whether it is by one point on Saturday, we will take a win."
