Flawless Ireland have just one question left to answer in England showdown

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. They might not have won the World Cup but, right now, the way they’re playing, the way they’ve been playing through the first period of this championship, they are the best team in the world.” Perhaps that is unfair on South Africa, who haven’t played a match since beating New Zealand 12-11 in the final of a competition literally designed to decide the best team in the world yet have to put up with the rugby intelligentsia declaring they’ve been surpassed, but Borthwick and Warburton’s wider point stands. open image in gallery Ireland have been unstoppable in this Six Nations When England examine their opponents’ team sheet ahead of Saturday afternoon, it’s almost impossible to find a hole. Jamison Gibson-Park is comfortably the best scrum half in the northern hemisphere when players who are not from this planet are excluded, Hugo Keenan doesn’t even require that caveat when discussing full backs, Bundee Aki’s remarkable late-career renaissance has formed a centre partnership with Robbie Henshaw so solid that a fit-again Garry Ringrose will be forced to watch the Twickenham clash on TV, James Lowe should probably be under investigation for having a cannon masquerading as a left boot and Calvin Nash’s superb performances may have Mack Hansen regretting his decision to have Farrell’s face tattooed on his leg, given that the Ireland coach might now never call him again. Can he find the right holes, can he pick the right passes and can he play a similar game that he’s played in those first three matches and be the facilitator to bring out the best in the other players?” Much has been made of the new, aggressive blitz defence system that England coach Felix Jones has been implementing since joining the set-up from the Springboks after the World Cup and, while it’s still a work in progress, there have been promising early signs.