It is perhaps the most anticipated game of rugby ever to be played in Dublin and a real opportunity for a first-ever Grand Slam to be achieved in the City.

If that happens on Sunday you can be guaranteed that the Guinness will be flowing and the Six Nations sponsors will be a very satisfied partner.

This week brand ambassador Brian O’Driscoll was out and about in the media talking about what it means to be in this position and drawing comparison to the Grand Slam winning team that he was a part of in 2009.

“On the back of what they’ve done, the success they’ve had – winning a series in New Zealand, going undefeated in November, finishing second in last year’s Six Nations, and now a Grand Slam game this time around – it’s hard to argue with the quality of rugby they’re playing,” he said.

“Has any Irish team matched up to the consistency of performance over the last years, game in, game out? I would probably say no.”

“So, on the back of that, you could say they’re a better team but it’s very hard to compare one team with another when they’ve played more than a year or two apart.”

Comparison is of course the enemy of joy so it might then be best to celebrate the verve with which this team plays and thre adversity they overcame in Edinburgh only last weekend.

Dan Sheehan and Caelen Doris are back fit again and have been named in the starting lineup.

And the last word to O’Driscoll.

“Ireland still have to get the job done against England, and it’s not a foregone conclusion, but they’ll be strong favourites.”

The game is live on Virgin Media One with a kick-off time of 5 PM.