Two teams in search of a palliative meet at Twickenham today, although neither England nor Ireland will let the marketing men’s phrase “Super Saturday” pass their lips. This RBS Six Nations Championship has been anything but super for the players from both countries, still less their head coaches.

A year ago, with Brian O’Driscoll clutching the newly minted triple crown trophy, everything was sweetness and light for Eddie O’Sullivan: a four-year contract extension loomed and the Ireland head coach was favourite to take the Lions to South Africa next year. Now O’Driscoll has fallen prey to a damaged hamstring and O’Sullivan’s future, after a sullied World Cup and a mediocre Six Nations, does not seem so bright.

Brian Ashton’s England team at least made a better fist of the World Cup, but they have come up significantly short of Six Nations honours, to the extent that Ashton, who was confirmed in his role of head coach by the RFU only three months ago, is deemed to be under threat. If so, he is not letting the strain show. “I’m perfectly happy with how I operate,” he said at Twickenham yesterday. “No one has spoken to me about anything at all, it’s all pure speculation.

“I don’t feel pressure. I think people around me do — I’m talking about family, etc — but I don’t, and I won’t do, either. I’m comfortable with how I work as a coach. I know this business is results-driven, but if anyone had been in camp with us, they would have seen a significant amount of progress from a group of players working really hard to move our game forward.”

That is the most disappointing aspect for Ashton: that, regardless of the losses to retirement and injury since England reached the World Cup final last October, this championship has not indicated a team who have taken their game to a higher level. Instead, he has been accused of conservative selection. That selection could yet end the Six Nations as runners-up, which, after the past four seasons, would be an achievement, although victory pure and simple over Ireland would do.

After all, Ireland have won their past two games at Twickenham and the past four in all; if they win today, they will equal their longest run of success against England, from 1972-76, and in Ronan O’Gara they have a player capable of pulling England every which way about the ground. Against that, their back division has not performed much better than England’s, the forwards having scored four of their eight tries.

England’s pack have to lift themselves after the drab display against Scotland at Murrayfield last weekend. “We’re playing for personal pride and the people we have let down, coaches, supporters,” Nick Easter, the Harlequins No 8, said.

It should help that they are back at Twickenham after three matches on the road and Ashton spoke of the change in atmosphere when the players trooped into their familiar environment for yesterday’s final run at the ground. “It’s a long time since we have been at home,” he said. “We have a fantastic bunch of supporters who followed us around the World Cup, to Rome and Paris, and some poor guys went to Murrayfield. They’re expecting a big performance.”

Given that the only — only? — difference in the starting XV is at fly half, where Danny Cipriani has replaced Jonny Wilkinson, the burden on Cipriani’s shoulders is huge. There is the direct comparison with the veteran O’Gara to begin with and the need to direct as raw a back division as England have fielded for many a year.

It is a lot to ask of a 20-year-old who will have David Wallace breathing down his neck all afternoon, an international novice as his scrum half in Richard Wigglesworth and a 22-year-old inside centre, Toby Flood, who is growing into his role. “I don’t believe in pressure too much, it affects the way you play,” Cipriani said. “I need to try and control the back line, control the forwards, make sure there’s a link between forwards and backs.”

Cipriani may care to know that 20 years ago, when he was four months old, England had suffered a similarly poor championship, losing at home to Wales and in France. They returned to Twickenham for the final match against Ireland and won 35-3. Chris Oti — another Wasps player — scored three tries and, it is claimed, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot was born as England’s anthem.

England: I Balshaw (Gloucester); P Sackey (London Wasps), J Noon (Newcastle Falcons), T Flood (Newcastle Falcons), L Vainikolo (Gloucester); D Cipriani (London Wasps), R Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), L Mears (Bath), P Vickery (London Wasps, captain), S Shaw (London Wasps), S Borthwick (Bath), T Croft (Leicester), M Lipman (Bath), N Easter (Harlequins). Replacements: G Chuter (Leicester), M Stevens (Bath), B Kay (Leicester), J Haskell (London Wasps), P Hodgson (London Irish), J Wilkinson (Newcastle Falcons), M Tait (Newcastle Falcons).

Ireland: G Murphy (Leicester); T Bowe (Ulster), A Trimble (Ulster), S Horgan (Leinster), R Kearney (Leinster); R O'Gara (Munster, captain), E Reddan (London Wasps); M Horan (Munster), R Best (Ulster), J Hayes (Munster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), P O'Connell (Munster), D Leamy (Munster), D Wallace (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster). Replacements: B Jackman (Leinster), T Buckley (Munster), M O'Driscoll (Munster), S Easterby (Llanelli Scarlets), P Stringer (Munster), P Wallace (Ulster), L Fitzgerald (Leinster).

Referee: S Dickinson (Australia).