Any casual sports fan who has only tuned in for the last week could be forgiven for thinking that the respective backlines at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday will see very little of the ball.
Eddie Jones' side come to Dublin looking to end Ireland's longest unbeaten run at home in the competition. It will stretch to 15 games if Joe Schmidt's title defence gets off to a positive start, though it is worth noting that the visitors were the last side to leave the Aviva Stadium with the points back in 2013.
Jones stated last week he expects a "brutal" match, a reference to physicality rather than the unflattering observations made this week by his defence coach John Mitchell.
With former Ireland scrum-half Peter Stringer saying that England are in fact the exponents of "brutal" physicality, utility back Keith Earls says such an approach doesn't phase him and just about every player questioned has referenced the word battle.
The respective packs are rearing to get stuck into each other, though the makeup of the English backrow won't be known until later in the week. Brad Shields is in a race to be fit, Mark Wilson could get the nod over Courtney Lawes at 6 and the rampaging Billy Vunipola is likely to return at number 8.
Not surprisingly, CJ Stander, who is closing on three years since his man-of-the-match Ireland debut against Wales, is relishing the prospect of what lies in store.
"We know it is going to be a massive battle, especially up front," he told RTÉ Sport. "England is a team that has really stepped up in the physicality side."
For all the talk of direct rugby, Stander believes the game intelligence of some of the forwards was evident in the recent win over South Africa and narrow defeat to New Zealand last year.
"If you look back over November and those games, they actually spread the ball quite well.
"They have a lot of power in their squad and those threats on the edges, they scored good tries in the November Series, and that is something we need to look at."
The potential match-up against Vunipola is one of the main attractions for onlookers this weekend, and Stander knows that the Saracens man is much more than simply a man to bash his way over the gainline.
"He is a power athlete," the Munster backrower explains. "He has footwork to him as well and soft hands. A lot of people think he is just going to run over people, but he is actually an all rounder. If you look at what he has done for Saracens this year, he is playing quite well.
"It's a good match-up."
Whether Sean O'Brien will be joining him at any point in the backrow remains to be seen. The Leinster man has played just once since October, managing almost an hour against Wasps in Europe just over a week ago.
Whether he can force his way past Josh van der Flier for a starting berth at openside flanker, or even among the replacements, remains to be seen. Stander however has no concerns over O'Brien's match fitness.
"Sean is one of those players who can pull on a scrum cap and jump straight back into the deep end," he said. "I think he was grateful to get 55 minutes [against Wasps]. There is as standard expected here of all the players if you are selected you give 100% for the jersey and I think he is a great man to do that."
Champions Ireland are the team to beat, but with England first up, a visit to a rejuvenated Scottish side and a trip to Cardiff to conclude the campaign, simply matching last year's performances may not be enough.
Schmidt is demanding more, and the players demand it of themselves.
"We just want to concentrate on what we can do and what we can improve on. We just want to improve on last year and keep improving as players and learn from our mistakes."
Follow Ireland v England via our liveblog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the News Now app, or listen to live national radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
