Ireland have a point to prove as they embark on their Six Nations campaign with a tough encounter against favourites England on Saturday.

Their disastrous World Cup campaign when they crashed out to Argentina in the quarter final qualifier stage will be at the back of their minds as they take the field against a well-drilled England team.

Irish coach Warren Gatland is pinning his hopes on his side's battling qualities, traits best exemplified by Munster in their European Cup campaign.

Underachievement has been Ireland's trademark with the Twickenham visitors snatching just two wins in the last three seasons of Five Nations rugby - both against Wales.

New dawns are almost as frequent as the change over in coaching personnel.

Warren Gatland - one of three Kiwi coaches in the tournament - has the advantage over his predecessors in that he is the first Ireland coach to have complete control over all matters concerning the team.

Gatland sees the England game as his side's first rung on the ladder of success.

"This is a chance for us to go out there and I suppose re-establish some confidence and also play well," he said.

"That's the important thing. We need to get a little bit of respect back in the jersey and to play well."

His words were echoed by captain Keith Wood: "There is a certain amount of pressure. We know we have to perform.

"We are aiming to produce a better brand of rugby, a winning brand if possible."

England coach Clive Woodward is still smarting after their worst World Cup showing for 12 years.

And losing last year's Grand Slam by a single point thanks to a last-gasp Welsh try is undoubtedly seared into the side's memory.

"Whatever way you dress things up, the World Cup was a blow," said former captain Lawrence Dallaglio.

"But the new squad is full of excitement and the enthusiasm is building. There is a feeling that we need to put a few wrongs right."

Such underachievement is neither expected nor tolerated by the England faithful and heavy criticism was a contributing factor in Woodward's decision to leave his job in the summer.

But the former international centre will be desperate to make his mark by claiming the inaugural Six Nations championship.

England have had a troublesome run-up to their first match, not least because of speculation over Woodward's future and injuries to key players like captain Martin Johnson, fellow lock Danny Grewcock, scrum-half Kyran Bracken and wing Dan Luger.

One thing the home side does have is strength in depth and resources that dwarf those of their opponents from over the water.

Two highly-promising 21-year-olds, wing Ben Cohen and centre Mike Tindall, have been called into the side, while the captaincy rests in the extremely capable hands of scrum-half Matt Dawson.

The absence of England's first-choice second row is ameliorated somewhat by the quality of their replacements, Garath Archer and Simon Shaw, who are both senior internationals and have been playing some outstanding club rugby.

Ireland's forwards are again their main strength, but there are some rays of hope in their weak backline of recent years with the inclusion of centre Brian O'Driscoll and scrum-half Tom Tierney.

Even given the Green Machine's unparalleled ability to harry and frustrate opponents with their frenetic style of play, it will almost certainly take a lot more than that to beat a well-drilled England who are looking to play a more "imaginative" and expansive style of rugby.

Last year, Ireland faced England with optimism following a hard-fought victory over Wales. Those hopes were disappointed as the mighty all-white pack crushed the Irish challenge and handed them a 27-15 defeat.

Wood's men have not beaten their Saturday opponents since 1994 and there is little on paper to suggest this weekend will buck the trend.

Teams

Ireland

15 C O'Shea, 14 J Bishop, 13 B O'Driscoll, 12- M Mullins, 11 K Maggs; 10 D Humphreys, 9 T Tierney; 8 A Foley, 7 K Dawson, 6 D O'Cuinneagain, 5 M O'Kelly, 4 R Casey, 3 P Wallace, 2 K Wood (capt), 1 P Clohesy.

England

15 M Perry, 14 A Healey, 13 M Tindall, 12 M Catt, 11 B Cohen, 10 J Wilkinson, 9 M Dawson (capt), 1 J Leonard, 2 P Greening, 3 P Vickery, 4 G Archer, 5 S Shaw, 6 R Hill, 7 N Back, 8 L Dallaglio.