Prop idols are more than Steady Eddies

Now, as a fully paid-up member of the front-row club, I could be accused of bias but here are two men deserving of special mention.

Tight-head prop Hayes is winning his 100th cap for Ireland while Payne is providing vital experience at loose-head for England but both men have taken unfair criticism.

You do not rack up a century of Test appearances if you are an average player and I have a huge amount of respect for what Hayes has achieved for the Lions, Ireland and Munster. He embodies everything that is good about the sport and you never hear him shouting his mouth off.

Hayes gets on with his job and besides hitting thousands of scrums, he is also outstanding as a line-out lifter and shifting bodies out of the way at the ruck. Like Payne, he is a very understated guy who is happiest just getting on with his role in the team.

Payne took a lot of unfair criticism after the London Wasps scrum had trouble at Leicester last month.

The scrum is a collective effort and there are many reasons why it can malfunction. Payne took the flak, kept quiet and just got on with his trade and has never let England down.

He was falsely accused of being below par before the RBS Six Nations and his form has been impressive — he handled Wales' Adam Jones and Italy's Martin Castrogiovanni without any fuss.

Maybe Hayes and Payne fly under the radar because they are "Steady Eddies" but their team-mates know exactly how much they contribute and this will be the case again in a match both teams are desperate to win.

England want to make it three victories in a row while Ireland are aiming to prove they are still a very dangerous side following that woeful 33-10 defeat to France.

England need to discover exactly where they stand in the great rugby scheme of things and the players will get a huge confidence boost if they beat the Grand Slam champions.

I would be a lot more worried about England if they had not created try- scoring chances against Italy in Rome. However, I recognise that to get just one try wasn't good enough and Ireland are not going to allow England too many opportunities.

Nothing went Ireland's way in Paris and they will turn up at Twickenham intent on making their own good fortune. If England win, it will send them to Scotland in great shape and a step nearer a possible Grand Slam or Championship, so Steve Borthwick and his players will be only too aware of what could be on offer.

There has been a lot of focus on Jonny Wilkinson's form and how he controlled the game against Italy, where we kicked too much ball away and I want to see those players around him taking responsibility for putting England on the front foot.

Test rugby is not about one player and for England to really hit their form this needs to be a complete team performance because this is a very good Ireland side with bags of experience, epitomised by that quiet, big bear of a man — John Hayes.

Jason Leonard is supporting RBS RugbyForce, the scheme that can help your local rugby club to improve its facilities. For more information and to register for the official RBS RugbyForce weekend on 5 and 6 June, visit www.rbs6nations.com/rugbyforce