The days when an England captain could defy the President of Ireland and risk a political controversy have long gone. The arrogance that comes with being the dominant force in Northern Hemisphere rugby has evaporated, threatening to turn tomorrow's Six Nations clash with Ireland into a damage limitation exercise for Martin Johnson and his fragmented team.

Six years ago, Johnson stood his ground and refused all requests to move his team to the other side of the halfway line for the red-carpet presentation to Irish president Mary McAleese. The crowd booed, officials waved their arms in exasperation and Johnson glared. The England players stood shoulder to shoulder with their captain and the match was effectively won in that moment.

England were a team to be feared, confident in their place in the world game and possessing that edge of arrogance associated with the best.

And with Johnson as captain, England were a cohesive unit, able to bring in players without weakening the threat because everyone understood their roles. They clinched the Grand Slam in Ireland that day and eight months on they were crowned world champions.

Johnson, as fledgling team manager, sends his players out against Grand Slam-hopefuls at Croke Park with question marks over their ability to be anything more than also-rans in the Championship after a stuttering win over Italy and an improved showing while losing 23-15 to Wales. Johnson and England are at the start of their journey to the 2011 World Cup and remain a team of individuals rather than a collective unit.

The two tries scored in Cardiff were not down to team work but owed their success to individual brilliance. Riki Flutey, who is starting to bring his London Wasps form to the Test arena, and Delon Armitage made a difference by backing their own skills against a side operating on a different level.

England reduced the gap on Wales through brief moments of individual flair and sheer dogged determination not to be lambs to the slaughter.

Their cause was undermined by two more yellow cards and, having collected 11 in their last eight Test matches, England are head and shoulders above the rest of rugby in the disciplinary list of shame. Their response this week has been to castigate Wales for putting pre-match pressure on referee Jonathan Kaplan in a bid to win sympathy from another South African, Craig Joubert, who is in charge at Croke Park. The International Rugby Board yesterday dismissed England's claims that they were given a rough deal by Kaplan.

So, instead of blaming others, England need to look within because that's where the answer to this bad disciplinary record lies. As Keith Wood, the former Ireland captain, said: "England could start by not getting off their feet at the break down."

It's the same observation being made by the match referees and comes down to a collective failure by England to play with the official rather than incurring his wrath. Opposition teams seem to recognise what the referee is looking to penalise and adjust their work at the contact situation to avoid penalties.

England appear to forget this under pressure, resorting to desperate measures to stem the opposition attacks. Johnson's men were more effective in defence against Wales because they showed welcome flexibility, standing Joe Worsley in the outside-half channel to knock back the ball carrier.

It was a masterstroke, one that proved just how destructive the Wasps flanker can be at Test level when given a specific role. Ireland will have analysed every aspect of that improved English defence and, in Brian O'Driscoll, have a threat much wider out, one that can splinter any midfield. The captain is coming to the end of his glittering career and is desperate to finish with a Grand Slam to stand alongside Ireland's last triumph, in 1948.

Ireland have been castigated in recent years for not winning the titles their talents deserve and the pressure often told on O'Driscoll and his men.

However, under new head coach Declan Kidney there is a different edge to a team who still rely on nine men of Munster to provide their core values. Ireland, powered by Munster forwards, and with O'Gara at outside-half and O'Driscoll running the midfield, are Slam contenders.

By contrast England, with a collection of individuals up front, Toby Flood trying to nail down the No10 role and a poor disciplinary record, are still an unknown quantity.

That is why England need to play with 15 men for the entire match and give Ireland an early bloody nose to have any chance of avoiding a repeat of their 43-13 beating at Croke Park two years ago.