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27th January 2019
10:51am GMT

"Sean O'Brien is a gem. It's games like this... this is what he stands for."
And so it proved. O'Brien, teamed up with Peter O'ahony and CJ Stander, tore into the English and starved them of time and space. O'Mahony dismantled the English lineout and O'Brien was a demon at the breakdown, with Iain Henderson scoring the game's only try in a 13-9 victory.
Henderson is out of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations opener but Joe Schmidt may start with that O'Mahony-O'Brien-Stander back row combination again.
One thing is certain in his mind, home advantage will be a massive boost to Ireland's chances. O'Gara says:
"It's not really 15 against 15. It's 15 against 50,000. The power of the supporters should never be underestimated, especially for our country. That's what separates us. There's an incredible bond between [Irish] players and supporters." He continued, "This is a weekend on which you get measured and they won't be found wanting... It'll be a sad day if England out-desire Ireland in the Aviva."Powerful words from O'Gara, who will be on punditry duty for Virgin Media for the February 2 game. *Updated from article first posted on March 16, 2017
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