Joe Worsley will be hoping to follow up his Man of the Match display against Wales in Ireland © Getty Images

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England travel to face Ireland at Croke Park next Saturday with Martin Johnson's men looking to lay to rest the ghost of their 43-13 loss at the ground in 2007.

England were blown away that day by an Irish side determined to see off their oldest rivals at the home of Irish sport, with Girvan Dempsey, David Wallace, Shane Horgan and Isaac Boss all crossing the whitewash in a victory celebrated long into the night by a vociferous home crowd.

One man who will likely be on duty for England in Dublin as he was in 2007 is Wasps flanker Joe Worsley, who made a superb comeback to the international stage with a tough-tackling display during England's 23-15 loss to Wales at the Millennium Stadium on February 14.

Worsley's selection on the English openside was regarded by some as a backwards step, with the youthful Steffon Armitage relegated from the squad after making his debut only the week before, but he proved his doubters wrong with a Man of the Match showing. Shepherding Wales' twin juggernauts Andy Powell and Jamie Roberts, Worsley lead by example and helped England forge some encouraging steel in defence. Following their improvement he is mindful of the task ahead in Ireland but puts little stock in their 2007 loss.

"We didn't really turn up that day," he said. "It was a massive historic occasion, I'm not sure that it got to us but we just didn't play well on the day. All I remember is that it was a fantastic stadium and hopefully this time we can produce a game of rugby worthy of it.

"We showed some improvements last week and we've got to continue on that path. We've got to improve as a pack and then we've got a chance. We need to continue that upward path, if we stay still or move backwards then we'll have no chance because Ireland are up there with Wales as favourites for this tournament."

With England showing marked improvement against Wales following the dour spectacle of their opening win over Italy and Ireland stuttering to victory over Italy last time out, the red-rose brigade will have a little more optimism in the tank despite their development as a side still being at an early stage.

One thing that should worry England manager Martin Johnson is his side's alarming propensity for collecting yellow cards. They picked up two more, one for fly-half Andy Goode and another for centre Mike Tindall, during the Wales game after six in two games against New Zealand and Italy. Their disciplinary problems are beginning to look like something of a badge of dishonour.

"It's about getting experience at international level and knowing how far they can push things before they get these yellow cards," said Worsley of his younger team-mates. "Tindall is quite an experienced man, his situation was a bit unlucky and a bit harsh, but sometimes these things happen. We don't want to get a reputation for it as one sin-binning can really effect you badly."

Johnson and forwards coach John Wells will have their hands full as they prepare the side to face an Ireland back-row that has been on fire in recent weeks. Leinster's Jamie Heaslip, Munster openside David Wallace and Ulster's Stephen Ferris have impressed as a quick and confrontational unit, one that Worsley will have to front up to in Dublin.

"I've played against them all at some point in the past and all three of those guys are really good players," he said. "I'll have my hands full because they are fantastic players. As for how I'm going to deal with them exactly, that would be foolish to reveal."

As for Johnson, he has a week in which to prepare his side for another passionate atmosphere. In the build up to their showdown with Wales certain areas of the media speculated that Johnson did not have the skills to motivate a side without dusting off his boots but Worsley, who played with Johnson at international level, maintains that this is not the case.

"He's always been a very good talker," he said. "He doesn't open up a lot to the public but when it comes to the players her really tells us how things are and uses his experience. He's a very inspirational man."

Joe Worsley was speaking on behalf of O2, sponsor of England Rugby and The Big Tackle with Austin Healey. To find out more and view exclusive footage visit www.itv.com/bigtackle.