Ireland vs Wales: Welsh hope Tomas Francis can be the answer to tight-head prayers

At this stage of the game, everyone is watching everybody with hawk-like intensity. England play Ireland in an important World Cup warm-up fixture at Twickenham next weekend – a match that could send their confidence levels into meltdown if they fail to improve on the lamentable effort in Paris seven days ago – and are already half-thinking about the must-win pool meeting with Wales in a month’s time.