It would be a mistake, however, to tell Ireland centre Michelle Claffey that this is a contest between the haves and have nots. Or that this is just the start of a divergence in standards between the professionals and the amateurs in the 15-a-side Test arena.

“I don’t think so,” Claffey said. “We have the right training, the right strength and conditioning and so on. Yes, we have our jobs but we also have our training elements which we are fully committed to.

“There’s no point in saying we’re not (committed); we are training so hard and doing what we can within our remit.”

Claffey, 31, will this evening embark on her second Six Nations campaign with the Blackrock back set to win her fifth cap having been named by head coach Adam Griggs at inside centre alongside the more experienced fellow Leinster midfielder Sene Naoupu. A risk consultant by profession and newly-appointed brand ambassador for Pinergy, she is happy to have struck a good work/rugby balance.

“It’s a long week between working and training but I’m looking forward to this weekend.

I don’t see it as a sacrifice. I see it as a choice and every time you’re involved it’s about being prepared and having very understanding work colleagues, so they can let you go when you need to go. It’s about organising yourself and you have to learn to do that pretty quickly.

Despite a winless November, with back-to-back home defeats to the USA and a 37-15 loss to England at Twickenham, confidence is high after a morale-boosting 29-19 victory last month at home in a Six Nations warm-up against championship rivals Wales. Claffey believes Ireland are starting to get their reward for the hard graft put in over the last 12 months.

“It was a nice way to get our systems in place and how we want to play. It was good to play again in Donnybrook as well so we got to try out some new partnerships and see what way people are playing and where we are as a team. It’s all starting to click and is coming together.

“I was one of the new players last year and everyone was just so nice and so welcoming in the team and they were there to help you understand your role and what way the team works. Because of that we are becoming a more cohesive unit. We’ve built a team from last year’s Six Nations, onto November and now into this Six Nations.”

Claffey has not forgotten the experience of her Test debut against Italy in last year’s championship and the steep learning curve it presented, something facing Ireland’s three debutantes this evening with Linda Djougang, Anne Marie O’Hora and Kathryn Dane named on the bench.

“The intensity of the games, just how quick it is, the tempo it’s played at,” Claffey said of the step up to international rugby. “Everything is a lot harder to hit and the hits are a lot harder. It means you have to learn quickly and adapt because you’re used to playing with your club and your province and it’s a different level. It’s a massive leap, physically and mentally.”

The Blackrock midfielder, who helped Leinster win this season’s interprovincial title, also feels she has benefitted from her club’s new head coach this season, former Ireland boss Phillip “Goose” Doyle.

“Playing with Blackrock, it’s going really well. We’ve Goose as our coach this year and we’re sitting in fourth or fifth in the table and into the All Ireland Cup semi-finals. Goose has a good way of setting standards and expectations. We all sat down as a team at the start of the year and set out a list of goals for each match and training session.

"He’s been a great help in giving assistance with certain techniques I need to work on and he’s been great to me as a sounding board.”

Ireland will need every ounce of support, technical and emotional, they can muster to defeat this England side and get the campaign off to a flyer as they strive for a repeat of their top-three finish in 2018. And with France the other visitors to Donnybrook in this season’s schedule, Claffey is hoping for plenty of backing on home ground over the next few weeks.

It’s a tough start but at least we are at home in front of a good crowd and having friends and family and lots of supporters turn up for it will be great.

"It all helps and that familiarity with our surroundings and the crowd behind you as well. We’ve been approaching this Six Nations as a whole rather than just focusing on the first game."