Whereas Andy Robinson has wielded the axe on his battle-weary troops, Eddie O'Sullivan has merely applied some soothing balm to his team. Ireland are the ones seeking more tangible rewards this Saturday, but unsurprisingly, O'Sullivan was keen to highlight how self-redemption can be a powerful spur on its own for England.
Save for recalling the fit-again Johnny O'Connor to the bench and rerouting Mick O'Driscoll to captain the A team, Ireland are unchanged after what was, O'Sullivan reckoned, "probably our best 80 minutes of the championship".
Ireland are instead seeking to polish their act slightly. "I'd like us to achieve a bit more width in our game," said O'Sullivan. "Hopefully conditions will let us get back to the game we had been working towards, keeping the ball in hand more." Converting pressure and chances into scores is another goal: "The point is well made; when we get opportunities we'll have to take them this weekend."
England have far more questions about their starting line-up, but the selection of Andrew Sheridan in the front row strongly suggests they will be targeting the Irish setpieces. Given England's 90 per cent success rate on their own ball and 30 per cent on the opposition's in this campaign, O'Sullivan said he doesn't envisage the kind of dominance in this key area Ireland enjoyed last Saturday or two years ago in Twickenham.
That 2004 win, allied to the familiarity from regular Heineken European Cup meetings and the Lions tour, has helped remove the fear factor of going to Twickenham, while the greater rest afforded the Irish frontliners is "a slight advantage".
But O'Sullivan remains wary: "I can't imagine we'll be favourites given most people feel we haven't played well this year."
Citing the watershed wins against leading sides in recent years, such as Australia, South Africa and England (twice), the coach observed: "They were all games that went down to the wire and we played out of our skin on the day. So that's a fact of life for us. If we're going to win in Twickenham on Saturday it's going to take a hell of a performance and it will probably be a one-score game at the end of the day."
O'Sullivan was reticent when faced with repeated questioning as to England's shortcomings. Believing they'll bounce back with a point to prove to their own supporters, he doesn't expect much change in approach.
"They probably feel, no more than Wales or Scotland, that they could outmuscle us physically, so we expect it to be a very, very physical game and a very direct game."
O'Sullivan maintained he would have preferred if England had come into this game with a win in Paris, thereby leaving both sides in a "clear shoot-out for the championship". Realistically, winning the championship for the first time in 21 years looks beyond Ireland's reach, given it also depends on Wales beating France, though O'Sullivan won't waste time or energy on something that is partly out of their hands.
"We'll know the result in Cardiff before we kick off but it's not something we've dwelt on. The only focal point is to come out of Twickenham with a win."
Saturday's game will most likely mark David Humphreys's last "involvement" with Ireland before retiring from test rugby.
"I would like David to continue and he knows that, but it's a decision he has to make based on what he wants to do with his career and his family," said O'Sullivan yesterday.
"He's a superb player and I've never any problem dropping him into a game or starting him, and if he comes off the bench on Saturday I won't bat an eyelid."
Humphreys has yet to make an appearance on the pitch in this campaign. Eoin Reddan's four minutes of action in Paris were on the wing, while O'Connor and Rory Best have had just one brief, late cameo. Girvan Dempsey hasn't received a call-up either from his two stints to date on the bench.
Isaac Boss has been obliged to cry off the A team with an ankle injury, which means Tomás O'Leary retains his place in the starting line-up.
Again the A team has a very developmental hue, with one eye on this summer's Churchill Cup. Robert Kearney, fit again, makes his debut at this level at fullback, while Tommy Bowe is also rerouted to this level.
Grateful that, for example, Jeremy Staunton is accruing more game time with Wasps, O'Sullivan pointed out that Paddy Wallace is not in the Ulster frame at outhalf.
"It is a worry. This might sound like heresy to say this, but it's not my job to develop these key positions. I can only pick the players available. These are the pipelines within the IRFU and it's very hard to look at a player for international rugby unless he's at least playing at Heineken Cup level. That's why the A internationals are very valuable."
"It's not for me to advise a player where to go or what to do," said O'Sullivan when asked specifically about Wallace who, like Staunton, was coveted by Leinster before, reputedly, pressure was brought to bear on him to stay put. "The one thing I say to a player is that if he's playing top-flight rugby he'll be considered for the Irish team."
And, by extension, if he isn't, he won't be.
IRELAND A (v England A, Kingsholm, Friday, 7.45): R Kearney (Leinster); T Bowe (Ulster), K Lewis (Leinster), D Quinlan (Northampton), I Dowling (Munster); J Staunton (Wasps), T O'Leary (Munster); R Hogan (Connacht), J Fogarty (Connacht), B Young (Ulster); M O'Driscoll (Munster, capt), M McCullough (Ulster); N Best (Ulster), S Jennings (Leicester), J Heaslip (Leinster). Replacements: B Blaney (Leinster), R McCormack (Leinster), L Cullen (Leicester), R Wilson (Ulster), C Keane (Connacht), P Wallace (Ulster), G Duffy (Harlequins).
