Tadhg Furlong hopes the efforts of Ireland's Grand Slam chasing team resonate with the whole country - and not just with rugby supporters.
Furlong is among the group of experienced players looking to complete the Six Nations clean sweep for only the fourth time in Ireland's championship history, but is also hoping to be among the first to do so at the Aviva Stadium.
"It’s all on the line," said the world-class tighthead. "If you’re not excited about playing this weekend, why are you playing the sport?
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"What are you doing, that we slog away and work so hard all year?
"I think the group is very excited and everyone is different within that. Some people love going out there and showing how good they are.
"There’s other people that maybe find themselves that they get small on that attention or pressure.
"I think we’ve a very good balance in the squad where we can talk about that to get the most out of each other. It’s about enjoying the week. Enjoying the build-up, but also doing the work."
Furlong and his team-mates will have their usual ticket allocation for Saturday's clash with England, a fixture that is in high demand as the hype has built towards this last game for Ireland.
The Leinster star acknowledges what it means for fans scrambling to be present at the sold-out ground.
"Huge," he said. "It's the occasion. It's a big thing, it's a big deal.
"I feel there's a marked difference in the supporters. Edinburgh at the weekend was unbelievable.
"I know it was a Sunday game so a lot of people were probably over Saturday but the day of the captain's run it was just jammers getting on to the bus.
"You can feel that and players feed off that, do you know what I mean? There definitely is that wave that they bring. I expect it to be class at the weekend.
"I think the occasion obviously adds to it from a player perspective, in the dressing room there's a bounce about It. It's all carrot and no stick, if that makes sense.
"It's on us to play the game and not the occasion, and that's at the forefront of our mind."
Furlong, 30, made his comeback from a calf injury that kept him out for 99 days in last week's resilient triumph over Scotland.
That victory secured, Ireland can turn their attention to producing one last big performance in this campaign and he hopes the entire island is behind that effort.
"It means a lot," he said. "I don’t really like overly talking about it here, because we’ve won nothing yet. That’s the danger of complacency.
"We talk about it, we understand and from the wider public as well. You just hope us wearing a green jersey and playing well, that people can be proud to be Irish and can associate with us.
"I understand that everyone is not rugby people and that’s fine if rugby is not your cup of tea.
"I hope that they can see through our actions that it means something to us.
"It means something to play for Ireland, no matter if you’re within the island of Ireland or if you’re Irish living abroad or whatever.
"Just to see that it means something to us and hopefully they can be proud of us."
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