England are out to end 30 years of hurt in Ireland, says Nick Collins

Ahead of England's clash with the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, we get the views of SSN HQ's Chief Football reporter, Nick Collins.

"You'll never beat the Irish!" The chants rang round Wembley in May 2013 as England's friendly with the Republic ended in a 1-1 draw. The match was part of the English FA's 150th Anniversary celebrations and yet again, Ireland had thwarted England's attempts to set up a victory.

It’s a run which stretches back six games and 30 years, and it takes in an Irish win at Euro '88, a draw at the Italia '90 1990 World Cup, plus two more draws in qualifying for Euro 1992.

On the night, Shane Long got on the end of a cross from Seamus Coleman to head Ireland into a 13th-minute lead. Ten minutes later, Frank Lampard timed his run into the area to score the equaliser from close range. That's how it stayed, even though both sides had their chances to win it.

In many ways, it was a typical Irish performance. Up against higher-ranked and more fancied opposition, Ireland revelled in their role as underdogs. Their results against Germany and Poland in the Euro 2016 qualifying group underline that trend - 90th-minute equalisers from John O'Shea and Long!

So England go to Dublin for the first time in 20 years, and they are on a good unbeaten run which stretches back 12 months to the 2014 World Cup. This season, it's seven wins and a draw, and it's nine matches since they last tasted defeat (against Uruguay in Sao Paulo on June 19th).

The game is a warm-up for the following weekend's Euro qualifiers: England take their 100 per cent record (played five, won five) to Slovenia, while Ireland face Scotland in a really pivotal match.

It’s also the first time the teams have met in Dublin since that shameful night in February 1995 when the game had to be abandoned because of crowd trouble. Mercifully, football and the behaviour of England fans, in particular, has moved on a lot in the intervening two decades.

It should be a terrific atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium, and make no mistake, this will be a genuine test for England. Going unbeaten through the 2014/15 season would be a great achievement by Roy Hodgson's side (eight down, two to go!) and the perfect response to what was a hugely disappointing World Cup.

Wayne Rooney needs one goal to catch Gary Lineker in second place in the England all-time scorers list. He scored twice in Glasgow against Scotland last November, so he's probably fancying his chances. A hat-trick of course would see him overtake Sir Bobby Charlton as well and become the first Englishman to reach 50 international goals. But let's not get carried away!

First things first, and England must make sure their performance is at least as good as it was in Glasgow. Otherwise that Irish unbeaten run against England will continue, and we'll hear their fans singing that familiar song again!