The new Six Nations champions go to Twickenham for a possible grand slam but Ireland’s autumn game with All Blacks now catches the eyeThe most satisfying week in Irish sporting history? If their horses can cope with the soft ground at Cheltenham and their rugby players canter to a triumphant grand slam at Twickenham on Saturday the next few days will definitely be up there. Just imagine the wild delight on St Patrick’s Day should England trail in a distant second behind Rory Best’s thoroughbred Six Nations champions.The latest official World Rugby rankings are already worth toasting. As a consequence of their team’s four successive championship victories to date and England’s recent nosedive, the rankings now read as follows: 1) New Zealand,...
France must not get carried after beating England, while Ireland will need to bolster their defence at TwickenhamWhen the post-match debate centres on whether England were poorer in Murrayfield or Paris, there is definitely trouble at mill. They never looked remotely likely to score the four tries required to retain a mathematical interest in the Six Nations title race and it would have been distinctly rough justice on France had the visitors sneaked home late on in Saint Denis. One or two England players felt afterwards they might have received a penalty for French defenders going off their feet at the final ruck under the posts; it would still not have erased the horrors of the previous 79 minutes. In...
Eddie Jones dreams of perfection but his England side look a long way away and in reality were overtaken by Ireland a year agoSometimes it is only when you look back that you realise you have crossed a border. A year on from England’s 13-9 defeat by Ireland in Dublin, their first loss under Jones, that game seems to have been a clear watershed in the fortunes of both teams. It was the point when Ireland passed England to become the best team in Europe. Ireland are unbeaten in 11 Tests since and are now Six Nations champions. England are still faltering, looking for the sure footing they had before they tripped in that match. According to the world rankings,...
Maro Itoje is not looking his freshest in the Six Nations and Mako Vunipola has also gone quiet after the exacting tour to New ZealandOne of the most interesting sequences in sport is threatening to repeat itself yet again. Every four years, during the Six (or Five) Nations season immediately following a British and Irish Lions tour, it is as if lead weights have been attached to the legs of one nation and restorative oxygen pumped into the dressing-rooms of the rest.Spot the common theme in the following list of champions in post-Lions years since the late 1960s: France, Wales, no winner, Wales, Wales, France, Scotland, Scotland, Wales, France, France, France, France, Ireland. It is necessary to spool back 55...
Can anyone unseat Ireland at the top? Who will make the difference in the final two rounds? And can Italy win a game?Ireland will claim a first Six Nations title since 2015 if they achieve a bonus-point victory over Scotland and England fail to do so in Paris. There was certainly an element of fortune to their victory against France but, as seen in recent years, away wins anywhere but Rome are at a premium – and they followed it up with an emphatic win over Italy and a powerful performance against Wales. Andy Farrell will not be happy with the six tries conceded in those matches but perhaps the most impressive thing about Ireland is how they have coped...