A loss of key players and refereeing interpretations in the Premiership have weakened Eddie Jones’s hand in the area where international rugby is won and lostOne statistic highlights why Ireland have taken over from England as the Six Nations champions and explains why Eddie Jones invited the South African referee Marius van der Westhuizen to training this week before the match against their successors on Saturday.No team have created more rucks in this year’s Six Nations than Ireland but no side has conceded fewer penalties at the breakdown. By contrast, England have given away more than anyone and account for nearly one quarter of the total penalties awarded in the tackle area this year compared to 16 % in 2017....
England need to learn how to adapt after two defeats that have raised interest in the Six Nations, and further admiration of Ireland, in All Black countryMaybe the Eddie Jones factor plays a part – the old mate from across the Tasman Sea – but whenever England lose it creates a ripple in New Zealand. I’ve been back there for the past 10 days and there is no doubt the country’s media has jumped on it. The Six Nations is not exactly headline news over there but what strikes New Zealanders most is just how competitive it is. With Scotland a lot stronger now, Wales playing a new brand of rugby, Ireland very comfortable in what they are doing and...
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,...