Many years ago Jimmy Greaves said that ‘‘football is a funny old game.’’ The former Spurs and England star was referring to soccer, but I suppose you could apply the same phrase to rugby union. Ireland were ‘blown away’ by France in our opening game in the Six Nations, then we were very lucky to beat Italy in Dublin and 11 days ago we hammered England 42-21 for a record win at Twickenham.
Next up are Wales at the Aviva on tomorrow night. Yes, we started away to France on a Thursday night and now a home game on a Friday night; the days of every game being played at 3 p.m. on a Saturday are long gone in rugby and soccer. Wales are bottom of the Six Nations table after three games and have conceded 128 points and won only one bonus point in defeats to England France and Scotland. It looks like there is a downturn in rugby union in the Valleys right now. Thousands of season tickets for Wales’ home games this spring were unsold. The games at Cardiff’s 74,000-seat Principality Stadium usually sell out or reach high capacity for a tournament that has traditionally been a highlight of the Welsh sporting calendar.
Irish Head Coach Andy Farrell got a bit of criticism after the games against France and Italy, but he says he doesn’t listen to the negative stuff. The coach said: ‘‘I suppose a win like the one over England gets people a little bit back on board. I don’t read the negative stuff. I don’t listen to it, I get told. But this group is tight enough. I don’t think you get performances like the one at Twickenham if that was not the case. Over the next 18 months [before the World Cup], I think there are plenty of lessons to be learned. We have a tough couple of games coming up, a tough summer, and all that will stand to us. We want to be at our best in 18 months’ time.”
Ireland will be without James Lowe for the Welsh game on Friday and the final game against Scotland on March 13 due to a groin injury picked up at Twickenham. However, Bundee Aki, who has been suspended, is expected to return to the squad, and Jack Conan, Andrew Porter and Robbie Henshaw could all be pushing for a place in the squad. Centre Stuart McCloskey, who has had to be patient with other players ahead of him, has really impressed this season. He is so well built, he could play in the second-row and showed against England that he also has a great burst of speed. Jamie Osborne, Robert Baloucoune and Tommy O’Brien have also impressed in this campaign, providing plenty of options for Farrell in the final two Six Nations games.
France look like they can are going to win the Grand Slam, but if we can secure the Triple Crown with wins over Wales and Scotland, also in Dublin on March 14, it would give coach Farrell and the squad a major boost as we build towards the Rugby World Cup in 2027.
