Category: Ireland Rugby

England finished strong while Ireland appear to be fading, but the head coach must avoid an over-reliance on recency bias

The streets of Cardiff on Saturday night made the last days of the Roman empire look positively sedate. There were almost as many puddles of sick outside the Queens Vaults pub as England had scored tries inside the Principality Stadium, the glossy veneer of “Super Saturday” replaced by the dejected, what-just-happened stagger home. Truth be told, the pissed-up paying public weren’t looking too flash either.

What a deeply sobering weekend to be a player in red. To lose 68-14 against anyone at Test level is a nightmare; to do so under the roof at home against England is full-on zombie apocalypse stuff. An Aussie dollar or two, then, for Andy Farrell’s thoughts as he left the ground pondering his options for the British & Irish Lions series against the Wallabies this year. As things stand, representatives from Wales will be hard pressed to fill a phone box.

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• Italy 17-22 Ireland
• Ireland recover from poor start to claim bonus-point win

The destiny of the title was out of Ireland’s hands but there was a point to prove – not to mention a handful of legendary careers in green to be celebrated. Thousands of Ireland supporters booked a St Patrick’s weekend sojourn to Rome hoping to see their tribe seal three consecutive titles. After a sobering defeat by France top spot looked out of reach: a bonus-point victory, to maximise their chances, would have to do. Mission accomplished thanks to a hat-trick of tries by the front-row dynamo Dan Sheehan.

But forget the points table, forget the performance: since Cian Healy, Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony announced their decision to retire from international rugby at the end of this tournament, it would be an emotional day regardless. Healy’s international career began at Croke Park in 2009 and a 20-20 draw against Australia. All O’Mahony had to do, in the second half, was take his tracksuit off to prompt a deafening roar.

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• France coach Galthié furious over loss of pivotal captain
• Prop says he had ‘no malicious intent’ in incident at ruck

The Ireland prop Andrew Porter insisted “I haven’t done anything wrong” as he hit back at France’s head coach Fabien Galthié amid the fallout over Antoine Dupont’s season-ending knee injury.

Les Bleus’ captain – widely regarded as the world’s best player – faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament during his country’s 42-27 Six Nations win in Dublin. France were furious with the incident which caused the injury, with Galthié branding it “reprehensible” as he announced his intention to refer Porter and his Ireland teammate Tadhg Beirne to the citing commissioner for possible retrospective punishment.

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France turned on the power in the second half to score a dominant victory over Ireland at the Aviva Stadium

As much as we’d love to keep expanding The Clincher universe, the teams are about to head out.

Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray are first out of the tunnel to mark their final home appearances. As you can imagine, there’s a warm and rapturous applause.

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Saturday’s showdown in Dublin promises a ‘go hard or go home’ treat that could even surpass 2023’s classic

Not every anticipated Six Nations classic lives up to its pre‑match billing. Look no further for a prime example than last year’s opening Six Nations night in Marseille, when France launched their campaign against Ireland with all the speed and dynamism of an elderly escargot. They were also reduced to 14 players after half an hour and the visitors strolled to a comfortable 38-17 win.

But this time? Politely decline all shopping trips, walk the poodle early and make sure there’s enough Guinness in the fridge. Because some games are unmissable and this is a defining contest for both teams. Can Ireland, with successive titles already in the backpack, stay on track for an unprecedented three-peat? Or is now the time for Fabien Galthié’s France to embrace their supposed destiny?

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With France in town, Healy, Murray and O’Mahony play final game in Dublin with third straight Six Nations in their sights

No one in Ireland needed another reason to be up for this Saturday’s match against France, not with the title on the line, and the grand slam, and the promise beyond it of a shot at becoming the first team in history to win the Six Nations back-to-back-to-back. All that, and the prospect of a spot on the British & Irish Lions tour down the line in the back of the mind. But they got three more good ones last week regardless when Cian Healy, Conor Murray, and Peter O’Mahony announced that they were going to retire, together, at the end of the championship, and that this would be the very last home game for all three of them.

Healy, Murray and O’Mahony have won 372 caps between them, which is more than you might find in a green Test XV. They have been ever-present through the era in which Irish rugby was transformed. Healy, who is the oldest of the three, won his first call-up in the spring of 2008 when they were still hopeful triers chasing their first grand slam in more than 50 years. It finally came a year later. Healy won his first cap that autumn in Brian O’Driscoll’s 100th match, a 20-20 draw against Australia.

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Sport was a joyous business for the great Frank Keating: let’s hope for an uplifting Dublin classic in his memory

Sporting miracles do occasionally happen. And when they do the vivid memories cascade down for years and years. Think of dramatic Six Nations games between Ireland and France, say, and it is impossible not to be mentally transported back a quarter of a century. Baggy cotton jerseys, Irish underdogs and – magnifique! – a young Brian O’Driscoll scoring a hat-trick in Paris to beat France 27-25.

Not only was it Ireland’s first win in Paris for 28 years but that evocative mid-March weekend sticks out for a different reason. It also proved to be the final overseas rugby assignment for one of the great oval-ball chroniclers, the Guardian’s own Frank Keating. Frank adored Ireland and its revolving cast of quick-witted rugby characters and that night, once the two of us had finally located our hotel down a tiny street on the Left Bank, we duly raised a glass to the most lustrous of green days.

This is an extract taken from our weekly rugby union email, the Breakdown. To sign up, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

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Ellis Mee, who would not have registered with many before this tournament, has been one of the shining stars so far

Sure, it’s still early days but Wales’s upbeat performance against Ireland showed how quickly perceptions can change. Even a few weeks ago the name Ellis Mee would not have registered with many Six Nations fans. Now, after an eye-catching debut last weekend, the lanky 21-year-old is being tipped by no less an expert than Jamie Roberts to become a regular fixture for Wales. Less than a year ago the 6ft 4in Mee was playing for Nottingham in the Championship – memo to the Rugby Football Union: there is plenty of untapped talent out there – and was scouted by the former Wales international James “Cubby” Davies while playing for Nottingham Trent University. Then, after just 10 professional games for Scarlets, he was parachuted into the national team as part of a productive back three alongside his similarly positive clubmates Blair Murray and Tom Rogers. Suddenly it’s all Mee, Mee, Mee …

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The qualification maze might seem unsatisfactory to some, but often it comes down to personal preference

There was no disputing the most iconic rugby image of the weekend. Maro Itoje hoisting the Calcutta Cup might normally have secured the crown but did you see that magnificent picture of Bundee Aki in Cardiff, complete with heroically battered nose and blood-stained Ireland shirt? As the BBC commentator Andrew Cotter wryly observed: “Bundee Aki looks like he’s about to wrestle the whole of Cardiff … and I would back him.”

As warrior portraits go it was up there with some of rugby’s all‑time greats: a blood-soaked Jean-Pierre Rives, a mud-plastered Fran Cotton, a truly terrifying Sébastian Chabal. Test rugby is a game of light and shade and, for all its shafts of beauty, the sport also has its fearsome competitors. The internet loved it, not least the ArtButMakeItSports account on X which drew a brilliant parallel between the striking Aki picture and the work of the late American painter Cy Twombly.

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Interim head coach brings back Gareth Anscombe and club familiarity for visit of defending champions on Saturday

Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes. Matt Sherratt, newly installed as Warren Gatland’s replacement, however temporarily, has picked his first Wales team. No one is expecting much more from it than a 15th consecutive defeat when Ireland come to Cardiff for round three, but there is at least a feeling of the rational about his selection.

Perhaps 14 losses in a row can mess with even the most seasoned mind. This is not suddenly a team bursting with experience, but where some of Gatland’s selections seemed wanton rejections of received wisdom Sherratt has responded with the selector’s equivalent of putting his foot on the ball. Wales are not blessed with a luxury of options, but when there are simple solutions to the quandary of, for example, who to pick at fly-half, sometimes it is best to go with them.

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Ireland’s forwards and Sam Prendergast make it 11 wins in a row for Ireland over Scotland.

Cycling legend Chris Hoy hands referee James Doleman the match ball.

He’s almost welling up. Nice touch.

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• Former captain’s recovery provides boost to Borthwick
• Earl declares trust in head coach and teammates

The former England captain Jamie George has been declared fit for the daunting Six Nations clash with France on Saturday after recovering from a hamstring injury, handing Steve Borthwick a welcome boost as his side seek to “break the dam” after another disheartening defeat.

George missed England’s 27-22 loss against Ireland after picking up the injury in Saracens’ Champions Cup defeat by Castres, capping a miserable week after he had been stripped of the England captaincy six days earlier.

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This England side have character and can carry out a game plan, but there is no guarantee they will improve in time

Steve Borthwick is a man of character in an age that prefers to reward personality. Try as he might to explain England’s latest collapse, to reassure supporters that a corner will be turned, he failed to grasp the gravity of a seventh defeat in nine games in a manner that is now his side’s trademark. It was left to his predecessor-turned-pundit, Eddie Jones, to sum up England’s plight far more adroitly and in only four words when asked how he would have reacted if he were in Borthwick’s position: “I’m glad I’m not.”

It is a measure of Borthwick’s character that he chose not to turn on the referee, Ben O’Keeffe, for some questionable decisions against his team during the period in which Ireland scored 22 unanswered points. Borthwick pointed instead to his side’s indiscipline as they let a 10-5 half‑time lead slip through their fingers. “That’s something that needs to be improved this week,” was about as close as he came to chastising his players for capitulating.

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James Lowe stood out in a superb Irish backline while for England the Curry twins shone but the backs struggled

Hugo Keenan Exceptional covering tackle on Tommy Freeman in the first half, and joined in the attack with intelligent support lines as usual. 8

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Ireland dominated the second half to win in Dublin

4 mins. Marcus Smith finds a bit of space in the Ireland half before he’s hauled down and the phases start. He then drives a low cross-kick towards Tom Curry on the wing but it’s too long and into touch.

Mack Hansen has picked up an early injury and is replaced by Robbie Henshaw.

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