Category: Ireland Rugby

Ireland fought back to earn a narrow victory in Dublin after a resurgent Italy had threatened a major upset

The Opta supercomputer has crunched the numbers and chucked out a predicted result.

Drumroll please….

Hi Daniel.

I am REALLY looking forward to this match. I’ve been “with” Italy ever since they made it a 6 Nations but obviously reasons to be cheerful have been thin on the ground. Until now. Sergio Parisse was world class and was surely only a question of time before other high class Italians emerged.

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• France 36-14 Ireland

• Bielle-Biarrey scores twice in dazzling display

The Six Nations is under way and already a couple of things are ­crystal clear. It is going to take a seriously good team to beat France in Paris in this year’s championship and ­watching them attack will be an ­absolute treat. Ireland were not so much beaten as outplayed by ­opponents who will be even more dangerous with a dry ball at their disposal.

Never mind the argument about brief in-game adverts during ITV’s coverage. Irish fans would probably have preferred a total 80-minute blackout or, failing that, an entire evening of cookery programming. Instead those back at home had to watch the visitors being repeatedly sliced and diced by seemingly ravenous hosts. Talk about eating your greens.

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Les Bleus opened the tournament with a dominant victory in Paris

7 mins. The attack is contained by France and a forced pass in midfield is spilled by a green hand. France will have a scrum in their own 22.

5 mins. The Ireland scrum creaks, but holds enough for Gibson-Park to clear their lines. This but of solid work is followed soon after by Osborne banging a MASSIVE 50:22 to give his side their first attacking platform of the game.

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England have the squad depth, but France have a returning hero and hosting duties for the potentially decisive finale

What are you most looking forward to? Let’s hope it stops raining at some stage. Because if Matthieu Jalibert, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Henry Arundell, Manny Feyi-Waboso, Louis Rees-Zammit et al have a licence to thrill with a dry ball this could be an eye-catching championship.

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England are bullish, France are in flux, while Wales will be hoping just to beat Italy and avoid the wooden spoon

Fixtures: 7 Feb, Wales (h); 14 Feb, Scotland (a); 21 Feb, Ireland (h); 7 Mar, Italy (a); 14 Mar, France (a)
Last year’s finish: 2nd

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In the professional era, there is a common denominator that suggests France and Ireland might be worth backing

All that performance data, all those fixture permutations. All the gym sessions and marginal selections. Not to mention all those finger-in-the-wind tournament previews. But what if identifying the winner of the 2026 Six Nations basically involves overlooking all of that – and is shaped by an underlying factor so simple that it is staring everybody in the face?

Interested in finding out what this magic bullet might be? OK, here goes. Without cheating (or consulting your new friend Monsieur AI), spot the common link in the following sequence of years: 2022, 2018, 2014, 2010, 2006, 2002, 1998, 1994, 1990, 1984, 1981, 1978, 1975, 1972, 1969 and 1967? Tricky, isn’t it? Even years, odd years, irregular gaps … if you were a statistician seeking a mathematical pattern you would be sat there gazing at the numbers for a long time.

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We may know the sport’s future is bright when trendsetters worldwide are wearing Fabien Galthié-style shades

On the surface it was business at usual at this year’s Six Nations launch in a chilly Edinburgh. Had the city’s most famous literary sleuth poked his nose into the venue at the top of the Royal Mile, Inspector Rebus would have clocked the usual suspects: head coaches trying not to divulge any secrets, captains quietly studying their opposite numbers and content creators seeking to “jazz up” their tournament previews.

This year’s booby prize went to the “influencer” who asked Caelan Doris, Ireland’s captain, whether or not he liked Fabien Galthié’s thick-rimmed glasses. It was almost on a par with the Breakdown’s all-time classic: the day someone asked Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, to pick his favourite motorway service station. “Taunton Deane,” came the instant reply. “Because it means we’re almost home.” Brilliant.

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• Joe Schmidt says 46-19 defeat to Ireland is ‘a tough one to take’

• Australia on brink of first winless Europe trip in 67 years

The beleaguered Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has ruefully admitted that the best Australian player on the pitch in his side’s latest calamitous defeat was playing in Irish green.

Mack Hansen, the ex-Brumby who grew up in Canberra and was snapped up by his mother’s home country, scored his hat-trick of tries within the first half-hour to kickstart Ireland’s record 46-19 win over Australia in Dublin on Saturday.

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Hansen a revelation at fullback as Ireland dismantled the Wallabies

8 mins. A clumsy breakdown effort from Ireland on the restart allows the Wallabies to win the ball back. However, their attack on the 22 is in about three minds and none of them have a discernible plan, which leads to O’Connor spilling the ball after a big hit from Prendergast. Yes, Prendergast, you read that right.

6 mins. Ireland work back into the 22 and the pressure coming from the pace of the recycling forces Williams to drift offside. The ball is tapped by Gibson-Park and some quick hands find Hansen free under the posts to walk in.

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After successful Lions tour, head coach returns to a side under pressure to prove their best days are not behind them

One minute we’re winding the clocks back an hour, the next we’re hurtling forwards into rugby union’s maddest month. Welcome to the whistle-stop world of the Autumn Nations Series, which, this year, has arrived as abruptly as a cat burglar in the Louvre. Sides that take time to settle into familiar old routines are about to experience a short, sharp shock.

Of course there is the flip side: the main southern hemisphere powers have been smashing away at each other for weeks and certain individuals must be slightly weary. In terms of cohesion and collective readiness to pick up where they left off last time out, however, there is barely a comparison.

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• Injury to Ireland No 8 looks ‘serious’, says Leinster coach
• Andy Farrell due to name tour squad on Thursday

Maro Itoje’s chances of being named British & Irish Lions captain this week have been strengthened after Caelan Doris – one of his closest rivals for the role – emerged as an injury doubt for the tour of Australia.

Doris, the Ireland captain, will undergo shoulder surgery this week but, after a worrying assessment by the Leinster coach, Jacques Nienaber, he is in danger of missing the series against the Wallabies in a potentially momentous development before Andy Farrell names his squad on Thursday.

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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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