Former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll believes red cards such as the one given to Garry Ringrose in last Saturday’s Six Nations match against Wales will be more common in the game due to changes to the laws in respect to dangerous play. “Almost all players across the board are going to pick up a red … Read more
The expectation to win can be slightly claustrophobic, especially at a venue where success has been rare and, on the triumphant occasions, hard fought. As a player those victories are the ones that provide the most satisfaction, where there is a feeling of pride in managing that environment to forge a positive outcome. Ireland’s performance, … Read more
There was no disputing the most iconic rugby image of the weekend. 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 … Read more
And then there were three. It seemed particularly cruel on Scotland that they were denied a fifth Calcutta Cup in a row and were knocked out of the Six Nations title talk by dint of their 16-15 defeat against England at Twickenham, despite outscoring the auld enemy by three tries to one. What’s more, their … Read more
Cardiff, the Principality Stadium. “There’s no place on Earth quite like it.” I’ve said that before, and I’ll probably say it again. If any Ireland players doubted the high degree of difficulty in producing an A-grade performance in this inspiring cathedral of rugby then they will doubt no more. There had been a disquieting sense … Read more
Wales deserved the redemptive tone taken in the media acknowledging an excellent display that for large swatches of Saturday’s game at the Principality Stadium looked like it might lead to an unlikely victory. Interim coach Matt Sherratt elicited a performance in his first game in charge that saw Wales lead 18-10 at one point before … Read more
Under interim coach Matt Sherratt, Wales would, Matt Williams assured us prematch, get “a dead cat bounce”, but his question was: “How high does a dead cat bounce?” Joe Molloy had no answer, possibly never having experimented in this area. “Not very high,” Matt informed him, sounding like a man who had. Come half-time, though, … Read more
Statistics, the last refuge of the scoundrel. And I’d know. One that caught the eye was that Ireland had just 47% possession in their first two games – the second lowest after Italy (44%) – but they have enjoyed more territory (56%) than any other side and made more entries into the opposition 22 (22) … Read more
No, but seriously – how few players could Ireland afford to field and still beat Wales this weekend? And would they even all need to be rugby players? Could we, for example, get by with a few of the Kiwis and Aussies, maybe keep Peter O’Mahony for vibes and fill out the rest with people … Read more
Unsurprisingly, given the occasion of leading out Ireland for the first time, someone dug out an old photo from Dan Sheehan’s childhood. Ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations game against Wales, a four-year-old Sheehan went viral. Back in 2003, Jonah Lomu was in town for a marketing gig. There, pictured on the All Black’s shoulders, is … Read more