BEWARE THE WOUNDED ANIMAL
Everything points to a comfortable Irish win but...
IF IRELAND are as good as everyone says they are, they need to show it today. The recovery from that World Cup quarter-final loss to the All Blacks has been startling. Hangover? It’s like that sobering loss against New Zealand at Stade de France never occurred.
We wondered how this group would cope without Johnny Sexton, their talisman, alpha male and spiritual leader.
Would Ireland lack control and conviction without the Leinster out-half in the saddle? The lack of discourse around Sexton’s absence on podcasts, panel shows and in print has been telling on that front. Jack Crowley has seized his chance and the rest of the senior group have stepped up their game.
It’s says a lot that James Ryan was ruled out of this crunch Six Nations clash with a bicep injury and there was barely a murmur about it. Losing Ryan on the eve of a trip to Twickenham would have been catastrophic not so long ago. Once hailed as the next Paul O’Connell, Ryan has been resigned to a role on the bench in this tournament.
Iain Henderson, who has twice toured with the Lions lest we forget, has only snuck into Farrell’s plans on the back of that injury withdrawal.
Leaving Garry Ringrose out of a matchday 23 is another scenario which would have barely scarcely believable for a long, long time. The Ireland head coach is not short of options across the board. His team is settled, cohesive and brimming with confidence.
Apart from a few setpiece wobbles, they have looked virtually bullet-proof in this championship.
Indeed, many are tipping Ireland to be the first team to land a maximum haul of 28 points: five bonus-point wins along with the Grand Slam bonus of three points. No mean feat. If they do manage to seal back-to-back clean sweeps then we are in legacy territory. Farrell’s class of 2024 have been hailed as the greatest team in the history of the tournament, a team with ‘swagger’ and worldclass personnel across the board. This limited England team have been widely written off as cannon fodder for the defending champions. It’s hard to argue when you consider some of the evidence.
Ireland seem to have the edge in virtually every department. Farrell’s players have the vision, tactics, game plan and strike moves seared into their consciousness. England, meanwhile, are struggling for rhythm, identity and consistency.
As their brilliant openside flanker Sam Underhill, one of many players who looks a shadow of their former selves, admitted rather bluntly earlier this week: ‘I probably couldn’t tell you what we are.’
Their under-fire head coach Steve Borthwick has been accused of placing his side in a ‘data straitjacket’ by a former England captain this week. His team certainly aren’t easy on the eye. If anything, they look a bit over-coached.
This evening, they face an Irish team which has suffered just one defeat in 21 Tests.
The aggregate score between these teams across the previous three Six Nations meetings reads 93-49 in Ireland’s favour.
So, if this group really as good as everyone says, they should be putting this vulnerable and outof-sorts English side to the sword. They should be seeking to emulate what BOD, ROG and O’Connell did to them in Croker back in 2007. That’s what truly great teams do. They ruthlessly eviscerate inferior sides.
Farrell and Co have been love-bombed from all angles in recent times. Much of it has been justified. And the hosts know that if Ireland get into the groove early and move through the gears, they have the ability to cut them to pieces. And that’s before their blockbuster bench enter the fray to pile on more misery.
Are England really that bad though? Has everyone forgotten what transpired at the World Cup? Yes, Borthwick’s crew were on the vastly easier side of the draw but they were a whisker away from emulating Eddie Jones’ class of 2019 and making the final, only for a late Handre Pollard penalty to steer South Africa through the trickiest of encounters.
England may not be lighting it up with ball in hand, but they can be a seriously awkward opponent. They have taken a hammering from all quarters on the back of their poor showing in Edinburgh. Backed by a sizeable home crowd, we can at least expect an emotional reaction from the hosts.
They are primed for a big setpiece battle and have selected a gnarly pack of forwards to get stuck into this much-vaunted
Irish unit. And, despite the torrent of recent criticism, they have quality across the board.
We know what Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Maro Itoje and Ben Earl can deliver on the pitch. Underhill, too. Ollie Chessum and George Martin are a pair of tough customers who learned their trade in the Welford Road school of hard knocks.
Then there’s Alex Mitchell, who is something of a game-changer at scrum-half. Munster fans know all about the Northampton scrum-half who will punish any lapses of concentration around the fringes of the ruck. Mitchell is a livewire and can inject some much-needed vim and verve into a stuttering English attack.
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, on his maiden start, is likely to be targeted but the Exeter Chiefs wing is a serious prospect. Henry Slade and George Ford are quality operators and, worryingly, are due big games in a white shirt. Who knows? If the Irish scrum falls foul of referee Nika Amashukeli and a few early lineouts go astray then England might just fancy their chances. Ireland’s all-court game is all possession and tempo. If they can cut them off at source, they have a chance. Think of what Saracens and La Rochelle have done to Leinster in the past and you get the idea. For all the chat about Ireland’s supposed invincibility and England’s floundering form, the home side can sow a few seeds of doubt if they begin well. Ireland, in truth, haven’t had to face their World Cup demons yet. They have cruised through the opening three rounds. How they react when the pressure really comes on will be telling. Of course, if Ireland rock up and do their thing then there will be only one result. They know what an emotional backlash is coming. They are ready for a ferocious forward battle, aerial bombardment and a blitz defence. They should have all the answers. But don’t be surprised if England provide a few frights along the way.