WALKING the WALK
Ireland squad can draw a line in sand tonight — enough of the chat, it is time for action
TALK is cheap. And the Scots have been saying plenty about Ireland of late. They were making some big claims on the eve of last year’s World Cup pool meeting in Paris. Zander Fagerson and Blair Kinghorn were particularly bombastic in front of the media in the days leading up to the crunch clash at Stade de France.
Andy Farrell’s squad kept their powder dry in the press and did the talking on the field. They surged into a 36-0 lead in Saint Denis. Only a couple of late Scottish tries put some respectability on the scoreline.
This Irish squad progressed to the quarter-finals and the Scots packed their bags and made their way to Charles de Gaulle airport.
There’s been more chat recently. Stuart Hogg and Gregor Townsend had a few choice words about Ireland, which were captured by the Netflix cameras during the Full Contact documentary. Farrell’s side were in Edinburgh for a Six Nations meeting and the hosts fancied their chances.
‘The last few years, I’ve heard a lot of things come out of Ireland. The Irish players, the Irish media, believe we’re soft,’ Townsend is seen telling his troops in the home changing room.
‘They believe we’re the team that’s going to go for 60 minutes, and then fade. That is not happening. We win. We have been building to a performance that delivers the best of us, and the best of us beats any team in the world.’
Hogg was not holding back either.
‘We’re due these f ****** one,’ the Scotland full-back proclaimed. ‘We’re going to lift the Triple Crown, and have a shittonne of fun doing it, so let’s f ****** go for it.’
Again, it didn’t go so well. If there was ever a day for the Scots to end this long losing streak against their rivals, it was that day in Murrayfield.
The visitors lost Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher to injuries during a chaotic match. They finished the game with Cian Healy doing an emergency shift at hooker and Josh van der Flier throwing the ball into the lineouts. But Ireland, buoyed by some big impacts off the bench, still cruised home with a 22-7 win.
Did it leave some psychological scars? The no-show from Townsend’s troops at the World Cup would suggest as much.
You have to go all the way back to 2017 for a Scottish victory in this fixture. Busgate is the last time they beat Ireland. A ninegame losing streak and 13 defeat in 14 encounters. It’s a pretty grim record. There have been some close games along the way. The 2020 Six Nations match in Dublin — Farrell’s first game in charge after succeeding Joe Schmidt — was a particularly jittery win. If Hogg had not spilled the ball over the try-line then the narrative around this fixture might be very different.
The Scots will clearly be fired up for this championship finale. The chance to finally get one over their tormentors and end a sevenyear itch is tantalising. Throw in the fact that they can derail a back-to-back title tilt and you can just imagine what is being said behind closed doors in the Scottish camp this week.
Have the Scots got the capacity to ruin the party? Absolutely. They have been horribly inconsistent in this tournament.
They were demolishing Wales 27-0 in the opening round but left Cardiff with a one-point win after a fierce fightback from the home side.
They should have beaten France at home. Yes, that late TMO decision was farcical but it should never have come to that. Then there was a stunning evisceration of England quickly followed by an implosion in Rome.
Scotland could have been arriving at the Aviva with a Grand Slam in sight. They are clearly a team on the rise. It’s just a question of when it all clicks. Could it be tonight?
They certainly have plenty of personnel who can worry Ireland. Rory Darge, the combative openside flanker, leads a mobile and punchy pack but it’s in the wide channels where the main Scottish threat will come. If Finn Russell is in the mood then he can orchestrate a backline laced with game breakers. Duhan van der Merwe, Huw Jones, Blair Kinghorn and the underrated Kyle Steyn have the ability to punch plenty of holes in an Irish defence which was uncharacteristically porous in Twickenham. Was that English defeat a blip or sign of a deeper malaise in a squad which perhaps has a few too many players on the wrong side of 30?
Farrell has backed virtually the same matchday squad to go out and set the record straight this evening. A resounding win and another title will dilute a lot of the recent criticism. Another poor performance would be a worry, however. Particularly with
Fans, media and ex-players got a bit ahead of themselves
a daunting two-Test tour of South Africa looming in the summer. The schedule doesn’t get any easier in the autumn with the All Blacks and Joe Schmidt’s Australia in town.
Ireland could conceivably lose this evening and still claim the title, such is their astronomical points difference. What a damp squib that would be. Farrell’s squad won’t thinking that way. A big performance and concluding this Six Nations in style will be goal.
Everyone is expecting a backlash after the loss in London.
Ireland should be more aggressive in their approach, more staunch in defence and slicker at the set-piece. The likes of Dan Sheehan, Joe McCarthy and Doris are due big games after quiet outings last time out.
And what about the captain? The spotlight has been on Peter O’Mahony this week. The Munster flanker struggled to make an impact against a powerful English backrow. Time is not on his side and there is no shortage of dynamic rivals who are eying up his spot on the blindside. This could be O’Mahony’s big send-off.
Or it could be a night when the party gets crashed. There has been plenty of chat around Ireland lately as well. A lot of it has been hysterical. Notions that this team are the best in the world or, indeed, the best Six Nations team of all time were dispelled quite emphatically in Twickenham. This Irish team remains a quality unit but fans, media and a stable of ex-players got a bit ahead of themselves recently.
This squad has the capacity to reach dizzying heights in the years ahead. They can draw a line in the sand tonight. Enough of all the chat, it’s time for action.