Is the Slam the be all and end all?

DO England stand ready to spoil the Irish party on Paddy’s Day? Will the taste of victory turn to ashes in our mouths if Joe Schmidt’s men are foiled in their ambition to round out their Six Nations campaign with a Grand Slam?

The answers to the above questions are yes and yes again.

The English, for all their woes, are more than capable of turning in a performance. Their motivation to do so will be strong. It was only last year that Ireland dashed English dreams with a victory in Lansdowne Road to deny Eddie Jones’ men a Grand Slam and, besides, when did the English ever need an excuse to beat Ireland in Twickenham?

We do wonder though whether it’s altogether that logical to fret so much on something as intangible as the Grand Slam. Sure it’s nice and all – who doesn’t want to end a campaign unbeaten? – but should it really take away from Ireland’s achievement if they don’t round out the season unbeaten next Saturday afternoon?

The Six Nations is a league. The team who tops the table wins it regardless of whether they’re unbeaten or not. Win or lose on Saturday afternoon, Ireland are champions. That’s the important thing surely?

We suppose it’s like anything else, the Slam matters because it matters, because we say that it does and it is a remarkable achievement. To win all games home and away in such a competitive environment is an exceedingly difficult task, we’ve only ever done it twice before.