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Farrell’s men can take giant step forward with Triple Crown glory in Twickenham
IRELAND have a Triple Crown in their sights in Twickenham this afternoon as Andy Farrell’s squad look to build on their post-World Cup resurgence.
The visitors arrive in London buoyed by back-to-back wins over Wales and Scotland and face an England outfit who have looked out of sorts since they stormed to the World Cup final four months ago.
And Devin Toner, who returns to the starting line-up for the first time since his shock
Japan omission, insists that the Triple Crown, which has seemingly lost its lustre in recent times, remains a prized scalp.
‘I think it does,’ said the Leinster lock.
‘I think any time that you’re able to win a trophy for your country is huge. We didn’t reference it that much to be honest, but in fairness, it would be very nice to come away with a bit of silverware.’ Simon Easterby
secured three Triple Crowns during his playing days and maintained it still means a lot in the modern era.
‘We probably didn’t have the success that team’s had in the last 10 years,’ said the Ireland assistant coach.
‘So Triple Crowns were precious and I think it’s what you have to do to win it. They’re probably the fiercest rivalries against the three countries you’ve got to beat to win the Triple Crown.
‘For this year, it’s two home games and one away and that one away is England and we’ve done it in the past, in the early 2000s.
‘We came here and won the Triple Crown, but in those games it didn’t just happen – there was a huge amount of effort and work that went into receiving that trophy.
‘For me, it’s still hugely important. Like Dev said, to claim some silverware, it’s another step along the way in the progression of this team, which at the moment under Faz (Farrell) is still in its infancy in terms of the way we want to play.
‘If there’s something up for grabs then it’s certainly something that the players will be desperate to not only win the game but, off the back of that, it’s something tangible that you can get your hands on.’
Toner’s late call-up is the only change to this Ireland side after Iain Henderson withdrew earlier this week following the birth of his son.
Toner may have thought his Test career was finished after Joe Schmidt made the curious call to omit the 33-year-old from his World Cup plans in Japan.
The Meath man has fought his way back into the reckoning in recent months, however, and is relishing his return to the international fold.
‘I do have the knowledge that I am probably in the twilight of my career, so I probably won’t have a lot of chances left in me so I’m going to try to enjoy every game.
‘So you could say that I do appreciate it a bit more, yeah.’