Warren Gatland’s appointment as head coach of the 2017 British and Irish Lions Tour of New Zealand was met with little surprise and jaded responses last September, which probably had a lot do to with the fact that it was a one-horse race. Joe Schmidt ruled himself out of contention at the first mention of … Continue reading Apocalypse Now
From an Irish supporter’s perspective, there’s a unique satisfaction to be taken from denying England a Grand Slam, especially on the final day of the Championship. Much like in 2011, Ireland rebounded from a dismal loss to Wales and played with an intensity that a Grand Slam-chasing England side couldn’t live with for large parts of … Continue reading Shades of 2011
A lot of comparisons have been drawn between Ireland’s capitulation against Wales on Friday night and their lethargic underperformance on the opening day of the tournament in Murrayfield. While they lost both games for similar reasons, it would be remiss not to mention that each of those Tests unfolded differently. Ireland started slowly against Scotland … Continue reading That Sinking Feeling
There are strong parallels between the current Welsh side and the Ireland team that stuttered from loss to loss during the latter stages of Declan Kidney’s tenure: they’ve run out of ideas and there’s a pervading sense of lethargy to their performances, but they’re capable of pulling the occasional good game out of a hat. … Continue reading Red Dragon
The mark of a good team is the ability to win even when they are not at playing at their best, and Ireland’s hard-fought victory over France on Saturday night was a prime example. Ireland’s game plan was apparent from the opening minutes: control possession and territory, dictate the tempo, kick to the corners, and … Continue reading True Grit
When Ireland lost control in the third quarter, you could have forgiven them, given how far ahead of Italy they were on the scoreboard. The fact that they went ahead and grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and added four tries in 14 minutes and turned down every shot at goal on … Continue reading Redemption in Rome
“How many years you spend pi**in’ on a toilet seat before someone told you to put it up?” -Warden Hal Moore - The Green Mile Ireland’s loss to Scotland on Saturday was, in many ways, a mirror image of their defeat to Wales in the opening round of the 2012 Six Nations, when narrowness … Continue reading Déjà Vu
