Before praising Ireland for their convincing win over France yesterday, the scoreline must be put into context. England put nearly 50 points on the same opposition four weeks ago, and although Ireland had enough chances to do the same, they didn’t convert several of them, and it will be a point of contention with … Continue reading Lazarus
Category: Joe Schmidt
Blue Demons
The merry-go-round nature of the French national side's coaching appointments and players selections over the last 10 years has left them in a terrible state. In every one of their games in this Championship thus far, France's players have performed as if they have never met before, and as bad as their results might … Continue reading Blue Demons
Treading Water
When assessing Ireland’s underwhelming performance yesterday, it’s worth noting that Cian Healy, Rory Best, James Ryan, Devin Toner, Dan Leavy, CJ Stander, Jack Conan, Joey Carbery, Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose and Jordan Larmour were all missing from the matchday squad either through injury or squad rotation. That’s seven nailed-on starters, the second-choice out-half, a … Continue reading Treading Water
Respecting The Underdog
You can lose to any given team on any given day, but considering that Italy can't buy a win at this moment in time, it's difficult to keep saying that they have a genuine chance of beating Ireland (or any Tier 1 nation for that matter) with a straight face, and that's taking into … Continue reading Respecting The Underdog
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