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THE country will grind to a halt on Saturday afternoon as the nation sits down to watch Ireland try to make history by winning a Grand Slam on England’s home turf. It’s St Patrick’s Day so the saints will hopefully be with us and after Cheltenham week hopefully we’ll be flush and can celebrate accordingly!
The planning and anticipation for Saturday started long before the final whistle in the Aviva last weekend.
Ireland started the tournament ranked third in the world, have worked their way up to second thanks to England’s mishaps, so we shouldn’t be at all surprised that they are in a Grand Slam decider. There shouldn’t be too much shock either when they win it!
You need luck to reach this stage and to win tournaments. Ireland had that in Paris the first day out. Since then it has been plain enough sailing, with just a couple of tense moments against Wales and for a while Scotland. But neither of those games were ever going to be lost.
That’s what makes this team so special. The favourites mantle doesn’t phase them, they’ve won 11 straight in the manner that great teams do.
The Scots were a hell of a lot better than a 28-8 scoreline suggests. How many teams have performed well against the All-Blacks only to be on the receiving end of a 20 point beating? That’s the level Ireland are aiming for. That’s the level they are at.
There is, however, a fly in the ointment and that is what has happened to the English over the past three weeks. In losing to Scotland and France they are under a different kind of pressure this Saturday. They are at home and along with all the motivation that naturally comes from wearing your country’s jersey, they will be desperate to sign off with a win from a competition that fell apart for them in Murrayfield.
Not so long ago Ireland would have traditionally been the team to scupper others Grand Slam hopes – as recently as 12 months ago Saturday’s opposition were denied a Grand Slam of their own. The shoe is on the other foot now.
English threat
No Irish team has ever gone into Twickenham over confident and neither will this one, even if some supporters might be. It will take very little for the home team to rediscover what made them second best in the world up until last Saturday night.
Tactically England have looked threadbare since the first half of the Welsh game but with relatively little to lose, they may be more expansive this weekend. They often give the impression that they are a team relying on brute strength to win, but there is plenty of intricacy in their squad.
So they will raise their game, they certainly won’t be the lifeless side that turned up in Edinburgh or the knock-on prone one that fell in Paris.
In our favour is the relatively short turnaround which suits a winning team, but gives a losing one only a week to gather its wits.
At the time of writing, it appears everyone came through the Scottish test relatively unscathed and that is no mean feat.
My seat in the Aviva was close to ground level and only there can you really appreciate the attritional hitting that goes on in the tackle. These hits are relentless – the conditioning must be off the charts to endure it.
To beat England, Ireland will have to summon the forward power and discipline that has served us so well the last few weeks. Scotland made the breakdown a key area and we answered. Ireland’s back row were superb and the same will be needed again.
O’Mahony, Stander and Leavy have been spectacular, James Ryan and Toner too. The front row is clearly the best in Europe by a long way, Best’s solidity complimented by the flair and ball carrying ability of Healy and Furlong. All this minus Sean O’Brien.
On the bench Ireland may also have an edge with Iain Henderson, Sean Cronin, Jack McGrath and Jordi Murphy in reserve, it is in the back division we may be a little light.
The fear is always that something happens to Conor Murray or Johnny Sexton. Joey Carbery and Kieran Marmian are excellent players, but Sexton and Murray are maybe the best in the world, we need them healthy for most of the game to get over the line.
Gary Ringrose’s performance on Saturday was immense considering it was only his second front line game of rugby in over six weeks and he has only played 10 hours of rugby this season. Like a good horse, he goes very well fresh! He has also added another attacking edge to our midfield. Bundee Aki is the perfect foil.
It is truly remarkable to think that had Chris Farrell or Robbie Henshaw not been injured, Ringrose would probably have played with Leinster against Scarlets last Friday night. This is the strength in depth Joe Schmidt now has at his disposal and it augurs well for this Saturday and beyond.
We also have the all important leaders in key positions. Aside from multiple pack leaders the likes of Keith Earls and Rob Kearney have shown the example veterans must provide. In Stockdale we have unearthed another finisher, one who will make the English very nervous about long cut out passes. We seem to have every base covered.
WRESTLE
Game plans are always crucial and we will have one adopted to blunt the strength available to Eddie Jones. It will rely on very accurate kicking and applying pressure on their midfield and fringes, where they have been defensively naive in recent weeks. But they will have done their homework too and have a year ago fresh in their minds.
Ireland will have to match their fire and this could turn out to be a low scoring arm wrestle in the end. That’s okay, this Irish side can win those as well.
Ireland have the depth needed to win this Grand Slam. This has been the obvious goal since the fixture schedule was revealed and that is what fills me with confidence.
I believe strongly that Ireland will win. It will be tight and at times brutally intense. The sting will have to be taken out of the English, with Sexton and Murray having to play the percentages a little bit more than we have in recent games, because there will be a kick in the English, but this Irish team knows how to win.
They know what it takes to get over the line at crucial moments. Schmidt and co. have been building for this day. They won’t be denied. Ireland to win.
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