Maybe Darcy Graham is right to be bullish. Maybe Finn Russell plays the game of his life in the one city that’s never let him do his brilliant thing. Maybe. But the data, the history, and the venue all point the same way.
Twickenham's glow lasted two weeks. Jack Crowley held all the cards against Wales — and struggled to play the right card.
Twickenham answered lots of questions about this team, and the reaction of the coaching staff showed it. It was Ireland's recalibration. Now comes the test of whether they can sustain it.
From ‘intent’ to ‘keyboard warriors’ in nine days: what attribution theory tells us about recent messaging by Andy Farrell. Meanwhile, unsparing data on the performance of his Irish players presents a different picture.
For 42 years he pulled no punches as rugby correspondent of The Sunday Times, often incurring the wrath of Irish supporters.
Remember when Ireland were the side that thrived in chaos? When the pace lifted, we got sharper. Now, when it speeds up, we’re the ones making the mistakes.
He could have been a banker, but he was a dynamic tighthead prop just as rugby was going professional. There would be other cases of what might have been, but now he's pushing hard with a new venture.
The stats say Ireland competed. The scoreboard — and the eye test — said otherwise. France’s 36-14 dismantling in Paris exposed an Irish side struggling for identity, cohesion, and conviction.
The man who succeeded John Hayes as Ireland's tighthead prop was 31 when he broke into the team. He made the most of his chance, but 61 caps later it was all over – and real-world challenges awaited him.
Ireland's reliance on Andrew Porter at loosehead prop is made painfully clear by appearance stats. The system has struggled to produce viable replacements and Andy Farrell is now paying the price.
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