Five talking points - Ireland vs England
Ireland will kick-start their Six Nations title defence by hosting England in Dublin this afternoon.
Here are five key talking points ahead of the Aviva Stadium clash.
Can Robbie Henshaw thrive at full-back?
British and Irish Lions centre Henshaw has been thrust into the 15 shirt for Saturday’s match, reverting to the position where he first made his name. Henshaw made his Test debut at full-back in 2013, but has not played there for Ireland since.
The 25-year-old has plenty of provincial experience in the role from his Connacht days, but has hardly operated at 15 for Leinster in the last few years. Head coach Joe Schmidt insists he boasts the “full spectrum of skills” to thrive this weekend, but only time will tell if he can cope with England’s aerial bombardment.
Jack Nowell ready to go in new “libero” role
Unnaturally?🧐 pic.twitter.com/WjVjGNVgxm
— Jack Nowell (@nowellsy15) January 18, 2019
Exeter winger Nowell has revealed he has been given a “golden ticket” by coach Eddie Jones to roam in a free role against Ireland on Saturday. Jones previously half-joked he would deploy Nowell as an auxiliary flanker, a ninth forward, in Dublin. Quite how that manifests remains to be seen, but former Fiji Sevens coach Ben Ryan recently revealed on Twitter he utilised Isoa Damudamu as a ‘libero’ or sweeper in his days coaching Newbury. The tactic comes with far less flexibility than the football equivalent, but the idea remains the same – an all-court player operating in a free role in an ostensibly defensive remit, roaming around trying to steal ball wherever possible.
Bundee Aki and Manu Tuilagi lock horns for the first time since college
New Zealand-born Ireland centre Aki last faced England’s Samoan midfielder Tuilagi in a college game some 12 years back. Aki donned Truro College colours to square up to Tuilagi’s John Cleveland College, with the Leicester outfit apparently winning comfortably.
Back then a callow Aki insisted he steered clear of Leicester powerhouse Tuilagi – but this weekend there will be no quarter given by either party. Expect seismic collisions as two of the global game’s most physical exponents hurtle straight down each other’s channel.
Will Ireland bore England to death?
England assistant coach John Mitchell believes Ireland will bore England to tears this weekend. Ireland could not care less, but know full well there is nothing boring about winning a Grand Slam, or beating the much-vaunted All Blacks – as Joe Schmidt’s men did in a stunning 2018.
Even a 3-0 home win would be viewed as scintillating by the Irish public. And when England are fully honest with themselves, they will admit that rather than boring, what they meant was that it is simply extremely difficult to pinch the ball off an Ireland team in full flow. Deny Ireland possession this weekend and England will have a chance. Should the hosts find their rhythm however, it could prove a long Dublin day for the visitors.
Mako and Billy could spell double trouble for Ireland
England finally have both Mako and Billy Vunipola fit, and Eddie Jones will love the chance to pair up the influential and physical brothers in his Red Rose pack. Billy Vunipola especially can transform England’s game plan, especially in phase play, given his all-court skill-set. Ireland will have to shut down the Saracens number eight at source if they want to continue their winning Six Nations run.
Press Association Sport
Comments on RugbyPass
Good to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
7 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
7 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
7 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
19 Go to comments