'When push really comes to shove': Why this champion Ireland side is not 'truly great'

Ireland captured back-to-back Six Nations titles with a clinching 17-13 win over Scotland in Dublin which put this crop of Irish players in rarefied air.

Ireland joined England as the only nations to win back-to-back titles twice in the expanded Six Nations era since the year 2000, and became the first team since England’s 2016-17 to complete the feat.

After just two losses in their last 23 Tests, Ireland have swept all before them with an unprecedented winning run for the nation including 18 straight and a series win in New Zealand over the All Blacks.

But former Ireland fullback Rob Kearney, who was a part of Joe Schmidt’s stellar side for years, questioned whether they can be considered “truly great” on the world stage.

“Today will have a little bit of a say in that,” Kearney told Virgin Media Sport said before Ireland’s win.

“I think to be a truly, truly great team, to be a truly great Irish team, I think we need to be getting past a quarter-final of a World Cup.

“When you have such a golden opportunity like a Grand Slam last week, when push really comes to shove against England, when you are the better team, can you turn up and do it on the day? And they came up a little bit short.

“We know they are better than a good team, but are they a great one? Not just yet.

Ex-Ireland international wing Shane Horgan echoed Kearney’s sentiment that the bar for global greatness is a World Cup victory.

He believed nothing else that Ireland achieves will matter without claiming a William Webb Ellis trophy.

“In the context of international rugby, I don’t think you can be a great team in the World Cup era without winning a World Cup,” Horgan said.

“No matter what else you do. So if you like at the truly great sides, that England World Cup side from 2003, they won Grand Slams as well.

“But it was the World Cup that made them great. The Aussies sides in the 90s, great sides, they won the Bledisloe, they won Tri-Nations, but what really counted was winning a World Cup.

“That’s the bar again that Ireland are judged with. Outside of that international stage, is this Irish side great in the context of other Irish teams? I think probably yes.”

Ex-Scotland coach Matt Williams said that there will be “missed opportunities” for this side, but they have solidified their place in Irish rugby.

Six Nations

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

Ireland

5

4

1

0

20

2

France

5

3

1

1

15

3

England

5

3

2

0

14

4

Scotland

5

2

3

0

12

5

Italy

5

2

2

1

11

6

Wales

5

0

5

0

4

“This team has won in New Zealand, no one else has done that in the Northern Hemisphere,” Williams said.

“They didn’t perform at the World Cup and we all know it. But it’s possible to have two thoughts in your mind at the same time.

“This is an exceptional Irish team, they have done things that no other Irish team has done. But when they get to the end, they’ll say we’ve missed some opportunities. That’s the point.”