Ireland kick off their defence of the Six Nations title against Wales this Sunday at 3pm local time. It will be a very tough tournament for the Irish team, with injuries to several of the first XV, along with a number of players suffering a severe loss of form.
It will also be the first Six Nations tournament since 1999 that Ireland will be without the services of Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell. The loss of these two talisman will be keenly felt.
Ireland’s last game was the World Cup quarter-final, where they were completely outclassed by a tremendous Argentina.
The Irish team for Sunday’s game reflects the absence of key players, with only Best at hooker and Heaslip in the back row considered to be first choices. In the backs, both Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald are injured so their places are taken ably by Keith Earls and Andrew Trimble.
Earls will have a very tough time marking Welsh giant George North. Henshaw and Payne will also be in trouble against one of the best centre pairings in world rugby. Roberts and Davies have 122 caps between them, while Payne and Henshaw total 25. Davies makes his return to the Welsh side after missing the World Cup through injury.
Simon Zebo comes in for the under-performing Rob Kearney. Jonny Sexton is at out-half, though there was a recent flare up of his concussion problems. Sexton has been in lacklustre form for Leinster so it’s hoped that he can push it up a gear on the big stage.
South African-born CJ Stander makes his debut for Ireland after qualifying under the residency rule (a player has to be in a country for three years and never played for another country). Stander is a fine player but the loss of Sean O’Brien will be keenly felt, especially against the all-British and Irish Lions back row of Warburton, Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric.
Ireland will be looking to put in a strong performance. This may be one of Ireland’s biggest games in their history. Wales put in a great showing in last year’s World Cup, with a win over England and cutting both Australia and South Africa close. Now with most of their top players returned, they will make a strong bid for the Grand Slam.
Irish rugby is in a poor state at the moment. None of the provinces managed to reach a European quarter-final for the first time since 1998. Coupled that with Leinster suffering their worst season ever, with record defeats in the ERCC and only one win from six pool games.
The World Cup turned out to be a bit of a shambles. Although they topped the pool, France, the main opposition, were completely dire. Then the team were completely outclassed by Argentina in the knockout rounds.
Never mind retaining the Six Nations title, Ireland will be lucky if they manage to finish at the middle of the table. Wales have to be one of the favourites, while Scotland will want to build on a heroic showing against Australia and have their best Six Nations in years.
Both France and England are an unknown quantity, with new coaches and playing squads. Both countries will want to regain some form and pride after shocking performances in the World Cup.
As an Ireland fan, I want the team to do well but I also want the Six Nations to deliver as a whole. For a number of years now, the tournament has been surviving on reputation, with many of the games lacking as spectacles.
With no Northern Hemisphere country managing to reach the World Cup semi-finals in history, the game in Europe needs a substantial overhaul. It’s time for the top brass to realise that the hemisphere is lagging behind and steps need to be made to close the gap. One important progressive step is that for the first time in history, the four ‘Home Unions’ are all coached by someone from outside the hemisphere!
Ireland: S Zebo; A Trimble, J Payne, R Henshaw, K Earls; J Sexton, C Murray; J McGrath, R Best (capt), N White; D Toner, M McCarthy; CJ Stander, T O’Donnell, J Heaslip.
Replacements: S Cronin, J Cronin, T Furlong, D Ryan, R Ruddock, K Marmion, I Madigan, D Kearney.
Wales: G Anscombe; G North, J Davies, J Roberts, T James; D Biggar, G Davies; R Evans, S Baldwin, S Lee, L Charteris, A-W Jones, S Warburton (capt), J Tipuric, T Faletau.
Replacements: K Owens, G Jenkins, T Francis, B Davies, D Lydiate, L Williams, R Priestland, A Cuthbert.
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