Ireland down but not out for Six Nations

Richard Manton and Jeff McDonald analyse Ireland's progress in the RBS Six Nations.

Ireland kicked off the 2010 RBS Six Nations at Croke Park as champions. In a game that was dull at times, Ireland struggled past Italy 29-11. A single try from Jamie Heaslip and Tomás O’Leary and a host of penalties from O’Gara and Paddy Wallace capped off an underwhelming performance that left worrying signs for later matches. Ireland visibly struggled at the breakdown, in the rucks and in the scrum.

On the same day, England took on Wales at Twickenham. After a brace of tries from James Haskell and one by Danny Care, England finished off Wales with a score of 30-17. The turning point of the game came when Alun-Wyn Jones was sent to the bin and England racked up 17 points in the ten minutes.

Also in round one, France travelled to Scotland in an impressive, yet low-scoring affair. The scoreline of 18-9 does not accurately reflect the French’s dominance. A try by Bastareaud after 16 minutes, which he followed with steamroller try at 37 minutes, meant that the game was effectively over by half time. France put down a hard marker and showed that they were well prepared for Ireland in round two.

In round two, the tournament exploded into life with France combining their power up front and their silky handling skills to pick Ireland apart. Ireland were guilty of a lot of errors and of not finishing chances but they can only blame themselves. The French were incredible and beat Ireland in every facet of the game. The battle of the back-rows was one to watch, but the French demolished us. Harinordoquy and Dusatoir were outstanding.

The Wales-Scotland game was great to watch and had one of the best finishes to a game. Over the first 60 minutes, the Scots had one of their best performances in the last 5 years, with Dan Parks taking his opportunities at number 10. But indiscipline cost them dearly and once the Welsh got a sniff of the game breaking up, they capitalised with Shane Williams showing how he’s still one of the best wingers in the world.

In Sunday’s game, the Italians again proved a sticky team to beat. England chose to play them at their own game and take on the Italians up front - one of the most outlandish coaching decisions every made. Martin Johnson may have been a great leader on the field, but he’s certainly not a good one off it.

France are the obvious favourites for the championship, but they still have to face Wales in Cardiff. If Wales can stop the French from getting an early lead, they could blow the championship wide open. Ireland need to regroup quickly and take the game to England, who are still unbeaten and could yet pose a serious threat to France.

By Richard Manton and Jeff McDonald