Is it a good omen for Ireland that the RBS 6 Nations is finishing on St Patrick’s Day this year? Will our patron Saint be watching over our boys from a tacky Irish bar in the sky when they play Italy in what could be the final leg of a Grand Slam?
Flustered by news of England’s revival or gnawed at by the fear that new Welsh sensation James Hook may be the best back to hit this tournament since Brian O’Driscoll, it certainly seems as though we’ll be needing a bit of extra help from somewhere if we are to win this tournament. Remember though: Saint Patrick being a Welshman, Ireland will probably have to look elsewhere for the extra ingredient in what will hopefully turn out to be a Grand Slam winning mix.
The good news is that Ireland may be able to win without celestial assistance. The hard-headed bookies have made them 13/8 favourites - a 38% chance - to win the Championship and 3/1 - a 25% chance - to win the Slam. This is an Irish team that doesn’t need a slice of luck; an Irish team that can win just by playing to their potential in every game. This is incredible.
After all, if this team wins the Grand Slam, it would be the culmination of one of the most unlikely turnarounds in the history of Irish sport. Remember that for ten years from 1990 to 1999 Ireland were never outside the bottom two in what was then a five team tournament, and that almost every Spring they were wooden spoon candidates rather than Championship contenders.
In fact, when you take into account just how low it was that Ireland sank during that period, completing the Grand Slam in 2007 looks about as likely as Derry winning Liam McCarthy in 2010. Or perhaps not; as I recall, every season in the 90s began with hopes high, focussed on isolated but outstanding elements of the team such as Simon Geoghegan’s brilliance on the wing or the return of the Brendan Mullin to the centre.
Five Reasons Ireland Will Win The Grand Slam (Click here)
And Five Reasons They Won't (Click here)
How have things changed? Well, rather than relying on passion, bravery and individual brilliance, this modern Irish team are, arguably, either best or second best in the tournament in all departments bar one (the scrum) and have the best or second best players in at least five and possibly eight or more positions. This newfound strength is why they have never finished worse than third and have been second four times in the Six Nations (2000-2006). High expectations have always been a feature of Ireland’s Championship build-up, but, because of their obvious class and their strong form, there has never been more substance to them than there is now.
As is becoming apparent, this brings a new kind of pressure to bear. As the possibility of a Slam looms larger than ever before, the fear factor – that Ireland will be undone by the wily Welsh, the power and precision of England or the flamboyance of France – is stronger than ever.
Not for Irish rugby pundits the brazen predictions and overblown confidence of their Saxon counterparts! Rather, this Six Nations opening weekend will take place amid a national frenzy of self-deprecation and doubt, so much so that it seems as though it would have been easier for this Irish team to stay in the 1990s comfort zone and never raised their heads above the parapet. Even this supremely self confident bunch of players must think at times that it would have been easier to have never really tried at all than it will be if, having obviously made a massive effort, they are still found wanting.
Ultimately, no matter what the result, this Irish team must be given huge credit for daring to be different, for rejecting the paradigm that was their birthright and refusing to settle for being the rest of the world’s favourite losing team. Hopefully, this odd and unsettling feeling of being true contenders will be one Irish sports fans will get used to.
For now: don’t fret, sit back, enjoy the ride and remember that, as another great Irish team had it: ‘Que Sera, Sera’!
Watch all of this year's RBS 6 Nations matches live on RTÉ Two and RTÉ.ie. Listen to all of Ireland's matches live on RTÉ Radio 1 FM, MW and LW 252.
