Donal Lenihan looks at three challenges that will decide Ireland’s day of destiny.

The Joe Schmidt era just gets better and better. So many boxes ticked as the clock ticks towards the 2019 World Cup.

With a third Six Nations Championship in five seasons already safely tucked away, Ireland head for Twickenham on Saturday without the requirement for any added extras.

I couldn’t help but think how, with the vast majority of the country covered in a thick blanket of snow over the entire weekend, that perhaps Ireland’s Six Nations title aspirations are written in the stars, writes Donal Lenihan.

By all accounts, it was the same across the rugby clubs and bars all over the country, Irish supporters on their feet, cheering deliriously for Scotland as developments in Murrayfield were unfolding immediately following Ireland’s tight win over Wales.

A Saturday to savour in Dublin was made even sweeter by a cracking performance from Scotland in defeating back-to-back Six Nations champions England in Edinburgh, writes Donal Lenihan.

The tiny margins that will shape today’s Six Nations clash at the Aviva Stadium.

Far away from the madding crowds of the Six Nations last weekend, Tom Clifford Park, the famed home of Young Munster, hosted my own club Cork Constitution in the latest of a series of hotly contested Ulster Bank League Munster derbies.

Wales coach Warren Gatland brings great qualities to any management set-up and once again, in the face of adversity, he has engineered two really competitive Six Nations’ performances from a squad ravaged by injury, writes Donal Lenihan