Donal Lenihan: Is Irish rugby's talent pool deep enough to compete against the best?

Donal Lenihan looks at Ireland's strength in depth and asks whether the quality coming through is good enough against the best international sides?

Ireland’s Jacob Stockdale takes flight after been tackled by France’s Gael Fickou in the Six Nations match at the Stade de France last weekend. Donal Lenihan believes the Ulster star is a gifted athlete but believes his concentration always appears suspect. Picture: James Crombie

You can dress it up, sugarcoat it anyway you want but sport without the fans just isn’t the same. The alternative, no live sport of any description in the already challenging environment we find ourselves in, would be a million times worse. We should be grateful for what we have.

Sport in lockdown, even if diluted, is a massively welcome distraction but I can’t escape the feeling that the three Six Nations games played out in front of empty stands in Llanelli, Rome, and Paris last weekend were poor imitations of the real thing.