Things kickers think of to relieve pressure

All the talk before tonight’s Ireland Wolfhounds clash with England Saxons has been about who might do enough to break into the full squad for the Six Nations, writes Ronan O’Gara.

In reality, it doesn’t really work like that. The Ireland coaching staff will already have a good idea of what a player is about and who they’re likely to select — it’s hard to accelerate yourself into the team off the back of one good performance. It is, however, very easy to set yourself back in games like tonight’s in Cork.

To get into the reckoning for the Six Nations, you have to tip away at a consistent level with your club or province, but if you have a bad game it can set you back weeks. If you’re a 7/10 or 8/10 player every week and then you have a stinker, a 4/10 performance, it’s hard to get back in the good books because you’ll need another four 8/10 games to eradicate that one bad showing.