Duncan Casey: Reasons for Ireland's Six Nations woes run deeper than Andy Farrell absence
Though they are 32, 33 and 34 years of age respectively, James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park and Bundee Aki are still standout performers for club and country. Dropping them because they may slow down in the future, doesn't make sense. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
When Ireland finished stuttering their way to victory in Rome on Saturday, a sense of gloom abounded as supporters and media alike reflected on this year’s Six Nations campaign. At a glance, it wasn’t so bad. Four wins out of five, the only defeat coming against the champions themselves. That might have been good enough for Irish teams of old but that’s no longer the case. These players and the public have grown accustomed to the best and neither cohort will be satisfied with how things concluded after such a promising start.
More concerning than the results themselves was the way Ireland seemed to regress as the tournament wore on. They played their best rugby in round one against England, giving a second-half display that appeared to put any lingering doubts from a challenging November series to bed. They followed this by expertly disposing of a Scotland side who, albeit talented, performed well beneath their ceiling. After two rounds, Ireland looked very much like champions. Things started to slide from there.
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