Horan taunts insulting

‘ONE swallow never made a summer’ ought to be the viewpoint of the Irish front-row forwards as they measure up to what could be a decisive element of Saturday’s Six Nations clash with England at Croke Park.

Leicester’s defeat of Munster in the Heineken Cup at Thomond Park and the manner in which they won the battle up front caused Welsh coach Gareth Jenkins to radically alter his front-row for their Millennium Stadium meeting with Ireland. Jenkins was convinced that his namesake Gethin Jenkins and Chris Horsman would clean out Marcus Horan and John Hayes come scrimmage time. Their failure to do so and the manner in which the tables were turned played a key part in Ireland’s win.

France were also thinking on similar lines to Wales. They have a battalion of great props at their disposal and used Pieter de Villiers, Sylvain Marconnet and Olivier Milloud at Croke Park. Once again, the Irish held their own and the anticipated French supremacy in this area didn’t materialise.