Three things that helped seal the Six Nations title for Ireland
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: Ireland’s Robbie Henshaw and Jack Crowley celebrate with the trophy. Pic: Dan Sheridan, Inpho
The World Cup quarter-final defeat to New Zealand was only last October. How Ireland would rebound from a shattering loss in Paris and also move on without retired captain, fly-half and linchpin Johnny Sexton, were major concerns from the outside looking in on the eve of the 2024 Six Nations.
Losing play-making right wing Mack Hansen for the duration of the championship added further insecurity yet Ireland have put to bed all anxieties.
An opening victory over France in the cauldron of Marseille’s Stade Velodrome was the perfect hangover cure as Andy Farrell was rewarded for blooding Jack Crowley as Sexton’s successor at number 10, replacing Hansen with Test rookie Calvin Nash and installing Peter O’Mahony as the new skipper, his positive influence on the squad behind the scenes a constant reference point for Irish players relishing a happy camp atmosphere. O’Mahony set the tone and the men in green gave everything for their captain.
Rolling up the sleeves and getting on with things when setbacks happen has been a mantra of head coach Andy Farrell. As in the 2023 Six Nations campaign Ireland have successfully dealt with myriad problems in addition to the losses of Sexton and Hansen. Garry Ringrose’s shoulder injury on the eve of the competition saw Robbie Henshaw find his best form in a couple of years as his replacement at outside centre as he reunited in midfield with the superlative Bundee Aki. Hugo Keenan’s injury issues saw some more than competent stand-in performances in the absence of the first-choice full-back, from both Ciaran Frawley against Italy and Jordan Larmour versus Scotland.
Marcus Smith’s last-kick drop goal to seal a 23-22 Twickenham victory for England over Ireland ended hopes of a historic back-to-back Grand Slams. The Irish had been outmuscled by an England team determined to atone for their Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland in the previous round and just as they had found against the All Blacks at the World Cup, their favourites’ status had brought out the best performance in years from an opponent.
It could have conspired to undermine last weekend’s trophy bid but despite captain O’Mahony admitting on Saturday night that the defeat had led a tough week for his squad, Ireland fronted up admirably in Dublin to get over the line and retain the title.
Ireland conceded just four penalties against Scotland on Saturday but Harry Byrne’s late yellow card was the champions’ fifth of the 2024 Six Nations and compares unfavourably to only three sin-binnings in their previous 29 Tests.
Ireland conceded 48 penalties in total across five championship matches, their improved showing in the final game bringing the average per game below double figures at 9.6, just under the 10 considered to be the maximum permissible for a realistic chance of victory.
That the Irish beat France, Italy and Wales conceding 13, 11 and 13 respectively bucked that trend and Andy Farrell would not want to see referees’ patience tested in similar fashion against the Springboks this summer with Handre Pollard’s lethal goal-kicking, particularly at altitude in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
South Africa rolled the dice under Jacques Nienaber by rolling out seven forwards and just one backline replacement on their benches last autumn, ramping up their famed “Bomb Squad” of six forwards from 2019 and retaining the World Cup in the process.
Acknowledging the risk from day one, Ireland’s switch from the orthodox 5/3 split to 6/2 paid off against France and Wales in rounds one and three but backfired spectacularly at Twickenham in round four when two backs sustained head injuries, Calvin Nash and then his replacement Ciaran Frawley on five and 50 minutes respectively. The resulting backline reshuffles saw both Hugo Keenan and Jamison Gibson-Park moved out of their specialist positions to accommodate the replacements and Ireland suffered as a result.
The versatile Frawley’s absence against Scotland meant a reversion to the 5/3 though it would come as no surprise to see the tourists consider a 6/2 in South Africa this July in an attempt to meet fire with fire.
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