Ronan Kelleher: 'We've put ourselves in a good position to win that Triple Crown'

TRIPLE CROWN CHASE: Ireland's Thomas Clarkson and Ronan Kelleher celebrate the win over Wales. Pic: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott.

Even in a tournament with a schedule as condensed as the Guinness Six Nations, recency bias is a powerful perception.

Twelve months ago, Ireland’s early hand on a Triple Crown was almost forgotten thanks to a heavy home defeat by France in round four while England’s rebound from an opening-day defeat in Dublin was consigned to distant memory given the four wins that followed.

The 2026 championship is being played out along similar lines as we head into the final round of games next Saturday. England are enduring the pain of last season’s over-optimistic appraisal of their campaign and the 12-Test winning run it ignited.

Their first-round hammering of Wales was to be the last in that streak and only misery have followed, heavy defeats to Scotland and Ireland teeing up a disastrous first Six Nations loss to Italy.

For Ireland, and indeed Scotland, who meet at Aviva Stadium in the final round next weekend with a Triple Crown on the line and perhaps the title itself, the polar opposite is true, a point underlined by Irish hooker Ronan Kelleher’s belief that achieving a sweep of the home nations would be deeply significant.

It is an opinion at odds with the views of some supporters drunk on recent successes. Yet in the wake of a calamitous defeat to France in Paris at the outset of the competition, a Triple Crown, never mind a smash and grab of the championship at the expense of both the Scots and the French, who welcome the English to the Stade de France in the grand finale, it would represent a successful 2026 campaign in the minds of this Irish squad.

“Look, it is massive for us,” Kelleher said following last Friday night’s 27-17 win over Wales. “We're obviously really looking forward to next week now.

“We've put ourselves in a good position to win that Triple Crown. I think there's still potentially a chance of us winning a championship as well, which is always obviously the number one thing. But it's still massive for us as a group.”

Scotland’s scintillating, seven-try 50-40 Murrayfield victory against France on Saturday emphatically halted Les Bleus’ procession to an expected Grand Slam and blew the title race wide open.

Kelleher, who toured with many of that Scottish side on last summer’s British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, was already wary of the threats Gregor Townsend’s team possess.

“They're brilliant players,” the hooker said. “It's obviously well-documented that they're a world-class talent throughout their team. I suppose we're just going to have to get back to work on Monday morning, I suppose preview the game there and get ready to go.”

Given Ireland’s struggle to pull away from a fast-improving Wales during a fiercely fought contest last Friday at the Aviva, there was an element of relief in Kelleher’s instant review of his team’s performance in round four.

“Yeah, happy with how we went. It was obviously a very tough Test match but I’m just happy we got over the line and got the bonus point, which is the most important thing as it keeps us alive.

“I suppose we were obviously very happy to get the win. We were also very aware of how difficult the Test match was going to be beforehand.

“I think it's very easy to get lulled into a false sense that you're going to show up and do a job, which will never ever be the case, especially in this competition.

“Every game is so tough so we were obviously happy getting the bonus point. We were all very aware we were a little bit inaccurate at times, especially in the 22 at converting that kind of pressure to points but all credit to them.

“They obviously defended really well and got some crucial poaches at some crucial times. Overall we were very happy to get the win and the bonus points considering how difficult the Test match was.”