Five Reasons There's Still Hope For Ireland In The Guinness Six Nations 2020
OK, folks; deep breaths. There’s no point in pretending otherwise; Sunday didn’t go to plan. Returning to Twickenham for the first time since a hammering in August, Ireland found themselves on the receiving end of another battering, succumbing to their first defeat of the Guinness Six Nations campaign, a 24-12 humbling at the hands of the World Cup finalists.
But before the head drops too much, it may not be full-on doom and gloom. No, we won’t be celebrating a Grand Slam in Paris, but it’s not time to give up hope completely. There’s still two weekends of action ahead on Virgin Media One, Virgin TV 103 – and here are some reasons why we’re still backing the green machine in the weeks to come…
THE WINDS OF CHANGE
A disastrous start, leading to a 17-0 half-time deficit, left Ireland in a hole they were never going to dig their way out of – but their efforts in the final quarter were at least a reasonable effort. The spirit showed that while bloodied, Andy Farrell’s men remain unbowed, while Caelan Doris and John Cooney both made an impact off the bench, and should surely be in the starting line-up in a fortnight’s time. And speaking of which…
ROMAN HOLIDAY
With the greatest of respect, you couldn’t hope for better opponents to help get back into the swing of things than Italy. The tournament’s weakest side await Ireland on March 7th, in what represents the perfect opportunity to bounce back from Sunday’s disappointment. If a week is a long time in sport, then three weeks is an eternity; things could look very different by the time the boys head to France on Super Saturday. Which reminds us…
WE LOVE PARIS IN THE SPRINGTIME
Readers of a certain age will remember when France in the Six (or Five!) Nations meant almost certain defeat. Well, times have most definitely changed; in their last eight meetings in the tournament, Ireland have lost just once. In fact, Paris has become something of a happy hunting ground for the men in green; who’ll ever forget Johnny Sexton’s heroics to kickstart a Grand Slam campaign two years ago?! And on the matter of the fly-half…
JOHNNY’LL BE GOOD
From the fumbled grubber kick which gifted England their first try, to botched kicks at goal, it wasn’t a day to remember for Ireland’s talismanic No. 10 – the undignified slip when operating with one boot just added insult to injury. But if there’s one thing we know about Ireland’s captain fantastic, it’s that he’s got thick skin; while Sexton was down on Sunday, we bet it won’t be for long. And anyway…
WE CAN BLAME BONO
If supporting the men in green is one of the country’s greatest passions, then giving out about the U2 frontman must be up there on the list, too. What a treat, then, that we can combine the two, and speculate that Bono’s visit to the squad last week contributed to the misfires this weekend! He needn’t expect Andy Farrell to tell him to ‘Get On Your Boots’ any time soon (sorry!)…
At your service, Sir… and always at the service of a truly great Irish team…! Bono @JohnnySexton @IrishRugby pic.twitter.com/lhv2T4oKQg
— U2 (@U2) February 19, 2020
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