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'I see them being Ireland’s biggest competitor in the next couple of years'
By Ian Cameron
Former Ireland scrumhalf Peter Stringer has pinpointed England as Ireland’s main competitors going forward, following what in the end turned out to be a closely contested Six Nations campaign.
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Despite Ireland’s triumph, it was their penultimate game — a loss to England at Twickenham — that might people sit up and take notice of England, who had theretofore disappointed.
England’s unyielding intensity throughout the 80 minutes showcased the high stakes of the rivalry, with Ireland narrowly missing out on a win. This match – according to Stringer – highlighted England’s standing as a formidable opponent for Ireland going forward.
“The game against England at Twickenham – which, for me, was the best game of the tournament – was a prime example,” Stringer told Betway. “England played at an incredibly high intensity for 80 minutes, and Ireland could still have nicked it. It was a disappointing result, but it’s a mark of where Ireland have got to.
“England were relentless for the whole game. They dominated those tackles more often than not, and the knock-on effect at the breakdown just stopped Ireland from playing. What is normally two-second ruck ball become four-second ruck ball, meaning receivers had to stall their runs and couldn’t come onto the ball at pace.
“I thought England were incredible in the last two games and, for me, Ben Earl was the standout player in the tournament. They look like they’re really building something under Steve Borthwick and I see them being Ireland’s biggest competitor in the next couple of years with some of the uncertainty around France and their coaching staff.”
Despite the emergence of England as a force, Stringer sees Ireland as being in a strong position.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, Ireland would have taken back-to-back championships – albeit without a second consecutive Grand Slam – before the tournament began. The fact they did so without playing particularly well in some of their games just shows what a good place Irish rugby is currently in.
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“There’s a real continuity in the team no matter who plays. Johnny Sexton was Andy Farrell’s coach on the field – he was the eyes and the voice that controlled everything – but Jack Crowley has really stepped up to the plate in that key position. There had a few injuries, which is always disruptive, but Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw and Ciaran Frawley just slotted in when required.
“They’re so well-drilled, with a real focus and cohesion that means teams have got to be at their very best for 80 minutes to beat them. That’s a very difficult place to get to, and I can only see it growing from here.”
England need to change their game if they are going to become competitive. Their tour to Japan then to Nz to play the mighty AB'S will find them out. It is strange that everyone forgets how strong the Southern hemisphere teams really are.
Ireland is a great team but there seems to be a lot of bloviating about them at the moment. Apparently we’re also pretending that SH teams don’t exist and the RWC never happened.
This is a good article to pin to the scrapbook. Reflect on in July.
The sheer fact of Ireland coming out of the blocks so strong set the pace of the tournament. England hung on to their shirt tales be it a slow start for them. The rest of the comp was marginsl but big improvements were evident, unfortunately too little too late. From a kiwi perspective it was an incredible campaign to watch. Can’t wait for next season
I think things are going to be really really close between England, Ireland, & France for the next few years.
Ireland are the best attacking team the world has ever seen, but will struggle to sustain it given the advanced age of their key players. England are starting from a position of weakness, but have the best gameplan. France have the best strength in depth and the best prospects for squad development.
I enjoyed the tight games in this year's 6N, regardless of who won.
And I'm really excited about the improvement of Italy and England.
Rugby needs a strong Northern Hemisphere and the RWC needs strong NH teams competing with strong SH sides.
(Which will in turn force tier 2 and Pacific nation teams to up their game).
Quite frankly, rugby routs are boring to watch.
But a World Cup where every team that makes it out of the group stages has a real, not just on paper, but a very real chance of winning the World Cup, now that is a mouth watering prospect.
Stringer was writing England off a few weeks ago so take with a pinch of salt.
France have the talent emerge as the strongest 6N team in the coming years with Ireland/England coming next. France had a defensive weakness at 10-12. England scored 2 easy tries this way. That wont be available next year. If France adapt to be able to defeat Ireland and England then it will take a lot to stop them. We may have another farce RWC draw and schedule, who knows, but France have the ability to be a lot better than in 2023.
Ireland need to be able to employ a comprehensive (short) kicking game. We need to be able to hurt teams who rush defend or commit few to rucks and hold a big defensive line.
England’s biggest competitor is themselves and the lack of continuity. Lucky for them they seem to thrive in the chaos that this fosters. Ireland are scarily consistent this early in a RWC cycle but need to be careful they don’t become too predictable and overly reliant on pre-drilled movements - something England took advantage of well.