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Ireland's 5 key players in stunning Six Nations campaign

By PA
Johnny Sexton jumps for joy - PA

Ireland celebrated Grand Slam glory after defeating England in Dublin. Here, the PA news agency picks out five standout performers in the Guinness Six Nations triumph.

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Caelan Doris
Doris has become a colossal figure in Ireland’s back row having developed from a rising star to a world-class number eight since making his debut in the first match of Andy Farrell’s tenure. The towering 24-year-old claimed his country’s opening try of the tournament and has been a fearsome presence for opposition sides. His outstanding ball-carrying skills were a key weapon in the Irish arsenal, while he also produced a series of crucial turnovers.

Johnny Sexton
Influential on and off the field, captain Sexton continues to relentlessly drive standards. The 37-year-old taskmaster deservedly celebrated his final Six Nations campaign by lifting the title for the first time as skipper and a fourth occasion overall. He also took individual acclaim by surpassing former fly-half rival Ronan O’Gara as the championship’s all-time leading points scorer. His forthcoming retirement following the autumn World Cup in France will leave sizeable boots to fill.

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Hugo Keenan
Like Doris, Ireland’s ‘Mr Dependable’ is one of the fresh faces who have helped the team kick on since the 2019 World Cup. Keenan has made the full-back role his own and started 30 of his country’s last 32 matches. Exceptional under the high ball, the 26-year-old is lightning quick and rarely makes mistakes. His major contributions during the championship included Ireland’s opening try in the pulsating victory over France, while he was among the tournament’s top performers for metres gained.

Mack Hansen
Successive man-of-the-match displays against Italy and Scotland underlined the Australia-born wing’s increasing importance to the cause. The 24-year-old, who only made his Test debut a year ago, was phenomenal at Murrayfield and, like James Lowe on the opposing flank, has added a different dimension to Ireland’s attack. A constant creative threat, he is fearless, pacey and chips in with crucial tries, such as his timely second at Stadio Olimpico.

James Ryan
The lock continues to grow as a leader and impressed players past and present by speaking passionately of Ireland’s troubled history and the significance of wearing the green jersey in the run-up to the France game. On the field, he is back to his formidable best after suffering a dip in form either side of the 2021 Lions tour, for which he was overlooked. He led the team in Rome and was a tackling machine throughout the tournament.

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ChristelLoewe 3 hours ago
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JW 3 hours ago
'I feel for the players': Jamie Joseph's reflection on falling short again

Some great leadership quality from Big Jim, he facilitated for large parts then put the responsibility on himself at the end drive the team forward in the last desperate minutes. He also filled in for Withy extremely well, adding real strength to the maul.


The Force have been playing very well this year indeed, and their stars did make a couple of key players, the main factor though is definitely what I reported in the previous article “

Gotta say I’m really enjoying the Highlanders desperation in the last 10 minutes of games, maybe it’s just because theyre having to throw the kitchen sink at it again. Another massive effort to hold the opposition out just like in the Blues game. I’m sure the coach’s will be wanting a little more composure though as the play seems to far more hap hazard (really just the type of footy I like watching) than the picture they bring at the beggining of games.

Again though they don’t have the refs to thank for anything, being down a man twenty more minutes than they should have been. Most importantly they were without one of they best attackers (not counting Tangitau’s early change) for the final push, with Nareki’s bin.

Again, I can see where this team is trying to go, I hope they can get their this year as they certainly have the game to be a top four team if they click. They are munch of misfits when you look at it objectively though, they probably have the worst cohesion score of any SRP team. A few more wins, maybe a come from behind upset may be the best theey can hope to acheive this year.

“. Like Jim I thought the defence stood up strongly for large parts, but they may just have some structural issues, where it’s just not paying off. They had Lawaqa on the wing all day, allowed the Force to make a dozen linebreaks, why? Both there attack and defence look a bit too fancy for me, why? Common Joseph, the youngest team with the least cohesion/most new guys, it look overly complicated.


I hope it clicks. Manson in particular looked to be trying far too hard when he came on, what’s been said in his ear? Stick to you lane son and don’t make any mistakes, don’t lose the game for your team. Should be a comfortable win next week against Drua if they keep there heads up and come back stronger. Lasaqa might be best to come off the bench, would keep Jim at 12 but I’d like Tele’a to come back to the side, though TUJ hasn’t been bad and style might suit Drua more. Hopefully Renton or someone with some size is at 8 or 6, Lasaqa appears to be more an 8 actually, similar to Sititi and I wouldn’t mind if he was groomed behind him and Sotutu. Lennox I thought could make a good halfback but isn’t ready, I’d hope Arscott, Fakatava, or Pledger could return to the side. Other than Drua theyve got Cheifs twice, though the home game is the last of the round/season so potentially a gimme if the Chiefs repeat previous years tactics. The Crusaders and Moana at home are also very doable. Those four wins could see them crash into the top 6 still.

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