Scotland may fall prey to alien invasions
Scotland’s backline appears to be a potential weakness that Ireland could capitalise on in their final Six Nations contest in Dublin next week. After securing their first victory in 11 years with a thrilling win in Rome, following their tie in France, Italy demonstrated a tactical prowess that Scotland’s head coach, Gregor Townsend, will no doubt be scrutinising. Italy managed to breach the Scottish defence twice in the game, employing the spaces behind their line to secure two tries. After only a quarter of an hour, Ignacio Brex managed to score following a short lofted kick from Martin Page-Relo and Louis Lynagh rushed through shortly after the second half commenced to catch a low, fast ground kick from Paolo Garbisi. Risks taken with short passes between players are tactics that fly-half Jack Crowley hasn’t shied away from throughout the tournament. Additional instances may be anticipated.
England has discovered their rhythm
Ireland will pay heed to Scotland’s slip-up against Italy, whilst Scotland will be scrutinising England’s strategies that successfully threw Ireland off balance. This was all thanks to high-intensity play, physicality, quick recycling of the ball, and a speedy back three. The scrum and lineouts were also areas where England dominated. Having rectified previous errors, England got a lot of things right. The key question for England had been whether Steve Borthwick and Felix Jones could successfully guide the players in their preferred style of play. There were never any doubts about the calibre of England’s squad members, simply about how to extract their maximum potential. They triumphed in achieving that, winning by a small difference at Twickenham.
The quality of Andy Farrell’s reserves is up for debate.
Notable discussions have arisen over Andy Farrell’s decision to hold a 6-2 split in the Irish team, with only two backs, Ciarán Frawley and Conor Murray, on the reserves bench. Despite the criticism, Farrell remains unfazed, adopting the notion of ‘such is life’ and indeed, he may be justified in this stance. Both Calvin Nash and Frawley suffered unfortunate events. Nash incurred a head injury during a tackle, and Frawley, initially enlisted to fill a foreign wing slot and subsequently reassigned to fullback, was also side-lined for a head injury assessment. Nevertheless, Farrell’s risky strategy narrowly missed success in spite of England’s persuasive performance on the field. However, pundits will continue to debate over the peril involved in such a split, notwithstanding South Africa’s victorious use of the strategy in the 2019 World Cup, prior to their utilization of a 7-1 split in the previous year’s finals.
Irish defeat ensued from the early onset
The first time Ireland found themselves lagging behind in this year’s tournaments was when England held a 5-3 lead in the recent match. Previously, against France, Italy, and Wales, the Irish had always managed to seize a lead before the 20-minute mark. Italy was shut out with 36 unanswered Irish points, while France’s first points, a penalty kick by fullback Thomas Ramos, came only after 26 minutes. Wales, with a heavy 17-0 deficit at the midway point, managed to only score in the second half with a penalty try. However, within the first six minutes of the game with England, Ollie Lawrence darted into the corner, leaving an injured Nash behind, making it an uphill battle for Ireland from then on.
With such vested historic rivalries, creating history is indeed a formidable task.
The late drop goal from Marcus Smith and the letdown experienced by Ireland post-match clearly exemplify the significant progress made by this team. A collective silence dominated the nation as the ball soared beyond the line, except for a handful of who could not resist smirking. Striving for a historic accomplishment differs greatly from merely attaining a match win. Nonetheless, the inclusion of Italy in the Six Nations in 2000 opened up new possibilities. England endeavoured to create history in 2017, aiming to clinch back-to-back Grand Slams. A year earlier, they had triumphed over each participating team, and everything seemed to be advancing smoothly until Ireland took them down 13-9 in the final round. Though England lifted the trophy, the much-sought-after Grand Slam eluded them. Could the events of this weekend be considered payback?