The moment-row calls knows Ireland’s lineout game will have to improve against Italy after their plans went awry against EnglandA colleague on this newspaper asked on Friday if Ireland would be able to avoid the wooden spoon in this Six Nations. While the sound of a hopping ball could be heard clearly across the Irish Sea,nevertheless it illustrates two things: the tight lanes on the championship highway mean that accidents do you out of the race; and Ireland no longer immediate questions about how they can cruise along on the fast track.
The standard line in Camp Ireland has been that they are not far off the pace even though they lie fifth in the table with a solitary point, one more than their opponents on Saturday in Dublin: Italy. A draw; defeat by a point; defeat by two scores: it supports the theory that a team who final season were winning without precisely running their opponents off the park have slowed only slightly to be a close moment in two of three races so far. Related: England’s Billy Vunipola stands out in Six Nations defeat of Ireland Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com