Are Ireland the team to beat in the Six Nations Championship?

The Six Nations got underway once again on Saturday and Ireland began in blistering fashion with a 29-7 win over Wales in Dublin.

Ireland, under Coach Andy Farrell, had a fine end to 2021 in the autumn internationals and continued in that vein at the Aviva Stadium, ensuring there would be no grand slam or triple crown for the defending champions.

It was a ninth consecutive win for the hosts, stretching back to halfway through last year’s campaign, after what was a difficult start to the tournament.

A dreadful second half showing in last year’s reversal in Cardiff and a frustrating home defeat to France left Farrell under considerable pressure, with further poor results likely to result in a change of management.

Ireland rallied however and reeled off three victories to finish in third place to add a little bit of respectability to the campaign.

The jury was still out however and the summer wins over Japan and the USA will have done little to win over the doubters.

Things then picked up in the autumn, at a serious pace. First came a thrashing of Japan in Dublin and that was followed by a third win in five games against the might of New Zealand.

This was a result that made the world take notice. It was not a backs to the wall heroic type of performance, but one of aggression and skill, a performance that the ‘All Blacks’ themselves would have been proud of. Ireland deserved their win and Farrell was now free from the pressure that had been hanging.

A hammering of Argentina the following weekend laid down another marker and showed that Ireland mean business once again.

The style of play is different now. While the defence is still of considerable strength and the Irish forwards can compete with any pack in the world, the squad are playing with a lot more freedom.

It is as if the shackles have come off. It has long been the complaint of supporters that Ireland have struggled to move the ball through hands and that was what set them apart from the more successful nations. When it came to the crunch, Ireland would be found technically.

This Irish team is different now. The forwards are showcasing their ability on the ball with the likes of Andrew Conway always on hand to provide the finishing touches to these free-flowing moves.

Ireland now have two ways to win matches. They can go for the physical approach so often deployed under Joe Schmidt and they can now play through teams and rack up big scores as Wales could not live with them on Saturday.

Depth is another measure where Ireland are coming up trumps in. Farrell was able to leave vast swathes of experience on the bench at the weekend in Cian Healy, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray with Robbie Henshaw, Jordan Larmour and Jacob Stockdale just some of the names not involved in the 23.

Mack Hansen had a very impressive debut on the left-wing while Caelan Doris looks very much at home in a green shirt.

The provincial scene in Ireland is also in a healthy place which provides a great platform for the national team. Leinster are the favourites to lift the Champions Cup and Ulster, Munster and Connacht will join them in the last 16.

So all of that being said, are they the best team in Europe? At the minute, it only looks like France who could also lay claim to that particular title.

Scotland are gallant but few would back them to win the Six Nations title while England and Wales are far removed from their top form at present.

We have been here with Ireland before however. They have a tendency to peak in between World Cups, thus raising expectations for the showpiece tournaments. It is when things have come crashing down with Ireland famously having never won a knockout match, which is something that Farrell must put right for this current team to reach new heights.

Right now, most would probably pick Ireland in a head-to-head match with France. However, it would take a brave person to back the Irish to do it on the biggest stage owing to the failures of the past.

Luckily for all of us, the pair will face off this coming Saturday in Paris and we may then get a clearer idea of the question in hand.

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