By Matt Hardy
The Six Nations title is in Ireland’s and Ireland’s hands alone after the middle weekend of the competition concluded yesterday.
Because the Emerald Isle are the only unbeaten side remaining in the competition and have a lacklustre England and a misfiring Scotland between them and a second consecutive Grand Slam. An unbeaten campaign this year would see Ireland become the first Six Nations side to win back-to-back Grand Slam titles since Italy joined the competition in 2000.
Andy Farrell’s men put Wales to the sword in Dublin on Saturday, marching to a 31-7 victory in the Irish capital to keep their perfect record intact.
England struggles
The only other side who were in with a chance of replicating the Ireland run of three wins in a row this year was England, but their 30-21 loss to a powerful Scotland scuppered their slim hopes of a Grand Slam.
Steve Borthwick’s side struggled in Edinburgh and were played off the park by a dominant Scotland, making a huge number of errors. It is the first time Scotland have won four Calcutta Cups in a row since 1896.
“We know [it] wasn’t good enough,” said Borthwick after the Murrayfield mauling. “When you make that number of handling errors at this level it’s very difficult to win.
“Ultimately we made it too easy for them to score. They were very clinical but the huge lesson for us is that [conceding] that number of turnovers makes it very difficult.
“Sometimes you get away with making errors.
“Against a team like Scotland you don’t. Scotland’s 10, 12 and 13 have started a dozen times. That is the first time our 10, 12 and 13 have started together and it looked like that. There was a lack of cohesion in what they did and there were too many fundamental errors.
“I don’t think the team maximised its potential today. We’d all love progression to be on a nice linear path but, ultimately, it’s not.”
Scotland on the up
But inexperienced pairings will not be seen as an excuse to many given the trio have over 165 caps to their names combined.
Van der Merwe’s hat-trick – including one stunning long-range effort – would have given England flashbacks to his monumental performance against the Red Rose side at Twickenham last year.
The reality is that Scotland had England’s number and there was little the away side could muster in the form of a Plan B.
It leaves England needing wins against Ireland at Twickenham in round four and in Lyon against France on Super Saturday to have a shot at winning the title.
Ireland just need to keep winning, and a loss for them is the only way others will get a look in.
If they were to lose, however, Scotland or England will be waiting in the wings having only been beaten once so far in 2024.
Ireland for the Grand Slam?
France could be in the mix too but a surprise 13-13 draw against Italy yesterday in Lille damaged their hopes of lifting the title come the middle of next month.
France are now a shadow of the team that sparked so much joy during the Rugby World Cup and without their first choice half-back pairing – No9 Antoine Dupont and No10 Romain Ntamack – they’re looking a little lost.
They have also been slapped with two red cards in their three games, something that has significantly damaged their momentum.
So it is Ireland’s to lose now, and they’ll march on London in a fortnight knowing a victory all but secures them the Six Nations title.
Can England stop them? Based on their Murrayfield performance, no. But stranger things have happened in this great competition over the years.
