PICTURE: Hugo Keenan in Ireland's Green Rugby Kit
JANUARY 09 2025
England, France, Wales and Ireland themselves have all come close over the years, but no team has ever won three Six Nations titles on the bounce.
England, France, Wales and Ireland themselves have all come close over the years, but no team has ever won three Six Nations titles on the bounce. That’s the scale of the challenge facing Ireland over the next couple of months, as they look to create history without Andy Farrell at the helm.
How Ireland manages the coaching transition to Simon Easterby, who has taken over on an interim basis while Farrell is away on Lions duty, will determine how successful the upcoming tournament will be. As the longest serving member of Ireland’s backroom team, Easterby knows exactly what makes this squad tick, yet calling the shots as the main man as opposed to his usual job as defence coach is bound to throw up different challenges.
Farrell may not be directly involved, but he will be keeping a close eye on matters, both in terms of his role as Lions and Ireland head coach before he takes over the national team again following the summer series in Australia.
Easterby has been handed the keys for the Six Nations, while the former back-row who won 65 caps for Ireland, is also set to lead the team on next summer’s development tour. Being able to call upon someone with Easterby’s vast experience will be a relief for Farrell, who will want to ensure that Ireland are still humming by the time he returns for the Autumn Nations Series.
There is a lot of Test rugby to be played between now and November, and it all starts for Ireland against England at the Aviva Stadium on February 1. Easterby will welcome the fact that Ireland host England and France (March 8) at home, even if three away trips to Scotland (February 9), Wales (February 22) and Italy (March 15) will throw up plenty of potential pitfalls.
Ireland’s mission is to still be in the title hunt come the final round in Rome, which has all the makings of being an epic St Patrick’s weekend in the Eternal City. The opener against an England side still reeling from Felix Jones’ shock departure will set the tone for what is to follow, and considering Steve Borthwick’s outfit denied Ireland a Grand Slam by being the only team to beat them last year, Easterby will know that the pressure is on to hit the ground running.
A patchy November has left plenty of scope for improvement, with the lineout chief among the focus areas, as forwards coach Paul O’Connell looks to shore up the set-piece.
Fresh after his first full campaign as backs coach, Andrew Goodman is expected to take on more responsibility for the overall running of Ireland’s attack in Farrell’s absence.
One of the most fascinating subplots in that regard is who will be chosen to pull the strings at out-half?
Farrell has been keen to fast-track Sam Prendergast into the No 10 jersey, and the 21-year-old Kildare native justified the faith shown in him with Ireland, while he has since backed that up with Leinster in the Champions Cup, and in the festive derby win over Munster at Thomond Park.
For all that Farrell and Easterby are very much aligned in their thinking, it will be interesting to see if Prendergast gets the nod to start against England, or if Munster's Jack Crowley can force his way back in. Both are excellent young out-halves, and their battle is great for Irish rugby. The players will inevitably do their best to play it down, but the Lions spectre hangs over the Six Nations, with Farrell set to base much of his squad selection around who performs well this Spring.
Having been selected as Ireland captain, Caelan Doris will be hoping to lead the country to further glory, which would surely put the Leinster No 8 in pole position to then skipper the Lions ‘down under’.
Easterby will hope to be able to welcome Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan back from a long-term knee injury, while the important midfield trio Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose are all currently playing well. Fitness and form will have a major say, but if everything goes according to plan, Ireland will be expected to backbone the Lions in Australia, with approximately 20 players in line to make the cut.
England will be determined to dampen those lofty expectations by beating Ireland at home first up before Easterby’s side travel to Murrayfield to face a resurgent Scotland team the following week.
The first break week will give Ireland a chance to regroup ahead of their trip to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium before they host France, who will be many people’s favourites to destroy the three-in-a-row dream. It’s worth remembering that Antoine Dupont missed last year’s Six Nations due to the Toulouse scrum-half’s Sevens commitments. With that in mind, it goes without saying that welcoming back one of the greatest players to ever play the sport significantly enhances France’s bid to win back the Six Nations crown that they relinquished to Ireland in 2023.
All roads lead to Stadio Olimpico where Ireland have a very good record, but the pressure of a potential title winning game would pose a different kind of challenge. With so much water to cross under the bridge before then, Ireland can only dare to dream of giving themselves a shot at history.
Farrell’s influence will be greatly missed, but Ireland have been preparing for his Lions sabbatical for the last couple of years in the hope of minimising the level of disruption. There may well be some bumps along the road ahead, yet Ireland will start the Six Nations as double defending champions, and as such, the team to beat.
Come March 15, they will hope to make it a weekend to remember in Rome.
How Ireland manages the coaching transition to Simon Easterby, who has taken over on an interim basis while Farrell is away on Lions duty, will determine how successful the upcoming tournament will be. As the longest serving member of Ireland’s backroom team, Easterby knows exactly what makes this squad tick, yet calling the shots as the main man as opposed to his usual job as defence coach is bound to throw up different challenges.
Farrell may not be directly involved, but he will be keeping a close eye on matters, both in terms of his role as Lions and Ireland head coach before he takes over the national team again following the summer series in Australia.
Easterby has been handed the keys for the Six Nations, while the former back-row who won 65 caps for Ireland, is also set to lead the team on next summer’s development tour. Being able to call upon someone with Easterby’s vast experience will be a relief for Farrell, who will want to ensure that Ireland are still humming by the time he returns for the Autumn Nations Series.
There is a lot of Test rugby to be played between now and November, and it all starts for Ireland against England at the Aviva Stadium on February 1. Easterby will welcome the fact that Ireland host England and France (March 8) at home, even if three away trips to Scotland (February 9), Wales (February 22) and Italy (March 15) will throw up plenty of potential pitfalls.
Ireland’s mission is to still be in the title hunt come the final round in Rome, which has all the makings of being an epic St Patrick’s weekend in the Eternal City. The opener against an England side still reeling from Felix Jones’ shock departure will set the tone for what is to follow, and considering Steve Borthwick’s outfit denied Ireland a Grand Slam by being the only team to beat them last year, Easterby will know that the pressure is on to hit the ground running.
A patchy November has left plenty of scope for improvement, with the lineout chief among the focus areas, as forwards coach Paul O’Connell looks to shore up the set-piece.
Fresh after his first full campaign as backs coach, Andrew Goodman is expected to take on more responsibility for the overall running of Ireland’s attack in Farrell’s absence.
One of the most fascinating subplots in that regard is who will be chosen to pull the strings at out-half?
Farrell has been keen to fast-track Sam Prendergast into the No 10 jersey, and the 21-year-old Kildare native justified the faith shown in him with Ireland, while he has since backed that up with Leinster in the Champions Cup, and in the festive derby win over Munster at Thomond Park.
For all that Farrell and Easterby are very much aligned in their thinking, it will be interesting to see if Prendergast gets the nod to start against England, or if Munster's Jack Crowley can force his way back in. Both are excellent young out-halves, and their battle is great for Irish rugby. The players will inevitably do their best to play it down, but the Lions spectre hangs over the Six Nations, with Farrell set to base much of his squad selection around who performs well this Spring.
Having been selected as Ireland captain, Caelan Doris will be hoping to lead the country to further glory, which would surely put the Leinster No 8 in pole position to then skipper the Lions ‘down under’.
Easterby will hope to be able to welcome Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan back from a long-term knee injury, while the important midfield trio Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose are all currently playing well. Fitness and form will have a major say, but if everything goes according to plan, Ireland will be expected to backbone the Lions in Australia, with approximately 20 players in line to make the cut.
England will be determined to dampen those lofty expectations by beating Ireland at home first up before Easterby’s side travel to Murrayfield to face a resurgent Scotland team the following week.
The first break week will give Ireland a chance to regroup ahead of their trip to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium before they host France, who will be many people’s favourites to destroy the three-in-a-row dream. It’s worth remembering that Antoine Dupont missed last year’s Six Nations due to the Toulouse scrum-half’s Sevens commitments. With that in mind, it goes without saying that welcoming back one of the greatest players to ever play the sport significantly enhances France’s bid to win back the Six Nations crown that they relinquished to Ireland in 2023.
All roads lead to Stadio Olimpico where Ireland have a very good record, but the pressure of a potential title winning game would pose a different kind of challenge. With so much water to cross under the bridge before then, Ireland can only dare to dream of giving themselves a shot at history.
Farrell’s influence will be greatly missed, but Ireland have been preparing for his Lions sabbatical for the last couple of years in the hope of minimising the level of disruption. There may well be some bumps along the road ahead, yet Ireland will start the Six Nations as double defending champions, and as such, the team to beat.
Come March 15, they will hope to make it a weekend to remember in Rome.