Another European adventure has come to an end for Munster and with it the hopes of a European Final spot almost 20 years on from there win over Biarritz in Cardiff.

The team now is a far cry from that group and with the best will and intentions in the world this group is really struggling to put its stamp on games.

Losing like winning is a habit and Munster are really struggling to lay down any real marker and there their recent slump has seen them losing games from winning positions namely Stormers in the URC having been 21-6 up at half time and losing out in the 2^nd half another example was Castres in a must win game in the Champions Cup and again losing it from a winning position.

There are several off field problems that have come to light in recent weeks that have added to the trouble on the field and with the news of proposed volunteer redundancies in the near future, the pressure has ramped up on those in the playing group to try and secure Champions Cup rugby for next season and the financial benefits it will bring.

Clayton Mc Millian didn’t sign up for the mess behind the scenes but will have to truly earn his money over the last few weeks of the campaign as the 31-21 loss to Exeter knocked Munster out of the Challenge Cup and with it an outside shot at European redemption.

Even the opening block of league games outside of the Leinster victory in Croke Park, which on recent evidence has become an out liar in terms of performance. They are coming out on the wrong side of the ledger in many tight contests and as I stated at the start winning is a habit but losing can become a habit too.

This recovery is going to have to come from within and not just be “Stand Up and Fight” or “Boot, Bite and Bollock” and whatever catchphrase is used to describe what Munster will need from the final 4 league fixtures.

This last block has now become the biggest of the professional era from a Munster perspective and I don’t write those words lightly. Not qualifying for the Champions Cup will have dire consequences from a financial point of view and given the delicate balance that Munster has had to apply since the revamp of Thomond Park and the repaying of loans etc, you can see how crucial the last few games are.

The players have a short break now without Europe next week and then will face Benetton in Italy before Ulster in Limerick, then away to Connacht and lastly at home to the Emirates Lions in the last game of the regular season.

They have 4 games to rescue what has been a poor season. It isn’t going to be easy given what has gone on and what’s at stake but it is time for strong characters and even stronger performances.

I am going to speak from the heart as a Munster fan now and make no apologies for it, watching over the last few months has been very tough and has driven me to distraction but that is the way it goes being a fan or supporter, the ups and downs.

Being a Munster fan has never been easy given the amount of near misses and tough luck stories but again that all part of the fun I suppose. The hard edge and never say die attitude is still there but only sparingly over many years.

Heart and determination will only get you so far and although Munster have been knocking around the URC knock out rounds in recent seasons since winning the title in 2023, there has been an air of hope rather than real expectation of a knockout victory look at the tight win for Glasgow in 2024 in Limerick to see what I mean.

Thomond Park is not the fortress of times past but will have to come close to it in 2 of the last 4 games in the URC against Ulster and Emirates Lions.

 The players will of course have to up the performance levels as will the coaches. Time and again the set piece has let Munster down along with poor handling and first up tackling. The phrase “shooting yourself in the foot” is used frequently to describe a Munster showing in recent times.

The slate has to be wiped clean for the last few fixtures of the year and let whatever repercussions may occur let them happen in the summer but for now, Munster needs everyone to be pulling in the one direction to see can they pull another poor season away from the brink.

Time now for cool heads and minds with full focus on Benetton in Italy in 2 week’s time to see can Munster pull off the greatest rescue mission of the professional era…..

20 years are about to pass marking Munster’s 1^st Champions Cup win in May 2006, It is hard to think it’s 20 years but it is. Plenty of water has gone under the bridge since that day in Cardiff in 2006.

Unfortunately 4 men crucial to the success of that afternoon have passed away Conrad O Sullivan, Anthony Foley, Garrett Fitzgerald and Jerry Holland. All 4 men played there part in getting Munster to that big day in 06.

On Thursday week, this success after the many near misses will be celebrated in Cork. Let’s hope the current team will be preparing for a Challenge Cup Quarter Final that weekend. This celebration dinner will bring together the famed team and squad of 2006.

For this author who was at the Final in Cardiff as a fresh faced 16 year old, looking at the match programme, highlights of the game on YouTube and having a signed shirt of that squad in my home mark a truly special occasion for yours truly.

Having been in Twickenham in 2000 and watching Munster come so close then again in 2002 before the defeats of 03, 04 and 05 before the promised land was reached on that never forgotten day in 2006.

The never say die attitude of that side was a sight to behold in action. They were constantly up against it, having to beat Sale Sharks in the final round to make sure of a passage to the quarter finals. They did that with an emphatic win in Thomond Park  on one of those “you had to be there days”.

They faced Perpignan in the quarter final beating them in a tough week for the side as Conrad O Sullivan was buried in the weeks leading up to the game.

They then faced Leinster in Lansdowne Road in the 1^st European clash of the sides winning a tight semi-final contest with Trevor Halstead intercepting a pass in the 79^th minute to put the icing on the cake of that famous win over Leinster.

The final saw them take on Biarritz Olympique winning 23-19 with a crucial try coming from Peter Stringer alongside the opening score from Trevor Halstead with the rest of the points coming from the boot of current La Rochelle boss Ronan O Gara.

Here is the side that faced Biarritz that day in Cardiff :

15 Shaun Payne

14 Anthony Horgan

13 John Kelly

12 Trevor Halstead

11 Ian Dowling

10 Ronan O Gara

9 Peter Stringer

8 Anthony Foley

7 David Wallace

6 Denis Leamy

5 Paul O Connell

4 Donnacha O Callaghan

3 John Hayes

2 Jerry Flannery

1 Marcus Horan

–

16 Denis Forgarty

17 Federico Pucciariello

18 Mick O Driscoll

19 Alan Quinlan

20 Tomas O Leary

21 Jeremy Manning

22 Rob Henderson

Munster were soundly beaten on Saturday by the Sharks who by winning on Saturday won only their 5^th game of the season.

In those 13 games they have faced South African sides on multiply occasions. The Sharks dominated the set piece both scrum and line out and although a few calls at scrum time in particular could have gone either way, for the most part the Sharks were full value for the win.

Yet another campaign is threating to be derailed for Munster who will need a huge showing next Saturday in the 12pm kick off against the Bulls in Pretoria.

This season started with such promise where Munster won their opening 5 games and even though one or two of those results were very close on the score board it did look as though Munster had turned a corner but since the Argentina game back in November things have gone very stale.

They have slipped down the table in the URC and performances have gone by the wayside and it will need another trademark strong finish to the year to get into the last 8 of the URC not withstanding a very tricky away last 16 Challenge Cup game vs Exeter.

Clayton Mc Millian now knows what is required and yes he took the job on for 3 years but the level of performance has just fallen off a cliff edge in recent months. Yes the Sharks were far better in the set piece on Saturday but I didn’t see Munster trying to problem solve on the field and use the “smarts” we hear so often about.

Some of the handling and work at the line out was very abject and again begs the question what is happening on the training pitch. There was a delay in leaving Ireland but that happens on a daily basis and can’t be the sole reason for the showing.

Yet again, we see a Munster coach bemoaning a poor display and apologising to supporters and promising a better showing next time out, time for that crap to stop and get back to basics on the training pitch.

Some of the calling at the line out on Saturday was so poor that the Sharks could easily mark where the ball was going to end up and get there to sniff out any chance of a Munster attack.

Some bright sparks on the day when there was very little to make you think that Munster will be challenging at the end of the season for the 2 trophies they are still in contention for.

Sean Edogbo was a good addition and could see more game time before the end of the campaign, some of the work by John Hodnett at the breakdown at least gave Munster some small hope. The pressure that the Sharks exerted on Munster made it so difficult for Munster to gain any real momentum and when they had some possession they knocked balls on with regularity and that in turn stalled any momentum.

The recurring theme for Munster in recent years has been inconsistent performances and having to dig it out at the tail end of a campaign, this looks very certain to be the case again this year but Munster could possibly see themselves squeezed out of the top 8 and it will take a number of wins to help them secure a top 8 finish, starting on Saturday against the Bulls.

They will welcome back there Irish contingent for the game and that should help the level of performance also but it can’t just be down to those players to help lift the level of performance  needed for the rest of the year.

The backs are to the wall yet again for Munster and while the expectation will be they will rise to the challenge and find a way to get the wins needed to secure URC knock out rugby at the very least will be interesting to watch in the coming weeks.

First up it’s the Bulls on Saturday in Pretoria and then its Exeter away so the tough fixtures keep coming for Munster. Here is the 23 I would pick to face the Bulls –

15 Shane Daly

14 Calvin Nash

13 Dan Kelly

12 Alex Nankivell

11 Sean O Brien

10 Jack Crowley

9 Craig Casey

8 Gavin Coombes

7 John Hodnett

6 Sean Edogbo

5 Edwin Edgobo

4 Jean Kleyn

3 John Ryan

2 Lee Barron

1 Michael Milne

–

16 Niall Scannell

17 Jeremey Loughman

18 Micheal Alalatoa

19 Fineen Wycherley

20 Tom Ahern

21 Ethan Coughlan

22 JJ Hanrahan

23 Tom Farrell

Ireland go into the final day of the Championship with an outside shot a winning a 3^rd title under Andy Farrell and if you gave Farrell and his charges this news at full time in Paris they would have more than likely taken your hand off.

From a Scotland point of view they are in with a real chance of a first Championship since they won the last title of the 5 Nations era in 1999 after a terrific win over France in Murrayfield by 10 points 50-40.

Gregor Townsend knows his charges are in with a live chance and a first win in Dublin over Ireland since 2010 would aid that belief. There is a mental block for Scotland with Ireland since that afternoon in Croke Park, be it 6 Nations or 2 World Cup group games in the intervening 16 years.

They will need to overcome that and also deal with expectation from within Scotland through supporters and pundits who will most likely tell all who will listen that this is the golden chance they have waited for so even though it is a home game for Ireland all the pressure will be on the Scots and Ireland can just play their own game on Saturday.

Ireland have experience in these situations at International level where as Scotland will enter fresh territory with a live chance going into the last round for the 1^st time in a long time.

Gregor Townsend is the only one in the Scottish set up who knows what winning a 5/6 Nations title feels like, yes some of his charges have won titles at club level but this one is different and even though the chances of either Scotland or Ireland winning the Championship are slim due to the fact that France hold a 2 point lead and will be on home soil facing England still smarting from the manner of the loss in Edinburgh.

The 6 Nations has thrown up several big results this season and has its stand out finish on “Super Saturday” where all 3 games will be played back to back starting with Ireland v Scotland in Dublin then Wales vs Italy and then it’s off to Paris for France vs England in “Le Crunch” and unfortunately for a number of well-known pundits it won’t be a coronation evening for England but they can still be a fly in the ointment in the quest at stopping France from taking a second straight title.

Ireland will know they have plenty to work on this week in the build up and will be hell bent on finishing the campaign in the best possible way in front of a home crowd. The chances of a title may be slim but while the flame still flickers there is always hope of a 3^rd Championship in the reign of Andy Farrell.

Ireland’s set piece will face a stern examination from Scotland who may do something similar to Saturday vs France by bringing Zander Fagerson in late in the 1^st half after Darcy Rae has done his bit in the opening 40 minutes.

At the breakdown Ireland will also need to be up to speed and cleaver in when they go after the Scots at the breakdown. In defence they will need to work hard and close off the space on the outside and not allow Scotland the time to get there offloading game going which means in turn they will move Ireland’s forwards all over the pitch.

It might take a while for Saturday’s game to get going but once it does I think supporters and pundits alike could be in for a cracking game and similar to 2015, you have 3 sides in with a real chance and all 3 can score tries both France and Scotland probably finding scores easier to come by and Ireland may have to throw the shackles off in an attacking sense and just play what’s in front of them. Saturday promises to be a special day for 1 side with the other two wishing and wondering what may have been.

It is perfectly set up so now it is over to all 6 teams but in particular the 3 with title aspirations to go out and see how they get on. Enjoy it because very rarely does Rugby Union serve up an exciting finish…..

Ireland defeated Wales last night 27-17 in a game that saw Wales discover there battling qualities and there work both at the breakdown and in defence kept them in the game until the last moments.

Ireland produced a performance more in line with the French game and in round 2 at home to Italy. They mixed the good with the bad and the inaccuracy of those first 2 games was on show at times over the 80 minutes last night.

Goal kicking was an issue last night with Jack Crowley missing 2 conversions that he would normally stick over. Those 4 points could have been critical given there was only 7 points between the sides with only 5 minutes left.  

Ireland dominated the opening exchanges and were only 7-3 up after they had a try chalked off that could have put them 12-3 up but they steadied the ship and Ireland did lead 12-10 even after Rhys Carre steam rolled his way to the try line with the clock in the red at the end of the opening 40.

Defence and the set piece have been ongoing issues over the campaign and last night when Wales made a number of changes with Nicky Smith replacing Rhys Carre, the Welsh scrum continued to put real pressure on Ireland and gained a number of penalties and they never took full advantage of.

There are certainly bright sparks for Steve Tandy and his staff to be pleased with as the weeks have gone by but they will have to work hard to find that first win in 29 games now with only victories over Japan a bright note over the past few seasons.

They certainly have a base to work from going into a home game with Italy next weekend. You can be sure given the small incremental improvement of recent weeks they will see the final game vs Italy as a big opportunity to get that first win in a while.

For Ireland, they go into next weekend in search of a Triple Crown and if results go a certain way this afternoon (March 7^th) they could be still be in the hunt for a title with France and Scotland heading into Super Saturday.

Team selection will be watched keenly next week, there is an argument for keeping faith with a number of guys but a few others may be looking over their shoulder.

Nathan Doak did enough to keep his spot on the bench by not missing a beat while Jamison Gibson Park was in the blood bin getting a cut on his knee looked after, while Tommy O Brien will sense a chance to steal a march on Jacob Stockdale in the race for the left wing slot.

There is at the very least 1 bit of silverware up for grabs next weekend and that is the Triple Crown and while in 2026, the aspirations of the vast majority of supporters would not think of a Triple Crown as something special just ask anyone who grew up or watched rugby through the 70s, 80s and 90s how much those special days of 1982, 1985 were and how much those Triple Crowns wins meant to people.

Here is the team I would select to take Scotland on next Saturday at 2.10pm.

15 Jamie Osbourne

14 Robert Baloucounne

13 Garry Ringrose

12 Stuart Mc Closkey

11 Tommy O Brien

10 Jack Crowley

9 Jamison Gibnson Park

8 Caelan Doris

7 Josh Van Der Flier

6 Jack Conan

5 Joe Mc Carthy

4 Tadgh Beirne

3 Thomas Clarkson

2 Dan Sheehan

1 Michael Milne

–

16 Ronan Kelleher

17 Tom O Toole

18 Tadgh Furlong

19 James Ryan

20 Nick Timoney

21 Nathan Doak

22 Ciaran Frawley

23 Jimmy O Brien

Ireland face Wales this evening in round 4 of the 6 Nations in Dublin. Wales are looking for a first win of the campaign while Ireland are looking to continue the upturn in form that has seen them beat Italy and England in round 2 and 3.

Wales will hope to beat Ireland for the first time in 5 years and while the smart money will be on Ireland winning and continuing the recent form line that has them back in contention for a Triple Crown win.

Amazing over the past number of years that a Triple Crown would not really register anymore because it’s a Championship win or Grand Slam or bust, For so many years a Triple Crown was hard to achieve for any Irish team and that was beat Wales, Scotland and England and you’d secure this mythical trophy which has only had a trophy to mark it over the past 24 years or so.

Ireland have made a number of changes with 5 in total and still have the spine of experience that should help with complacency. The win over England in particular has focused the minds of all the players.

The challenge now will be can Ireland kick on from the high of 2 weeks ago and finish the campaign with strong performances to show that the win over England wasn’t just a flash in the pan.

Andy Farrell and his coaches have helped find the answers but will know that it is important to keep things moving forward. He has been linked with a move away from Ireland after the World Cup in October 2027. At that point he will have chalked up 11 years of involvement with Ireland as an assistant and head coach.

Ireland and Wales will come at the game this evening in differing form but Wales will know that they have slowly improved but have yet to put in a complete performance over the last while. Several issues are in the background and will continue to overhang the Championship. All the players in the Welsh camp can do is continue to perform and see can they find the vital win that might just kick-start things for them.

The WRU need to hold up there end of the bargain and get around the table again with all the stakeholders and try and trash out a deal that will work for all parties. It is a mess that has defiantly impacted performances on the field.

Ireland will know they have a chance to pick up a win this evening and put themselves in a strong position heading to play Scotland next week in the early kick off on “Super Saturday”.

Sport like most walks of life can be very fickle and the good things and deeds can be so easily forgotten when the pressure comes on. Wales will come to Dublin with everything to gain and nothing to lose and that will keep them alive in the contest.

Tonight is  another one of those moments where being complacent can cause trouble but I can say that Ireland will do as much as is possible that stop that from happening. Triple Crowns may not be the “in” thing but given the way the Championship began in Paris, the sight of trophy next week on the line will be important and who knows if Scotland topple France in Murrayfield tomorrow afternoon there may even be an outside hope of a Championship win, slim I know but we can but hope !!!

Here is the 23 I would select to face Wales on Friday evening in Dublin kick off 8.10pm.

15 Jamie Osbourne

14 Robert Baloucoune

13 Garry Ringrose

12 Stuart Mc Closkey

11 Tommy O Brien

10 Jack Crowley

9 Jamison Gibnson Park

8 Jack Conan

7 Nick Timoney

6 Cian Prendergast

5 James Ryan

4 Edwin Edogbo

3 Thomas Clarkson

2 Ronan Kelleher

1 Micheal Milne

–

16 Dan Sheehan

17 Jeremy Loughman

18 Tadgh Furlong

19 Joe Mc Carthy

20 Tadgh Beirne

21 Nathan Doak

22 Ciaran Frawley

23 Jimmy O Brien

This is the 23 I would pick to face Wales in the game on Friday evening…..

Mike Prendergast will depart Munster at the end of the current campaign after 4 years as a senior coach in the set up. He has looked after the Munster backs and had got them playing an expansive brand of rugby that was rewarded with a trophy at the end of his 1^st full season back involved with Munster when Munster won the URC under Graham Rowntree in 2023 defeating the Stormers in the Final.

He continued in the role of senior coach  under Ian Costello while Munster went through the process of bringing in a replacement for Rowntree. That coaching team led by Costello led Munster until the start of this season when Clayton Mc Millian took over as Head Coach.

It is another state of flux for a Munster coaching team who have had many different changes in the coaching department be that assistants or head coaches over the past number of years.

Prendergast is a very popular member of the coaching team and will be missed. It will open the door for another person to come in and put their stamp on the Munster side. Men like Mossy Lawlor will be linked straight away to move into that role and this move of promoting Lawlor would be a move of consistency and would not break up the coaching team.

You can be sure Clayton Mc Millian will have an idea as to who he may want to be brought into his staff, promote from within or bring in someone from outside the set up.

From a Munster perspective it another unwelcome change, yes it is all part of it all coaches move on etc but Munster just haven’t had a full cycle of 3 or 4 years where there hasn’t been some sort of change within the coaches box.

Plenty of names will be linked with the job, Noel Mc Namara, Nigel Carolan spring to mind straight away who are with Bordeaux Begles and Glasgow Warriors respectively at the moment.

Noel Mc Namara has only recently signed a contract extension to stay as part of Yannick Bru’s coaching ticket so that might rule out a move to bring the Clare man back into the Irish system but you never know.

Nigel Carolan is a key member of the Glasgow Warriors management team under Franco Smith but a bit like Noel Mc Namara the lure of a chance to coach back in Ireland with Munster might swing it in the IRFU’s and Munster’s favour when it comes to bargaining tools if they want the opportunity to chat with either man to sound them out in terms of interest.

Whoever the IRFU and Munster decide on it will be a big decision. Yet again Munster are on the look out for a new coach but on this occasion the options seem to be clear. Only time will tell of course…..

Ireland defeated England with a record score line of 42-21. Did the majority see that score line let alone performance coming outside of the Irish camp, I very much doubt it.

Given the manner of the French defeat even though Ireland could have been within 7 pts of France mid-way through the 2^nd half before France pulled away and made sure they won the game on opening night.

Ireland went to Twickenham looking for a performance after the tight win over Italy in Dublin. England started out by beating Wales comfortably and then the hoped for Grand Slam that numerous pundits said would come this year under Borthwick came a cropper with the defeat to Scotland.

England themselves were in search of a complete performance after the win over Wales and the loss in Murrayfield. They made slight alterations with Henry Pollock coming at number 8 with Ben Earl moving into the 7 jersey. Ollie Lawrence came in at 13 with Tommy Freeman moving onto the right wing in place of Tom Roebuck.

England had picked players in form at club level but they just could not live with Ireland from the start and were playing catch up. Steve Borthwick has a serious job on his hands trying to motivate his charges with a trip to Rome to come before facing France on the final weekend.

As I mention, England were tipped by many to not alone win the Championship but also complete the Grand Slam unfortunately neither wish will come through in 2026.

They will have a tough end to the campaign with a trip to Rome on the horizon before ending the Championship against France who are still on course for another Grand Slam after a win over Italy in Lille yesterday.

You can sure, England won’t get it easy in the final two rounds as they search for answers as well as victories to end the Championship. The post mortem will start afterwards but yet again England’s over confidence has come back to bite them in spectacular fashion.

They were expected to challenge France but instead as of now they could be fighting with Wales for the wooden spoon if they lose either of the last 2 games, unthinkable a few weeks ago but that is the reality facing England.

Ireland for their part had told us they were not too far from clicking and they did so in spectacular fashion on Saturday afternoon putting England to the sword by beating them by a record margin. This is one of the best performances since the Championship was last won by Ireland in 2024.

So many players who had several questions asked of them in the build-up answered them in dramatic fashion.

The questions that surround the Ireland 10 shirt continue but Jack Crowley certainly put in a strong showing in both defence and attack as he kept them ticking over and putting in his tackles when asked to do so.

Stuart Mc Closkey showed his quality as did Robert Baloucoune, both men picked on form having strong seasons for Ulster in the URC and the Challenge Cup. The whole 23 put their best foot forward and showed quality in the set piece and in defence. The defence on show was right from the top drawer and helped Ireland weather a few storms when England threatened to burst through. The discipline that has been lacking at key moments over the past year certainly improved over the 80 minutes on Saturday.

The win and manner of it will certainly have boosted the confidence of the squad who now go into the down week in the 6 Nations in good form. Some squad members will be released to play in the URC next weekend and get valuable game time before they return to the Irish camp to start preparations for Wales at home on Friday March 6^th.

Here is my 23 to face Wales

15 Jamie Osbourne

14 Robert Baloucoune

13 Tom Farrell

12 Stuart Mc Closkey

11 Tommy O Brien

10 Jack Crowley

9 Jamison Gibson Park

8 Bryn Ward

7 Nick Timoney

6 Cian Prendergast

5 James Ryan

4 Edwin Edogbo

3 Thomas Clarkson

2 Ronan Kelleher

1 Michael Milne

–

16 Dan Sheehan

17 Jeremey Loughman

18 Finlay Bealham

19 Cormac Izuchkwu

20 Jack Conan

21 Nathan Doak

22 Ciaran Frawley

23 James Lowe

Ireland gained a victory today after a very tight contest against Italy winning 20-13. Had today’s game been in Rome Italy may have manged to nick the win even though they will rue a few late mistakes that saw them lose possession and Ireland holding on for dear life.

James Lowe can be thanked for his late intervention that saw him intercept a pass and run clear and get close to the Italy “22” before being hauled down. That moment secured the tightest win for Ireland over the 26 years of Italy’s time in the Championship.

Ireland will know they mixed the good with bad and at times it became unacceptable from a team that we continue to hear hold themselves to the highest possible standard. Let’s hope this squad and its coaching staff come back down to earth and start dealing in reality rather than living on past glories.

There are still several issues like team selection and the game plan is still a major problem as is team discipline. All these problems will persist until they are addressed in a timely fashion. Changes will be likely next week as Garry Ringrose got a bang that could see him ruled out while others like Michael Milne will feel they have a chance to get back in after the pressure at the scrum and the line out. Tadgh Beirne and Edwin Edgbo could swap straight in for Joe Mc Carthy and James Ryan.

Cormac Izuchuwu could keep his place in the 6 shirt after a strong showing in the loose and at line out time in particular from a defensive point of view. Ireland have plenty to look into before heading to London next week.

The overall game plan still doesn’t show much improvement. Italy for their part were well in the contest and as previously mentioned had that game been on home soil they would have beaten Ireland. There are glimpses of improvement but the defence is still very suspect and weak when you need to it to become water tight or at least show signs it is going the right way.

Italy will know this was an opportunity missed to get a first ever back to back win in the 6 Nations. There scrum really impressed and put both starting and replacement Irish front rows under severe pressure. It again shows if you have a solid set piece you can go places. There back play also put Ireland in the shade and had them scrambling countless times this afternoon.

For Ireland, It is a trip to Twickenham to face a wounded England after they were humbled 31-20 this evening in Murrayfield. The hopes of an England Grand Slam are over for 2026 but they like Ireland will be in search of a strong showing after a mixed opening fortnight for both sides.

From an Irish point of view it might be time to evoke the memories of times past like 1982 and 1985 to help focus the mind for the task at hand in Twickenham next Saturday. Ireland are in need of a strong showing and let’s hope the performances of certain players will be rewarded with starting places or at least a place in the 23.

Here is my 23 to face England –

15 Jamie Osbourne

14 Robert Balacounne

13 Tom Farrell

12 Stuart Mc Closkey

11 James Lowe

10 Jack Crowley

9 Jamison Gibson Park

8 Jack Conan

7 Caelan Doris

6 Cormac Izuchkwu

5 Tadgh Beirne

4 Edwin Edogbo

3 Thomas Clarkson

2 Dan Sheehan

1 Micheal Milne

–

16 Ronan Kelleher

17 Tom O Toole

18 Tadgh Furlong

19 Joe Mc Carthy

20 Nick Timoney

21 Craig Casey

22 Harry Byrne

23 Tommy O Brien