The quiet evolution which followed the nadir of 1998
Updated / Monday, 15 Feb 2021
12:56
RTÉ Sport Journalist It s all a case of could-have but that s not good enough, both for ourselves and the team management and the Irish public. It s demoralising. We could have a record of played three, won three, but in a year s time, all people are going to see is Ireland at the bottom of the table. They re not going to remember any performances.
David Corkery s words as reported by The London Independent throws the current expectations on the Irish rugby team into sharp relief when compared to its 90s predecessor.
.
We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
LAST CHANCE SALOON
Aside from pride and resurrecting hopes of rejoining the championship title conversation, this Irish squad will also be hoping to avoid the unwelcome statistic of becoming the first to lose the opening two games of a Six Nations campaign for the first time since the tournament s expansion in 2000.
Given England s surprise loss at home to Scotland the day before, last Sunday s game in Cardiff against a Wales team at a low ebb saw opportunity knock.
Updated / Thursday, 11 Feb 2021
13:04
The France side visiting Dublin for Sunday s Six Nations are not only tournament favourites, but also in possession of some of the best young talent in world rugby.
Those emerging talents may be callow at Test level, but they bring a wealth of experience from the leading Top 14 clubs.
In contrast, while Ireland s conveyor belt remains strong in terms of producing players, the provincial system does bring some limitations in terms of providing adequate game-time for those emerging talents, according to Donal Lenihan.
Speaking on the RTÉ Rugby Podcast in light of a clamour from some quarters to call up Leinster s young out-half Harry Byrne amid injury and form concerns among Ireland s 10s, Lenihan drew a contrast between the Irish model and France s situation, while pointing out the need to allow some players to make temporary moves abroad to gain experience and spread the talent out.
The recent meeting of Leinster and Munster – each at full-strength, for once – so close to Ireland’s championship opener, along with the variety of selection sub-plots in Limerick, evoked for many of a certain vintage the era when there truly was a final trial.
Few recall these as halcyon days. They ruined Christmas. They heightened the pomposity of those selecting the team rather than those who coached it. The matches were predominantly dour affairs. And after all the fuss, the IRFU remained so historically blinkered that they rarely influenced selection.
Their affected arrogance was such that they didn’t even advertise the matches as ‘possibles’ versus ‘probables’ but rather ‘whites’ versus ‘blues’.