England v. Ireland
14/03/08 22:33 Filed in: Sport
In the normal scheme of
things, a St Patrick's weekend England-Ireland clash
would be something to savour, especially if there had
just been a good week for the Irish in "Chiltnim."
There might be a championship up for grabs, or at
least a Triple Crown. But not this time.
Both Ireland and England are in the doldrums, both having lost two games in the championship so far. Whoever wins tomorrow will finish third in the final shake-up, and the loser will finish fourth. It's a dead rubber in other words.
For the second time in two weeks, Eddie O'Sullivan faces a team coached by one of his predecessors. This time however, that predecessor is under more pressure than O'Sullivan, and neither is he carrying any baggage into the fixture. If England lose tomorrow, Brian Ashton may well lose his job. If Ireland lose, Eddie will more than likely keep his.
There is little point in analysing the Irish team. Losing BOD is a big blow, but one upside is that it finally gives Ronan O'Gara the captain's armband. ROG has been the de facto captain this season so far, so it is good to see him get the job de jure. Murphy is back at full-back, which should add an extra attacking edge. But all of this is irrelevant, because as we have seen for several months now, the Irish team as a whole adds up to a lot less than the sum of its parts.
Ireland's record against England has been very good in recent years. We have won the last four encounters against them, and a win tomorrow would be a three-in-a-row for Ireland at Twickenham. However, I don't think it's going to happen. The creative juice has been squeezed out of this team, and they can be read like an open book. Watch Danny Cipriani tomorrow. He's going to cause us problems.
England by a score, I reckon.
Both Ireland and England are in the doldrums, both having lost two games in the championship so far. Whoever wins tomorrow will finish third in the final shake-up, and the loser will finish fourth. It's a dead rubber in other words.
For the second time in two weeks, Eddie O'Sullivan faces a team coached by one of his predecessors. This time however, that predecessor is under more pressure than O'Sullivan, and neither is he carrying any baggage into the fixture. If England lose tomorrow, Brian Ashton may well lose his job. If Ireland lose, Eddie will more than likely keep his.
There is little point in analysing the Irish team. Losing BOD is a big blow, but one upside is that it finally gives Ronan O'Gara the captain's armband. ROG has been the de facto captain this season so far, so it is good to see him get the job de jure. Murphy is back at full-back, which should add an extra attacking edge. But all of this is irrelevant, because as we have seen for several months now, the Irish team as a whole adds up to a lot less than the sum of its parts.
Ireland's record against England has been very good in recent years. We have won the last four encounters against them, and a win tomorrow would be a three-in-a-row for Ireland at Twickenham. However, I don't think it's going to happen. The creative juice has been squeezed out of this team, and they can be read like an open book. Watch Danny Cipriani tomorrow. He's going to cause us problems.
England by a score, I reckon.