Ireland are the form favourites for the 6Nations

First topic message reminder :

With England's form bubble well and truly burst by the recent Euro match ups and their injury list resulting in a fracture to the squads integrity, it now has to be obvious that the better top down Irish organisation places them in pole position.
You're only as good as your last game and anyone who honestly analysed our win over Ozy knows much luck was expended that day, but realistically the game was considerably closer than score board suggested.
In the bigger picture the envelope of our current development has been reached and changes will result during and after this tournament. Hartley will fall as will others and our over reliance on forward domination above the ability to attack with pace and skill from deep and wide out. Brown will go and the backs will be challenged to deliver and lead our structure.
The dominance of Saracens has been the bell weather to this English revival and now, as is obvious to all, they like England are in transition to be able to progress and challenge further.
So the Irish will have this tournament, but if EJ knows his onions he'll allow bruised bodies to mend and will take an A/B squad away this summer and then start a fresh and beat the AB's in the autumn.

Collapse2005 wrote:Tickets secured for Ireland v NZ. Woohoo

Incredible to think that come end of November we will likely have a 2:1 win ratio over them since the 2015 RWC.

There's 20 odd weeks to go yet before we face the AB's, though to be fare I didn't expect EJ to have made so many mistakes, thus far, and so we're definitely in a weaker position than I would have expected.
Lots of SH rugby between now and then, though I doubt they'll degrade much in the mean time.
Ultimately I fear we've peaked too soon and so our WC hopes will need to be adjusted.

LondonTiger wrote:Doc - it was Summer 2016 we went to Australia.

Oh yeah, good point. Nothing like tearing down my finely honed arguments with facts. Facts and my obviously flawed memory.............

rodders wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:Tickets secured for Ireland v NZ. Woohoo

Incredible to think that come end of November we will likely have a 2:1 win ratio over them since the 2015 RWC.    

Woah Rodders. We will have to play at another level yet to win.

rodders wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:Tickets secured for Ireland v NZ. Woohoo

Incredible to think that come end of November we will likely have a 2:1 win ratio over them since the 2015 RWC.    

Incredible to think what would happen if Ireland were to likely lose in November...

Why RWC 15?