Ireland have won every match in the final round of the Six Nations under Joe Schmidt, but they have won only one of their last four on the opening weekend – in France last year when Johnny Sexton’s late, late drop goal took them past France. They were seven points down against England before a number of spectators had found their seats and they didn’t even bear a passing resemblance to the side who had prevented the most free-flowing team in the world, New Zealand, from scoring a try a few months before. In contrast, England have lost only one of their last 10 opening fixtures despite their squad being honed from a larger number of clubs.
Written by Paul Rees
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/03/rugby-union-talking-points-from-the-six-nations-opening-round under the title “Six Nations: talking points from opening round of fixtures”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
