Former Ireland number eight Jamie Heaslip insists that they have not gone backwards but believes that they have moved away from the game plan that has served them well in the past.
Simon Easterby’s side were unable to claim three Six Nations titles in a row as they finished in third place in the 2025 edition.
A heavy defeat to France effectively ended their chances as they slipped behind England and eventual winners Les Bleus in the table.
Ageing Ireland team
It has raised questions over what the future looks like for Irish rugby, particularly with a number of their key players now the wrong side of 30.
This Six Nations Championship followed a mixed Autumn Nations Series where they lost to the All Blacks and secured unconvincing victories over Argentina and Australia.
“I actually think they’ve plateaued,” Heaslip told RTE Sport. “They haven’t gone forward, they haven’t gone back.
“And that’s dangerous in sport, because the minute you plateau, everyone else passes you out.
“France are not waiting for Ireland to catch up with them. They’re going to keep ploughing on and I think that’s the problem.
“We’ve done great work, we’ve embedded our academies, all that great system. That all paid off with a load of championships over the last five, 10 years and really good success, but it seems like it’s plateauing.
“You’ve got an ageing core in the team, not just the three guys finishing up, but there’s a big ageing core there.”
Heaslip ultimately believes that Ireland have been influenced too much by the current trend – started by the Springboks – of going with a forward-heavy bench.
They have often preferred the more traditional 5-3 split but, in an attempt to counteract France’s 7-1 in Round Four, they changed to a 6-2.
That power-based approach duly backfired as they were hammered 42-27 by Les Bleus which ended their Six Nations title hopes.
“We need to bring a group of players through and we need to play to our strengths, not try and do a 6-2 [bench split] and be forced to play a different game,” the former British and Irish Lions number eight added.
Stephen Ferris’ opinion
Heaslip’s view was slightly at odds with fellow ex-Ireland back-row Stephen Ferris, who reckons that they have indeed gone backwards over the past few weeks.
“I’ve got to say, they’ve regressed a little bit over the Six Nations,” Ferris said. “You expect them to get better, game in, game out, and they haven’t.
“They really struggled [against Italy].
“Teams are putting it up to them, defensively getting into their faces. Their attack hasn’t been functioning as well. Their kicking game, they’re kicking a lot more.
“Are they a possession-based team? Are they moving more towards the Leinster style of kicking the ball more and trying to put pressure with their defence?
“I think they’re in the middle ground somewhere and they’ve got to figure it out because international rugby won’t be long coming around again.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/ireland-great-claims-simon-easterbys-side-in-dangerous-position-after-being-forced-down-springboks-route
