Next up in our set of previews ahead of the 2025 Six Nations we examine the prospects of last year’s winners, Simon Easterby’s Ireland.
It is a fascinating time for the Irish with head coach Andy Farrell currently on his British and Irish Lions sabbatical ahead of their tour to Australia. Easterby has been tasked with steering them through this period where they are looking to make it a third successive title.
They would have claimed back-to-back Grand Slams in 2024 – something no team has achieved during the Six Nations era – had Marcus Smith not kicked a drop-goal, and they have a shot at more history this year.
England, France, Wales and Ireland themselves have lifted the trophy over successive years since 2000, but no one has done three in a row. However, they are once again one of the favourites and should look forward to this competition with excitement.
Easterby’s men need to be much-improved from their efforts in the Autumn Nations Series after a disappointingly lacklustre performance in defeat to the All Blacks and a couple of narrow victories over Australia and Argentina.
Last year
Ireland went into the 2024 Six Nations as the defending Grand Slam champions but they were still reeling from their Rugby World Cup frustration after they, for the umpteenth time, fell at the quarter-final stage. Fortunately for them, they opened the competition against a team which felt even more disconsolate in the aftermath of that tournament in France, who were knocked out of their home World Cup in the last-eight.
It was billed as the title decider – and it ultimately proved that way – but it was never a contest as Farrell’s men utterly dominated in Marseille. The visitors were in control through Jamison Gibson-Park and Tadhg Beirne tries before Paul Willemse’s red card made their job even easier. France did fight back via Damian Penaud and Paul Gabrillagues, but further scores from Calvin Nash, Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher secured the win and got them off to the ideal start.
A home match with Italy followed and once again the Irish ended up comfortable victors as they emerged 36-0 winners before they were similar dominant against a struggling Wales. They had to wait until the final minute to confirm the try bonus-point but the result was never in doubt as Ireland went in Round Four of the competition with a perfect 15 points from 15.
Many duly wondered what horrors Farrell’s side would inflict on England at Twickenham in the penultimate contest, particularly after the Red Rose produced an error-strewn display in their loss to Scotland, but the hosts proved the critics wrong. Ireland were certainly not blown away, however, and when James Lowe touched down with seven minutes remaining they were on course for a fourth win, but Smith’s late three-pointer ended their Grand Slam dream.
While the chance of history went with that late drama, the title remained in their grasp when Scotland turned up at the Aviva Stadium a week later. This time Ireland managed to get the job done, albeit it was not exactly a convincing performance. Perhaps still disappointed by what had happened in London, they struggled to put away Gregor Townsend’s charges, despite being in control for the majority of the match. Huw Jones’ try late on set up a nervous finale and Irish minds may well have harked back to the England clash, but they held on and retained the Six Nations title.
This year
There may be slight change on the coaching front but continuity is still very much the order of the day. Easterby, someone that has been in charge of the defence for the past three years, takes over briefly from Farrell, while the playing squad remains broadly the same. Expectations are therefore high as Ireland attempt to make it three Six Nations successes in a row.
Like the 2024 campaign, it starts with a potentially testing encounter as they face the side which ended their Grand Slam hopes last year. It is certainly a match to immediately focus the minds. Revenge will no doubt provide some motivation and, with the game taking place at home, they will be heavy favourites to start with a win, even if they will be wary of England’s individual quality.
It does not get any easier a week later when they take on Scotland, but their record against the competition’s perennial underachievers is exceptional. Once again, Townsend’s team have been backed to cause some damage this year but, since 2013, they have only claimed a single victory over Ireland – a 27-22 success in 2017.
Should they get through those two potentially challenging encounters then an easier clash awaits against Wales in Cardiff before it ramps up once again when France visit Dublin. Another title decider? Quite frankly, we can’t envisage anything else in what should turn out to be the match of the 2025 Six Nations, and certainly better than last season’s disappointment.
They then complete their campaign by heading to Rome and taking on Italy. While the Azzurri have improved under Gonzalo Quesada and are no longer the game opposition sides see as the banker, this Ireland team are surely too strong to be challenged by the hosts.
Key players
There is very a much a familiarity to this Ireland squad, which means the same names remain vital to their chances. That starts with captain Caelan Doris, who took over the leadership responsibility in the Autumn Nations Series, and the number eight continues to play exceptionally well for both province and country.
Since the November Tests, where Doris was not quite at his best, the skipper and his back-row partner Josh van der Flier have been utterly magnificent for Leinster, helping them go four from four in the Investec Champions Cup. They will once again be utterly vital, particularly in defence, with their breakdown expertise causing absolute havoc on opposition ball.
Those two are perhaps not quite as important as loosehead Andrew Porter, however. That is primarily due to their lack of depth at prop and Porter may be required to go for the best part of 80 minutes, especially against the better teams.
In the backline, Jamison Gibson-Park remains the best scrum-half on Earth – let’s be honest Antoine Dupont isn’t from this planet – and his ability to control the tempo from the base will go a long way to dictating how Ireland fare in this year’s tournament.
Gibson-Park will look to bring Bundee Aki, who has been one of the game’s elite centres since the start of 2023, and Garry Ringrose into the game, while at full-back Hugo Keenan is ultra-reliable and a certainty for the 15 jersey when fit.
Players to watch
The biggest debate heading into the 2025 Six Nations no doubt centres around the fly-half duel between Jack Crowley and Sam Prendergast. Both players will feature considerably during the tournament, but quite who is first choice has yet to be determined. At the moment, Crowley is the more complete player but Prendergast’s talent is undeniable and, in the long-term, may well be the one to nail down the 10 jersey.
One player whose place in the XV is pretty much assured, however, is Joe McCarthy. While Beirne and James Ryan could feasibly line up in the second-row, McCarthy’s physicality is a point of difference. He is almost Springboks-like due to his sheer athleticism and power, and his ability to dominate in contact is quite staggering.
Should McCarthy and co. manage to get over the gain line then hopefully it can allow Jamie Osborne to shine. With the obvious exception at fly-half, that Irish backline feels pretty set in stone, but one player who could break in is the 23-year-old. Osborne’s versatility – he can play centre, wing or full-back – should see him on the bench at the very least, but he has everything in his armoury to find his way into the starting XV.
Prospects
Providing they get through the England clash unscathed, you fancy Ireland to continue their fine record against Scotland. That will leave France as their toughest remaining challenge. Despite being at home, this is where we think Easterby’s men could come unstuck and ultimately decide in which direction the title heads.
The schedule does work in their favour by having the English and French in Dublin, but we don’t think they are quite the side they were in 2022 and 2023. The Autumn Nations Series pointed to a team that have suffered a slight decline, but that theory will ultimately be put to the test in the upcoming Six Nations. Second.
Fixtures
Saturday, February 1 (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Sunday, February 9 (Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh)
Saturday, February 22 (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Saturday, March 8 (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Saturday, March 15 (Stadio Olimpico, Rome)
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/six-nations-preview-ireland-aim-for-unprecedented-feat-but-recent-decline-to-open-the-door-for-rivals
