Ireland 2020/2021

Regarding the lineout, while there were a few issues, it has improved massively in the short time POC has been involved, so I think the praise he's getting is fair. The scrum also looked rock solid in the first two games, so Fogarty can take the plaudits on that front.

When it comes to attack, Ireland are incredibly frustrating to watch. We gave them the benefit of the doubt after the Wales game because of the early red, but between the two games they have had a huge amount of possession and have done precious little with it. The try against the French was a complete fluke, and the one against Wales came from some great individual play from Robbie, coupled with some poor tackling from the opposition. I think the closing minutes of the France game summed the situation up well, between kicking the ball away, only to luckily get possession back, then going through phase after phase, and moving 20 metres backwards.

When it comes to defense, I think we're only alright, and the problems there have mostly been individual errors it seems. I did see Bernard Jackman highlighting some issues on against the head which were interesting - he spoke about a lack of organization, leading to mismatches, with our forwards left in positions where they can easily be exploited.

The calls from many pundits to give Jack a shot against Italy are all well and good, but Farrell has painted himself into a corner at this stage it seems. I'd like to see Jack get another shot, because he has actually done some great things in the Ireland jersey, but he seems to have suffered because he was the starting 10 the day we got beaten by Japan in the world cup, which is completely unfair. Having said that, I would worry a bit about his place kicking getting exposed. For that reason, I'd actually love to see Cooney and Jack start, with Cooney taking the kicks. Won't happen of course.

Garry Ringrose is an incredible kicker. He should be kicking ahead of any of Burns, Carty and maybe Carbery if they're playing. Will never happen though, the 13 kicking? Sacrilege (apparently)