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Stuart Barnes' talking points: High praise for Ireland

Ireland celebrate their 2018 Grand Slam Six Nations Championship
Image: Ireland celebrate their 2018 Grand Slam Six Nations Championship

Stuart Barnes heaps praise on Joe Schmidt and Ireland after their Grand Slam success, but where now for England?


1. This was Ireland's 2003. That was the year England destroyed Ireland in Dublin before going on to take the World Cup. This performance didn't have the brutal efficiency of England on that day 15 years ago but it was clinical enough to go down in my book as Ireland's second best performance under Joe Schmidt. The first, of course, was the win in Chicago against the All Blacks. It seems a long time since some were bracketing England with New Zealand.

From the moment Owen Farrell lost the plot with an unnecessarily late hit on Rob Kearney, who was off the ground, to the moment Johnny Sexton took advantage of the ensuing penalty and dropped a magnificent high ball onto the try line and Anthony Watson, Ireland looked the only team in town. The nine-point margin flattered England.

Ireland may not have matched the performance of the 2003 England team but that was an England team at its very peak. It was past its best by the time it won the World Cup final on November 22. Joe Schmidt's team has much more room for improvement. A year from now they should be better than they are now. Even the All Blacks will think twice at such a prospect.

Tadhg Furlong
Image: Tadhg Furlong was one of the players of the tournament

2. How on earth did Tadhg Furlong not make it onto the NatWest shortlist of six for player of the tournament? Yes, he missed the best part of two games but the three games in which he featured saw a superlative sequence of performances from 'The Mayor of Wexford'. He has solidified the Ireland scrum while adding an extra dimension to their play in the loose. Carrying, tackling, or producing the exquisitely timed pass that led to the CJ Stander try, he really is world class. One of the best tightheads in the world. Where too was Alun Wyn Jones? My man of the match against Scotland, his standards stayed high from start to finish. A warrior who has added some sympathetic touches to his enduring ability to keep going.

Ireland's Johnny Sexton (right) with  Conor Murray
Image: Ireland's Johnny Sexton (right) with Conor Murray

3. I digress. Ireland. Another area where they towered over all comers was half-back. The combination of Conor Murray and Sexton is also 'world class'. In an age of meat and muscle it makes such a difference to have two such smart players on the field. After the game Schmidt praised the intellect of his fly-half and emissary on earth. Time to praise the rugby brain of Schmidt.

4. His has been a monumental career in Europe. The former Bay of Plenty man has a Grand Slam to go with a couple of Six Nations titles, a pair of European Cups with Leinster and, toughest of all, a Top 14 title with those perennial losers, Clermont Auvergne. All three teams have played it differently. Whilst I have always thought the extreme detail of his preparation would count against him with the Lions, his range of success suggests he can coach a team any way, any how.

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Ireland coach Joe Schmidt arrives at Twickenham
Image: Ireland coach Joe Schmidt adds a Grand Slam to his impressive coaching CV

5. It was a good tournament for the last Lions coach too. No Grand Slam glory for Warren Gatland but given the avalanche of injuries that have hit Wales, his team have much of which they can be pleased. Wales promised to play with more width. They teased us with width on their last tour of New Zealand, struggled a little in the autumn, but kept on working at it. They have new players, strength in depth in the back row and have been busily developing a game to stand them in good stead in Tokyo. Wales look like a side who will be able to play it wide, tight or somewhere in between. In other words a team with a game plan and alternatives as required.

6. Not so good for Eddie. England grabbed the headlines for three successive losses. But it was the steadily deteriorating nature of their game that was so worrying. The losses had to come sooner or later for the performance levels had stagnated since the high point of the Australia tour in 2016. The players looked leaden, the coaches short of ideas. If they weren't in white and called England the bookmakers would be laughing at the very thought of them winning the World Cup.

BAGSHOT, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31:  Maro Itoje looks on during England media access at Pennyhill Park on January 31, 2018 in Bagshot, England.  (Photo by Warre
Image: Itohe will bounce back for England, says Barnes

7. Where are all the potential 'world class' players? Maro Itoje - I reckon - will bounce back but who else looks the part up front? Behind the scrum Owen Farrell is on the brink and Elliot Daly had an impact the moment he re-emerged from injury. Elsewhere the team looked mediocre. When Farrell was switched to ten, the repercussions in the centre were awful and obvious on the English eye. For all the stick George Ford gets, Jones has to stay with the Ford/Farrell axis. Together they can make things click.

Scotland's fly-half Finn Russell makes a break against England
Image: Scotland's fly-half Finn Russell was outstanding against England

8. Scotland finished third but they didn't finish well. A narrow squeak against Italy combined with win against France and England has to be seen as above par for Gregor Townsend. In particular, against England, we saw a side capable of playing with the pace and accuracy of New Zealand. Finn Russell might live on the edge but when he tip toes along it, start to finish, things happen. His well nigh perfect pass which set Huw Jones into space against England was my moment of the tournament.

9. France couldn't finish in the top half of the table but they had the consolation of beating the Roast Beefs. Apart from that win they only beat Italy but the pack (apart from the line out against England) was organised and Mathieu Bastareaud came of age as a colossal centre. What they most lacked was a ten. Matthieu Jalibert's injury was a dampener on day one of the tournament. Neither Francois Trinh-Duc or Anthony Belleau - both of Toulon - cracked it. If Camille Lopez returns the player he was when injured, France could improve a great deal and very quickly.

ROME, ITALY - FEBRUARY 04:  Sebastian Negri of Italy is tackled by Sam Simmonds #8 and Maro Itoje of England during the NatWest Six Nations match between I
Image: Sebastian Negri was a real star for Italy

10. Finally Italy. Five more losses. Yet there is much to encourage them. Sebastian Negri was an outstanding find in the back row while Gloucester's Jake Polledri looked one for the future. Matteo Minozzi was a mini miracle at full-back, a pocket-sized maestro. But most of all it was the way they kept going that will have pleased Conor O' Shea. Usually Italy are good for some early scraps before fading from contention. This time around they caught England and Ireland in rounds one and two but were competitive against France and Wales away before taking Scotland all the way. They had spirit, some slickness behind the scrum and ball carriers to aid Sergio Parisse. Whatever the results, this was not a bad competition for Italy. It was for England.

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