Tonight, they have a chance to change the course they're on by claiming a Six Nations title in Paris. A bonus-point win secures the Championship for Ireland, but if France beat Ireland by two more points than England beat Italy, they will be crowned champions. Their stock has fallen to the point where Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus was happy to sign off on documentary film that saw him describe the Ireland team as "softies". In the past year, Brian O'Driscoll has questioned the lack of 'dog' in the pack, Mick Galwey has said this Irish pack is too nice. "The same with scrum, there's technicalities and some smarts that we believe as an Irish pack we have potentially got over some teams."

Source: Irish Independent October 31, 2020 02:26 UTC