It was, says Gordon D’Arcy, a game of two halves at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. In the first, Ireland were “predictable”, with “a lot of kicking off the back foot”. In the second, they kept the ball rather than kicking it away, attacked space and were more “fluent in their patterns”. “It felt like watching a different team,” he says. Which one will turn up in Twickenham? And can Ireland capitalise on the “discomfort” of a “sore and rattled” England who are licking their wounds after that defeat to Scotland?
Another sizeable question, of course, is: who should be the starting outhalf, Sam Prendergast or Jack Crowley? Either way, Johnny Sexton is confident that the pair will hit their best form in the coming matches, his key piece of advice for both: stay off social media. “Get a lot of the noise and distractions out of your life,” he says.
Henry Pollock, meanwhile, will make his first Test start for England, coach Steve Borthwick backing his young “superstar” to get Twickenham on its feet. “He can bring a euphoria to people that not many players can.”
There’s no end of euphoria over in France after their Six Nations start, the team inspired by “the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid of rugby”: Antoine Dupont and Matthieu Jalibert. Robert Kitson doffs his cap to the double act, France’s answer to Ant & Dec – “Antoine and Dec?”
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In Gaelic games, Seán Moran looks ahead to the GAA’s annual congress at the weekend, the Allianz sponsorship issue likely to be raised, while Gordon Manning has news of one of the motions that will be up for discussion, namely the requirement that players make a minimum of eight club appearances a season to be eligible for their county team the following year.
Gordon also looks at how the top division in the National Hurling League is shaping up, “the provincial balance of power” possibly about to “sway further to the south” – the outcome of Kilkenny’s meeting with Waterford on Sunday will have a significant bearing on that.
In football, Carla Ward has named her Republic of Ireland squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers against France and the Netherlands, Gavin Cummiskey taking you through her selection. But the Irish cricket team’s T20 World Cup journey is over after rain washed away their must-win meeting with Zimbabwe on Tuesday without a ball being bowled.
Ramm Goud Sama isn’t getting to play much cricket in Donegal this weather either, but the sport has played a major role in his life since he moved to the county. Muireann Duffy talks to the Indian man who decided to give living in Donegal a six-month try – and more than 20 years later, he’s still there.
TV Watch: There’s more from the Winter Olympics on BBC1, BBC2 and TNT Sports through the day and up to 10.30 tonight. At 5.45 this afternoon, Newcastle are away to Azerbaijan’s Qarabag in the first leg of their Champions League playoff (TNT Sports 1) and at 8pm, Arsenal will attempt to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points when they’re away to bottom club Wolves (Sky Sports Premier League).
