This weekend sees the second round matches of the Six Nations and already there are teams and coaches under scrutiny. The pressure to perform when you have a gifted bunch of players yet end up trophyless is a reality two coaches are facing. The expectations are always high especially on the coaches and the bar has to be raised or they will be out of a job.
Ireland were disappointing last week against the French and only came alive in the second half. The Ireland team was outplayed and out muscled and today they are expected to front up and show their mettle. Andy Farrell took over the coaching role in 2019 from Joe Schmidt who set the foundations for the teams success. Those players have been moving on and the squad is not quite the same as it was 7 years ago. Many believe he had the luxury of stepping into a role that was all set up and now is the time he has to prove himself.
The Irish used to be ranked as the number one side in the world yet we all saw their frailties by not having the depth in quality and those players coming into the side replacing the retired players are not of the same standard. The forward pack is what we would call average at best and are no longer a power house. I would go as far as say the team is going back wards and is currently in a transitioning rebuilding phase which is fine with the World Cup still 18 months away.
Italy on the other hand are on an upward trajectory that has been on the go for the last two seasons and are a quality team. The Italians know the weaknesses of the Irish scrum like every team in the world does now after seeing them demolished by South Africa late last year and expect them to try their luck today. If the Italians gain the upper hand up front then the game will be a very tight contest and this is going to be a few points in it either way.
Later today we see Scotland host the England team with the Scots needing a win to save their coach Gregor Townsend's job. I think his job is already done and dusted with replacements already being suggested. The problem is the Scots have had generational talent over the last 5 years and yet they have not been able to capitalize. They have been unlucky over the last few campaigns being robbed of a couple of big results. The French scoring in the last minute two years ago when it was clearly knocked on and Finn Russell missing the last kick of the game at Twickenham handing England the win. The Calcutta Cup which is the oldest sporting trophy in the world is what is on the line today and for some reason it brings the best out of these two teams. This again should be a close affair and too close to call.
The Wales vs France game is one too skip as the Welsh Dragons have no fire and will be over run in Cardiff tomorrow. The coach is probably not under threat as the entire Welsh rugby needs to be looked into a rebuilt from scratch. The biggest threat to the French is themselves and do not think they could even mess this up.