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'It’s a manner of the Irish psyche, ‘Jesus, another championship’

By PA
Ireland skipper Peter O'Mahony (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Peter O’Mahony has insisted that further Guinness Six Nations glory means “absolutely everything” to Ireland, stressing that his countrymen would have metaphorically sacrificed limbs for such success in the recent past.

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Retaining the championship crown has been touted as an anti-climax for Andy Farrell’s side after the holy grail of historic back-to-back Grand Slams was extinguished by last week’s agonising 23-22 loss to England.

Ireland are on the verge of a fifth title in 11 years going into Saturday evening’s Dublin showdown with Scotland, having endured a drought of more than two decades between 1985 and 2009.

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Captain O’Mahony, who contributed to each of those successes, remembers the barren era and dismissed the suggestion current expectations have devalued the achievement of winning the tournament without a 100 per cent record.

“No, I don’t think so because it’s so rare,” said the 34-year-old. “I know we have had a few in our most recent history but going back over a long period, we’re way down the list of championships won.

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“You are talking about back-to-back Grand Slams and no one has done it because it’s so hard, that’s why. You have got to win 10 Six Nations games in a row, win five away from home.

“It’s unbelievably difficult to win a game away from home in this championship if you look at the stats across the board. So it’s everything to us Saturday. Absolutely everything to us, another championship.

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“It’s probably a manner of the Irish psyche, ‘Jesus, another championship’, you know what I mean? When all of a sudden a few years ago you would have taken your arm and your leg off for one.

“We’re still in the same boat, it matters a massive amount to us. It’s what we’re here for, that’s the be-all and end-all of it, we’re here to win a championship for our country and it couldn’t mean any more to us.”

Ireland will be crowned champions by avoiding defeat to Gregor Townsend’s side or claiming two losing bonus points, while a single bonus point is also likely to be sufficient.

However, a pointless defeat would leave Farrell’s men sweating on the outcome of England’s clash with France in Lyon.

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Ireland are seeking a 10th-successive win over their rivals, while Scotland have a slim chance of snatching the title but are realistically aiming for a first Triple Crown since 1990.

Munster flanker O’Mahony anticipates another feisty affair following last year’s fiery Rugby World Cup pool-stage clash in Paris, which the Irish won 36-14 to eliminate the Scots.

“It’s a competitive game and both teams always get stuck in and that’s what you want, isn’t it? You want both teams flat out,” he said.

“We’re not playing tennis or golf, you know what I mean? It’s a physical game and you have got to get stuck in and you have got to be on the edge – and that’s rugby. It will be very special if we win it.”

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Werner 13 minutes ago
URC teams aren't proving Stephen Donald wrong

Mate, you're the one that brought up financials saying they have to run a 12 month season to make ends meet. If they were in the SRP they would be struggling more financially. If you think financials don't have an impact a teams competitiveness I would argue different. More money means more capacity to retain and develop talent, to develop rugby pathways and most importantly keep the lights on during the ebb years.


Secondly if we are calling SRP and URC a domestic comp I feel like we're colouring well outside the lines. But if we are drawing parallels to SRP and URC “domestic” comps and you're question of dominance I'd point out that SA have had 3 teams in each quarter final since they joined and either won or been a runner up to the tournament every year. Hardly flunking it. As far as fanbase, you can use viewership, subscriptions or bums on seats and CC is still ahead on the fanbase vs SRP, the benefit of a rugby nation with double the population of AU.

Other than financials the benefits of URC are also as you mentioned more games but also more teams and players getting exposure to professional rugby (it's actually 5 teams if you include the repechage of the SA teams). With the schedules and competition setup all URC teams are required to have enough players to field 2-3 teams across the season. Previously under the SR you had 5 teams being forced into 4 squads with minimal change between squads week in week out.


See the thing about the SR or URC being better for competitiveness falls over pretty quick when you understand its a too way street. Arguing that SA is better or worse off because they left the SRP implies that AU and NZ aren't impacted and that they some how stay sharp without outside competition. All teams are worse off in the regard that they are no longer exposed to the different playing styles But When you consider RWC I would argue that being in the URC is a benefit to SA because they are far more likely to face a European team in the pool stages than AU or NZ.

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S
SK 34 minutes ago
Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

Well Nick I have a theory why Leinster seem to lose so often at this stage of the season and it has to do with the Six Nations and what happens after that. In all of the seasons Leinster have come up short they have dominated going into the 6N. Then after that with Irish players coming out of camp they have some breathing space in the URC so they rest the lads. The SA tour almost always follows between week 12-16 of the URC. Leinster send weakened teams and have lost all games but one against the Sharks this year. They invariably ship one more in the URC regular season to an Ulster or a Munster and this year it was the Scarlets. They usually do so when starting weakened sides or teams that are half baked with a few of their internationals and their bench strength in what can be described as some kind of odd trail mix. The 6N takes its toll. The Irish lads come back battered and some come back injured. They also spend time in Irelands camp training within Irish systems with the coaches and these are slightly different to what they do at Leinster and in the last 2 seasons have been massively different on D. In the last 4-6 weeks of the URC the boys coming back from the Irish camp are not featuring. They are managed either side of the knockouts in the Champions cup. They sometimes play just 3-5 games over a 10 week period. They go from being battered and bruised to being underdone and out of whack. They lose all momentum with the losses they accrue and doubts start to set in. Suddenly sides find ways to unlock them, they make mistakes and they just cant deal with the pressure. At this time the weather also turns from cold, wet and rancid to bright and sunny. Suddenly the tempo is lifted on fields and conditions that are great for attractive rugby. Leinster start to concede points and dont put in the shift they used to. They have no momentum to do so. When will the coaching staff realise that they need to do something different at this point? They keep trying to manage the players and their systems in the same way every season when the boys come back from Ireland duty and its always the same result. A disaster in the last 3-4 weeks of the season. This year it came earlier. Maybe thats a blessing. With 2 rounds left in the URC they can focus their attentions. Perhaps thats where Leinsters attention needs to be anyway. They need to reclaim their bread and butter competition title before pushing onto the next star.

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