Ireland between French rock and English hard place as on-form Italy arrive

Six Nations: Ireland v Italy, Aviva Stadium, Saturday, 2.10pm – Live Virgin Media One and ITV Apocalypse now? Maybe it’s the weather, for the heavy clouds and the rain appear to have followed the Irish rugby team from Dublin to Portugal to Paris and back to Dublin again. In the doomy and gloomy fallout from Ireland’s chastening opening night in Paris, it’s tempting to wonder if the sun will ever shine on this Irish team again. Coming on the back of last March’s home thumping by France, the All Blacks’ bloodless coup in Chicago and the Springboks’ scrum-fuelled beating in the Aviva, these four defeats in Ireland’s last seven matches against Tier One opposition is not the kind of form we...