The Left Wing Podcast: Ronan O’Gara on France vs Ireland and Jack Crowley’s potential

Ronan O’Gara breaks down France vs Ireland on the latest episode of The Left Wing ahead of Friday’s Six Nations showdown.

The La Rochelle head coach joined Luke Fitzgerald and Will Slattery to look ahead to the blockbuster opening game as well as delve into his coaching journey in France.

Luke and Will then preview the Six Nations along with Jonathan Bradley, starting with whether Ireland will suffer from a World Cup hangover.

England’s dark horse potential, Ireland’s out-half situation and the lads’ Six Nations predictions are all on the agenda too.

Join us again on Wednesday and Thursday as we bring you new episodes with the latest from the Ireland and France team camps.

Listen & follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Applause] Six Nations is finally here and what a game to kick things off France hosting Ireland in Marseilles on Friday night and that promises to be an absolute cracker so plenty to talk about on the latest episode of the leftwing podcast will SL here with you and in part two of

The show we will be joined by Jonathan Bradley to discuss all things Six Nations but first myself and Luke pel were lucky enough earlier today to talk to Ron ogara who joined in association with Guinness title sponsor of the Six Nations we discussed his coaching journey to date Ireland versus France

And I started off by asking him if he could believe that it’s been 15 years since himself and Luke embarked on that famous Grand Slam winning campaign yeah it doesn’t feel like 15 years that’s for sure but um that’s the beauty of our game I think um when you’re finished you

Uh obviously remember people you play with and you create great memories but it also helps when it was uh um I suppose ingrained with a special moment winning a grand slam being obviously the first Irish team to do it in whatever it was 50 or 60 years uh the

Team had uh grown to um a stage where we probably felt that we’d been knocking on the door but as you know to be taken seriously as Sports people you need Ser aware and uh they were magical moments and they get better the more the years

Go by for sure yeah luk from your own perspective obviously over the 15 years you played with now watching him as a coach we’ve obviously discussed on this show plenty of times about lelle Lancer and the role he’s played and all that like what have you made kind of watching ronin’s career

Developed since you finished your playing days together you’re not going to force me to say something nice about him will you that be just that would just be terrible h no look obviously very lucky to have um overlapped with with one of the the greats no doubt about it um Raj is

Always great with me you know I was obviously one of the young Lads coming into the setup um you know help helping these losers out uh because they couldn’t win for ages without any of the Young Guns like myself he and Carney Etc um they needed

Us to get over the line but um now look obviously you know he’s he’s done brilliant things in his career it speaks for itself it’s been so good to see I just just think the the the the coaching career I mean look to have gone

And I think he’s done it the hard way you know um you know to bring the family to uproot them to France initially then obviously to New Zealand uh and obviously back to France where he’s doing such a brilliant job and obviously breaking a lot of lenser Hearts which

I’m sure has been a nice little uh nice little um addition uh to to winning the competition with lell yourself um but yeah no look it’s been great and he’s he’s done a super job we’re all very excited to see you know how things progress from going forward does he end

Up in that uh in the hot seat after Andy farell or or what happens but um yeah it’s been great to watch and he was a great teammate so great to have on Raj great great to have you yeah it is great to to talk people you enjoy playing with

Yeah fantastic you lots of six Nation stuff I’d love to ask you about but one thing I you know luk touching the coaching element there that I’ve been treat to know just from watching you operate like is it difficult or how difficult is it to operate in your second language obviously you’ve been

Living in France for a long time with lell prior to that with wrestling but you have to communicate with I know there’s a lot of international players there but like a huge number of French players and get the message across to a degree that ultimately you’ve been able

To win back-to-back European cups and almost win a top 14 like what’s that like on yeah it’s it’s a good question it’s a question I’m not asked enough about you know because you have to uh think in English and translate it live you know because in our game you

Have an idea of what you want to say but then when you get into auto pilot you get into a discussion or a debate because a lot of people understand that you’re in our game you’re judged not by what you say really uh but it helps if you say good things but also

So just by your presence and just standing there so you have to think in English translate into French and get your message across and then they you mean players want to get better as well so they may not mean any harm but they’ll come back at you

And they come back hard at you and they want an answer to something and in you mean anything uh job you go into in an english- speaking environment after this will be so much easier because out of respect for well the guys here we do everything in French even though it’s whatever 5050

But there’s very little English spoken among certainly in meetings so you know I mean when the foreigners in the dressing room chat among themselves they chat obviously in English but I have no idea what’s going on in the changing room because that’s for player space but in terms of when you’re presenting

Everything is in French so and sometimes one little thing may get the word wrong but it’s very important that there is never a breakdown in messaging because of the language barrier and we double and triple stress that because um I mean there’s no there’s no reason why we cannot be understood

Because um rugby is quite simple we can make complicated at time but messaging has to be on point and it eliminates a lot of the [ __ ] that’s involved in the game as well I think they understood say opportunity effing and Normy that obviously went went viral from a few

From few months yeah exactly you know and it’s it’s important you can laugh at yourself because like you mean what’s I suppose the context of that context is important this is the Monday um after a Europe or a Tuesday maybe after European Cup finals so there’s a

Deal done with Canal over here that when you’re in the fast finals that you get followed by you have constant camera on you because they want more footage so you mean if I to look every time I go into the team meeting room is there a

Camera on me or not it doesn’t really interest me if you’re you know Luke would be aware of that too when you’re in that environment as a player for your country or or your Province or or a good club in France the camera just becomes part of your of your daily uh operators

You know so um I you know mean it got I wasn’t um aware that it was on so we we thought we were better than we were we had gone to Dublin and won a brilliant final but then everyone was giving their opinion well I’d like it to be bordo or

I’d like it to be Leon that wins the quarter figh and there I don’t care who it is and I hope you don’t care either but they you know I mean never had they spent so much time talking about who we were going to play in the semi-final of

The top 14 if they gave as much interest to their own Game and Watch training I would have been happier with them than them kind of playing out well yeah I’d be better if it was this or that and I was like hold on a second we’re in the

Semi-final let’s not worry about what who the opposition is let’s try and just get our one of the fundamental parts for me I find it very very difficult to give time to look at the opposition because there’s so many weaknesses in our own game well yeah can I a quick one like

Any any um any doubts I mean you always struck me and probably you know you have to outwardly um you know I suppose put out that front because you’re the leader of the team in in that Capal role of 10 any kind of doubts from time to time in

The coaching and and and how do you deal with those things because it must be challenging trying to put something on put a plan down and then watching people trying to execute it but you know when you’re not doing it yourself it can often be a big challenge they always say

That about ex players kind of going into coaching roles and things like that yeah and and you make a good point for me there’s no roll over you know there’s the player and then there’s the coach I think there’s obviously uh bits of the player that you bring with you

And there’s bits of the player that you don’t at all bring there are two different careers and two you mean completely different skill sets really involved in it and as you say it’s been um a lonely road and an isolated Road being an assistant coach and going

Where you needed to go to find out so much about you because if you don’t understand what you stand for and who you are it’s hard to portray that or push that on people about you know I mean values and standards and getting the best out of yourself and the

Importance of consistency of behavior so uh you know it’s probably over 10 years coaching now L and there’s days where most definitely you’re being honest you’re kind of go I’m not made for this this isn’t for me this is too difficult you know but that’s quite normal it was only I

Think um going to the in the second year in the Crusaders as an assistant I could finally feel completion of the jigsaw there was kind of that kind of self-contentment that came together where you mean because you don’t have a clue really about uh Wingers play you mean even

Though you play 10 you know you you you unless you play that position you know it inside out and you can really really give an opinion otherwise you’re giving a kind of a broad view on the role of 11 14 15 12 13 you know for I’m any action on the right

Hand side lineer or scrum obviously there’s always direct communication 104 10 12 10 to 13 is easy you miss out maybe 15 or 11 but like that’s the back’s point of VI imagine then like the amount of detail that’s involved in numbers one two three four five six

Seven and eight you have a fair idea of what six seven and eight can do but four 5123 You’ have no idea what goes on in the font five you know it’s a different world for us but it’s why it’s important that you kind of get someone your trust

And that’s been brilliant having donica here because he we see the game so differently we don’t I see the game I would say any way I like and I think that’s why it works because he gives me the mindset of a front five and what they kind of looked

For and I’m like are you serious and he’s yeah okay because there’s no possible way in my first I suppose 20 as ation that i’ be thinking that’s what’s in their head you know and it’s great to have that kind of pre- knowledge before you assemble um a plan but for

Me um I get very and it’s not all every week because you can’t do it but you get very excited by the opportunity to break down a team by attacking space as opposed to running over teams people go well yeah it’s easy for him because he will skeleton Winnie Antonio but the

Message always is to go where the space is but sometimes we have people who are blinker but unless you show them what scanning looks like and there’s some great football videos around Messi and Lampard and people like that just their capacity to scan before they get the

Ball I think you try and drive that and rubby because imagine if you had a 14 or 11 where you’re available every time to First Option cross kick Luke second option you’re you’re have the link with your 15 but if you just are only good at

The one roll we’re only we can only be 50% as good you know because for you’re never going to pass it by hand 10 to a Winger but you could easily pass it by foot because you have the right to forward pass with your foot but not with

Your hand you know so there’s a lot of imagination involved it becomes exciting but I think what’s good here when you’re um given the Reign is that you players want to have fun and they want to have excitement and they want to be able to express themselves and I

Think that’s what we’ve got right because you also have to uh acknowledge that um winning the European Cup back toback is very very special and it takes a special team to do that and that’s not pumping up my tires or anyone’s tires but like there’s huge huge satisfaction

In that what you’re talking about Raj I know exactly what you’re talking about you know it’s it’s it’s it’s a very um yeah but even like whatever it is for you 10 years later isn’t it I know listen it’s it is it’s a really tough

Thing to back it up you know um and yeah I think to keep to keep the the level that high and and as you said the interest and the excitement as well you know must be a real challenge for for a coach you know and you do think just

Thinking of of the great coaches that you know I had we had I always think they were great at that you know keeping the interest levels High keeping on top of what’s current in the game and making players excited that’s I think that’s the key thing keeping the the levels

High yeah exactly because you know it’s probably a very an Irish like thing to do you in know six we wed or seven didn’t get out of our group and then on the on the reaction you know but what why does it have to be a reaction why

Can’t you have consistent EXC Excellency and that’s what Linder did over that period but uh that’s 11 years ago Ronan is more difficult to be a top class player or a top class coach like you’ve obviously won two Champions cups as a player you’ve won two as a coach is

It more difficult to be the driving force that I would have to winning two Champions cups or being a head coach kind of none of it is difficult it’s all it’s all such a pleasure you know I think that’s the big thing everyone thinks we’re I’m in I’m suffering it’s the

Opposite you know you surround yourself with brilliant people when you’re playing and you have if you’re lucky enough the more successfully are you have huge failure but that’s part of the course and that’s part of sport and it’s the same when you’re coaching but it’s so much more powerful being a coach

Because it’s 70 pieces of the jigsaw that have come together when you’re the player you’re that segment of the jigsaw but when it comes together the global picture it’s hugely hugely rewarding and it just because it’s very rare you you win all the time you know so you have to

Be very grateful for for what’s happening but also know that is this sustainable no but if I’m constantly knocking on the door with a team that for me is consistent Excellency and that’s what what stimulates me just to turn to the six as before we we we finish up with the obviously France

Arand on Friday night absolutely massive Clash to kick things off like what can we expect from France obviously they like AR they had massive disappointment at the World Cup no Dupont there’s a couple of injuries you’re obviously very plugged into French rugby you know are

They still the team to beat do you think the Six Nations well the team to beat in the first game that’s for sure because I think they will be possessed going to marsill I think it’s a lovely new um I suppose add-on for the Six Nations yeah

There was warm-up games moved around the country and there’s huge Buy in and interest in French rugby at the minute they’re um having you know you were all over for the World Cup but um it left uh a taste for more and now the fact that

It’s in the v Drome um it’s a sporting City with huge tradition and history and the fans will be very very passionate you’ll have a fantastic surface a fast game uh in in good conditions which is probably not what we expect for the uh first game of six nations in uh in

February but in Mars you’ll get that so from a kind of a catch pass or conditions point of view it’ll favor skills so usually uh there’s nothing to negate kind of um people’s skills are no levelers in this game it’ll be the capacity to play from wherever and I

Think what’s happened I suppose from the World Cup was that France were for me INF factu by De possession rubby I don’t think that’s them at their best I think they got so much out of the data dupon can probably kick the ball 20 meters longer

Than a lot of guys even though luku has a great kick in him as well to be fair but I think the learnings are I’ll be and I’m only speculating there but I think France would play in the Six Nations because sometimes winning isn’t enough for the French public they’re crazy in

The fact that they have to win with style and they have to you know I mean show the AA LA and play and Peno needs to score three tries and they need to kind of uh show off their ability but for me it’s it’s a fascinating game

Between a team with a lot of X Factor against a highly odd cohesive fish uh structured game plan with a big emphasis on an attack shape in Ireland yeah and talking about that the key question Raj and you’re no better no better man in terms of giving a view on

This one that 10 roll and the impact of like no Johnny saon in there um you know looks like Crowley is the obvious candidate there very much the obvious candidate to to take over that 10 roll at this juncture um what do you make of

Him and do you think he can steer the ship in Johnny’s absence I think what’s happened in Johnny’s absence is there’s a necessity for two because it’s probably too big an ask for one guy to fill that role you know I mean I think

We’re maybe where I see it Go might be a 5030 with a a crowy fra excites me a lot or 602 or if Jack has done the business 70 but like 70 minutes a test level is a 90 minutes of Champions Cup you know it’s going to the

Preparation will take a lot out of them mentally and then Test games are won for the in the last 10 minutes FY has been exceptionally good anytime we’ve seen him but I suppose the big question everyone is asking is if he wants to play 10 for Ireland he has to play 10

For Club so he he needs to uh make a make a move in that regard but in the short term um I think it makes for a great combo yeah it’ll be Crowley’s uh starting role and if he does the business he’ll keep it and keep it and keep it but also I

Think the game is changing where um you need impact no matter how good the the the starter is to finish the game or to get him over the line and that’s not a slight on on Crowley whatsoever for me it’s a kind of you’re trying to combined

The best of the both of them to get the better of for example a Jal bear Ramos you know imagine like Ramos is such a weapon for France they can move him from 15 to 10 and I think you he’s probably the best goal kicker in the world at

This stage and one last question Ron before we let you go and really appreciate you joining us you know ultimately who do you think will win on Friday night I think it’ll be one score game I think irand will fancy probably disturbing France up front I think France have a few

Uh advantage in probably X Factor backs and Dante and Peno uh for me the key is is the game management of n10 against the bordo Duo so France or Ireland um I would say I think France will be difficult at home it would be I would be far more

Surprised by Ireland beating France than by France beat in Ireland because Home Advantage is absolutely huge I would think it would be H an unbelievably good night’s work for Ireland if they were to win it would be up there with a Hu one of their their greatest victories

Because I I think people underestimate how intimidating the venue is and um for Ireland players it’ll be a special night for them in the fact that uh it’ll be one of these kind of games where if they do the business it’ll be kind of something ticked off their bucket list

Because it’s a ground that really I think hits you the minute you go in there great so R thanks so much for joining us we plenty of insight from around nogar there and now I’m delighted to be joined on the line by Jonathan Bradley Jonathan how are you yeah I’m

Good will I’m good how are you I’m doing very well thank you plenty to get into ahead of Friday night and first I want to throw some statistics at you and and get your opinion on it cuz I’m kind of approaching these Six Nations and I’m not entirely sure why with a small

Degree of trepidation and I think it’s the prospect of a World Cup hangover because I went back and I looked at Ireland’s record in Six Nations post World Cups and and it doesn’t make for Pleasant reading there’s been six Six Nations tournaments after a World Cup Ireland have never won any of them

They’ve only come second once out of six attempts and if you contrast that with the kind of even numbered years take place you know in the middle of a World Cup cycle Ireland I think have won two six nations and come second three times out of six appearances so the history

Books will tell us that we could be in for a tough couple of weeks am I over reading these statistics or do you think there’s something to that that Ireland have traditionally been quite poor in the Six Nations after a World Cup well I think there’s definitely something to it

And normally they’re not going into it having lost the most important player in the break between the World Cup and the Six Nations either so I mean if you look at it that way theoretically it could be even worse I don’t think that it will be but whenever you’re talking about

Trepidation for me the big trepidation comes from the fact that this irland team is such an unknown nigh in the sense that even if you’re only taking one player out of it and I know mat Hanson’s obviously inured as well but you’re only taking one player out of it

But it is the most important player to the attack so I think it’s only natural that people are going to be if not nervous there’s going to be a sense of for the first time in quite a while we don’t know exactly what we’re going to

Get from what has been one of the most consistent sides in International Rugby over the last two years how are you approaching things like what what what’s let’s do a Vibes check you know because for some reason I don’t know what it is obviously to be fair the last game

Ireland played was a devastating World Cup quarterfinal defeat similar to France to be fair but I don’t know there’s something about this tournament that I’m just a little uneasy about I just don’t quite know what to expect from Ireland Jonathan touched on a few things there but how are you feeling

About the team going into Friday fear of the unknown I think is what you have will um and yeah look I think think look it’s a small enough like I mean six is hardly a big sample to really say well look there’s statistically speaking that we’ve got something that we can really

Hang our hat on I would say Ireland generally speaking uh you know if you just think about it broadly um we generally have a smaller player pool generally after World Cup lots of people will try you know will try and make it to that point and call it quits in their

Career so generally there’s turnover so you think you know maybe our player pool is a little bit smaller and perhaps that’s always been a bit more challenging for us to to to you know turn over a squad um but I I don’t see that with this team I think there’s

Plenty of really good pieces around that key 10 role which we we assume is going to be obviously Jack Crowley um and you know I like him I like I think he’s he’s a big game player I think the challenge for him just from what I’ve seen from

Him is that um you know realizing playing International Rugby in that position is very much about everyone else and not about you I see him trying a few chips and a few things like that with with monster at different periods um you know kind of speculative stuff

For himself and that could kind of work at Club rugby that won’t work at International level I don’t think and for him it’s realizing that um you know and it it’ll take time it will take time you know you heard Raj saying that as well you know you have to be patient you

Have to have time in the pocket there I think and as well you know he mightn’t get the 80 minutes that he wants I think the game has probably moved on even from ogara Z and SE Z you know particularly earlier on um so he might be getting 80

Minutes every week uh he might be sharing that low that was an interesting point I thought Rona made but um I think you have to bring in the other players it’s all about bringing in the other players and the opportunities for yourself cuz he does have a good running

Game will kind of present themselves and and he has to you know I think a player of his quality has to realize that he will see those obvious ones when the time comes he doesn’t have to force anything there um I he seems like a smart guy has very switched on uh really

Like what I see so far and if it’s fry in you know coming in for for 20 minutes or so of each game or 30 minutes or so um you know he looks like a guy I think who has the same kind of issues with ler

You know he hasn’t he hasn’t had as much game time was Crowley but you know we saw him kind of trying a few things a few you know maybe not delivering on the basics which I think is really really important that International will be for

Lster when he came in say for that sale game there’s a few kind of sloppy pieces so you know kick well bring the team into into into the U into the game the the good players around you um don’t over complicate things and deliver on on

On the game plan and that’s a real Surefire way of settling yourself into that position I think but that’s really hard to do under the under the scrutiny and the pressure um that comes playing 10 in in in an International Rugby team so um I’m excited about it I think it’s

A real opportunity for some young guys who I think are really good rugby players to to Showcase their talents I’m I’m excited also about who comes into not just the playing side that Johnny the the void that Johnny has left but also the leadership role I think om Mani

Is is the obvious candidate but I think we’ll be looking to see longer term who else pokes their head up above the paret to say yeah I think i’ be I’d be well suited to that role because obviously Pete’s age means that you know is he

Going to get us to the next World Cup so we’re just going to be looking for those two things um and I do feel Andy farell has been really good and consistent on picking his best team each time he doesn’t look I don’t think too far in

Front uh he picks the best team available to be competitive and I think he’ll do that this week and I expect the team to be competitive in what is a very very tough place to go so um it’s a great one it’s a outw watering one to to

Open the tournament with I think oh yeah he couldn’t ask for a bigger game to kick things off jonath did like our Ireland’s still good enough to win the Six Nations without Johnny Saxon you know not to maybe point a Crowley and say oh can they win it with Jack Crowley

He has achieved a lot in his Club career even a short one today but losing a player of that caliber is this team still good enough to win the Six Nations do you think I think that it is I think you also have to add in the context that

For me Ireland have lost their best player but you know France have lost their best player as well they’ve also lost the 10 the plays alongside him so there’s no an on the Pont there’s no Roman entar but a few other injuries as well Ireland I think are absolutely good

Enough to do it but it’s for me it’s just it’s such a question mark that we just haven’t had you know we’re only going back three and a half months to Johnny Saxon being viewed as so important to Ireland that he played 80 minutes of a quarterfinal four and a

Half months ago we were all worried so worried about how important Johnny saon was to this Ireland team that we were genuinely having discussions about whether he him missing warm-up games in the buildup to playing Romania like Romania was something that we should be concerned about like that’s how

Important Johnny Saxon was to this team as recently as four months ago so it’s more just the fact that we don’t know like is Jack Carly good enough for Ireland to win the Six Nations personally I think that he is I think for what Luke said there about the uh

The sort of big game temperament that he’s shown leading monster to the RC title uh last year like I think that really stands to him but it is a big step up and we’ve seen this time and time again that it’s a big adjustment and how long

That adjustment takes a player is what is the unknown so yes I think they’re good enough but so much of it is going to come down to how many games in the saddle it takes Jack CLE to be that guy and like I know people are going to be

Listening and thinking oh you know we’re not talking about somebody that has no caps but if we’re thinking about it you know he’s had three starts I believe two of them were in warm-up games the other one being against Australia back in November so yes he’s got caps and yes

He’s been in the camp he’s been around the players he’s um you know in the media interviews that he’s given he’s talking about how much he’s learned from just being in and around seon but nobody knows how quickly he is going to be an International Quality starting to like

Nobody knows how long that’s going to take assuming that he gets there so until we see it like it’s really it’s all just speculation yeah and obviously like the the on Pitch you touched on it Luke the on Pitch influence of Johnny SE is obviously obvious to the eye when

You’re watching it but and you’ll know well like the influence he exerted off the pitch in terms of setting standards like a n number of the squad are on the record saying how standards drop when he’s not around like that’s a slightly alarming prospect that this is the first

Time it’s been 15 years since he hasn’t been in the squad that grand slam I referred to you know yourself and Raj won that was the last time Johnny seon wasn’t involved in an Ireland six Squad which is mad to think about like like how big a concern would that be that

He’s not longer there to set the standards that even though Jack Cowley could come in and play great rugby but if all the other players take a 2% or a 1% dip because Johnny isn’t there to keep them going then the team surely cumulatively takes a step backwards yeah

Look I it was an interesting comment at the time we’ve obviously harped on about it quite a bit because I I was obviously astonished by that you know I would have thought that everyone has their own standards and and that’s it but look I think they’ll have moved on from from

That com I think they were a little bit younger at that stage too um you know you think I think was might have been James Ryan might have mentioned James Lo said similar as well yeah so look I think they all have to grow up and and realize that they’ve got their own

Careers and and and you know things move on from Johnny like in a way this could be very it could be very freeing for this team that they don’t have this concentration of risk in one you know that that key man risk that you always worry about like geez what happens if it

All they don’t really have that now you know what I mean so that could be a bit liberating for them um so there is a an upside to this thing too look what I would say is you know like like a Tom Brady you know like a kind of a senior

Quarterback who has just seen so much and has been in the situations and has delivered in the situations you of course are going to lose out in in in that respect and that’s a big challenge but like these other players will bring different things to the game I think

Than than Johnny so like they’ll be a little bit more robust you know they’re younger guys that should be able to go if you need them to go 80 minutes now they may not but if you need them to go 80 minutes these guys should be more

Durable and able to do that just by virtue of being younger um I think if it’s frolly and if it’s if it’s groy which we we think it probably is uh they both have probably a better running game than Johnny like they’re probably slightly better athletes I think um not

From when he was in his pump and they’re probably smaller guys but they’re both excellent tacklers too so that’s that’s a thing that you get with them as well you wouldn’t be as worried about them having to take you know you know aldre or one of these guys for for 80 minutes

You’ think they’re probably able for five or six of those tackles you know they just their bodies are just not as worn down so we do get some other things with them will now what do miss with Johnny Saxon and you’ve heard me say this about him and key like guys like

Drio talk talking about it too you know his short kicking game like his cross field kicking game outstanding he really has seen those situations a lot and really reads them well I think Crowley looks like he can do it he saw that one against ton that was excellent that

Little chip forbo um so you miss a bit a bit of that there you also missed the ball handling ability that is what really sets Johnny Saxon in my opinion like Head and Shoulders above nearly any fly half that I’ve ever come across and I don’t I promise you I don’t

Say that lightly I think his the how quickly he can see a situation and deliver a like a pinpoint pass at PACE or slowly or you know a disguise one where he’s you know you see Finn Russell doing a little bit but Johnny SE nor was

The best at that like a disguise him where he’s looking somewhere else and throws it those things are really really hard to to deliver and I don’t think the guys need to try it and do the same thing there because I think that was a

Real special gift that he had uh to be able to do that that that particular that ball handling ability that passing ability but you don’t have to get there but you you need to try and get close enough to that that’s really really difficult to do so um can they bridge

The gap there that’s where the team will really lose out in those two big areas we can’t expect them to have seen the the amount of scenarios but we can’t expect them to be really accurate with their passing bringing other players be thinking that way be thinking how Johnny

Might be thinking in terms of you know I always felt like Johnny was brilliant at directing the team around his first thing was not where’s the break for me his first thing is okay what’s the next one okay well look what’s that picture showing me where should I be going to

They’re all things that I think these guys could deliver on not to the same standard but close and I think if they do that the team will go well I think there’s lots of guys who are better players now they’re better players than like over the last three or

Four years you think of your shein you think of Ker’s coming back into the mix now you think of Ryan I think McCarthy is a great addition to this team I think you look at that back row Doris is a bit of a leader now om Mani we know what we

Get with him but be is there you know you got Ty possibly there are in the row like there’s loads of brilliant players around um you know around who whoever that 10 rooll is going to be H bndy AI is coming off an unbelievable World Cup

So uh I think there’s plenty of of tools for the 10 if they’re in the right mindset if they’re cool if they’re calm which is going to be very challenging for this team to go and maybe be a be a better team without them I think that’s

A big statement to make maybe not straight away but let let’s not I wouldn’t rule that out at this point this team this team could be better because of the other guys being better not just about Johnny you know I think obviously we’re going to lose something

There but look I’m positive you can tell I’m positive about it you’re not thought the Patriots would be better at Tom Brady as well we’ve seen it I’m not saying it’s going to happen straight away well but look I actually am positive about it I think there’s loads

To be positive about this Irish team I think you know do like the the challenge for them now is that this is a really difficult starting fixture and to to coincide with that is there any other team in the competition that could beat France if they lose uh on Friday night

And I don’t think there is you know traditionally in this one if you got to a bonus point you say well let’s maybe England could pick them off I don’t think that’s the case so this is a huge huge match to open the the tournament and there’s a lot of pressure that comes

Alongside it if they want to go ahead and win the competition yeah from an Irish perspective you almost prefer the fixures the first two were flipped around maybe if you started with it Le get Crowley kind of bed in and then go to France the second weekend like it’s

You couldn’t ask for tougher way to start the tournament Jonathan in terms of like I don’t know things in the world cup that you’d like to see improved on or changes in the world cup that last time we saw AR and play the line out is

Obviously the big one you know that came under immense pressure in various instances South Africa in particular but the OB picked off a couple as well you know that as one is there anything else kind of of that vein that you think okay AR need to improve there and then maybe

They can really have a crack a win this tournament yeah I mean the scrum as well you know both both set pieces really if you go back to the last time that we saw Ireland you know it was uh Andrew Porter going back and forth with way Barnes at

The scrum three penalties and in the context of that game those three penalties were huge like we’ve all seen Andrew Porter’s comments about what he thought in the moment and we heard what Andy Farrell thought about it afterwards but that’s an area where rightly or wrongly the perception

Is that Ireland are illegal in their scrum so the perception is more important than the reality almost when it comes to uh refereeing interpretations so we need to see a step forward I think the lonite that you mentioned is going to be a massive concern until they show that they fixed

It basically because at the World Cup they didn’t really show an ability to get that right against anyone it didn’t really matter who they were playing they weren’t adapting to it and you think about somebody this weekend you know Cameron wooki if he plays there’s some speculation that he might not actually

Play which seems uh seems mad to me that you could have a deep enough Squad to not play him but he’s one of the best jumpers on opposition ball in the world that you’re going to be up against on Friday so it’s a real acid test early on

Of the things that you know we’re looking to improve upon from the World Cup before you even really get into that uh how they attack looks without sex and thing as well and jump into your mind like obviously as Jonathan touch on I I yeah missed out in the scrum that that

Was a major kind of issue with the World Cup as was the line out but anything else kind of on top of your mind in terms of things you’d like to see tweaked improved changed I would add as well just on the line out so I think

They threw out some stats about the wins they had in the lineup but I feel like they they had they got very a lot of that ball wasn’t great ball it was all a two wasn’t it like so I thought that was kind of masking maybe the the larger

Issues they had so I would add that little bit on to because complet Jonathan’s completely right on those two issues that we would love to and I think they take the team on to being really really hard to beat like I I you know if arand get those two set piece you know

Issues right they’ll be very very difficult for anyone to be even France you know um and that’s probably an obvious statement because we know how strong France are in about facets but um I’d like to see them the grow for me is is not can they win the ball there but

Can they win it in good places they looked a little bit clunky to me for someone who’s look I’m not an expert in the area but I know what good ball looks like there and I didn’t feel like while we got the ball it looked like a lot of

It was very conservative at two which teams would like it’s easier to defend you there so I’d like to see maybe a little bit of growth in that area um and I think I wouldn’t touch the attack but I’d like us to be a bit stingier defensively I always always talk about

This um will I I thought we I I thought we were a little bit loose we like even if you think the blacks yeah and we definitely one of them was very very soft the one off the tail of the line out where moonga goes through I mean that’s that’s pretty

Inexcusable to me to be caught in the seams you know when I save it the same I mean the area between the set piece and where your backline is lining up to be caught in that little corridor there is kind of a school boy area error particularly against a Joe Schmid team

Like every one of those players there’s lots of senior lenser players who would know Joe inside out and know that that’s where you’re going to be attacking it’s the most rable spot because a forward has to connect with a back there if you can tie him in for an extra second or

Get him caught taking a slightly wrong line it’s really exposed so that was kind of a school boy error to me and it cost them dearly because they were a better team than that New Zealand team and still should have won the game by the way because you know if if if

Kellerer gets that that driving allall over like we’re having a very conversation about this Irish team so um I wouldn’t touch the attack too much thought they were excellent there um thought the rooking accuracy maybe SL could have slightly been improved against New Zealand but I actually

Thought New Zealand did an excellent job there um but that would be the thing for me um can they get the the set pieces right and the defense can it be just a little bit it just it just takes to be a little bit stingy will it’s that one

Extra try I think in the key matches against the big teams if they can stop that and I always feel like lenser as well in the big matches have the same issue if they can stop that one extra try I think there’s no team they can

Live with them well the defense will be even more stressed the weekend you know listening to Ronin earlier he was saying he expects France to play even more than they have you know under gal today where like they have kind of married their French flare with they’re fairly

Pragmatic kicking game but he thinks after the World Cup they might play a little more rugby so you know Damian Peno you know Louis Billy ber Jal all these guys like they’re on fire at the moment are like that’ll be a major test for the AR it will but it also presents

An opportunity like International Rugby you know French flare you know has has got it’s got them in trouble as well you know as many times as it’s as we’ve seen some magical displays you think of the New Zealand wins at the World Cups and the quarterfinals where you have these

Moments of magic but there’s been plenty of times where you know against a stingy English defense you know think of those Wilkinson teams you know you know those I just remembered M throwing the ball to Cameron J I know it wasn’t against remember when he got snagged I remember

I remember so they are liable to do those things so what that what what does that mean that means that uh okay if they are going to be a bit more expensive are you ready for that have you have you done the homework do you know who the dangerman are do you know

What foot they step off have you gotten into that level of detail on the defense because I feel like this AR team goes into that level of detail in attack but have they done that in defense um are they prepared for the physical battle because that’s really what allows the

French teams to go ahead and be effective there because you know if they are going to throw it around they might still throw it around if they’re going backwards and if their pack isn’t getting any go for it and that’s a very different proposition for a defense and that presents those opportunities um

That you’ve seen Wales in the past key matches in the six nations take advantage think of the Georgia North intercepts all those kind of things that’s those that’s the opportunities that those things throw up so if you’re if you’re defending well if you’re meeting them physically at the game line

Um and possibly driving them back um you know and you’re and you’re defensively on the money that’s what you want you want them to think oh let’s throw it around let’s try the the chip kick here you know in you know from close to Own

Line let’s try the the the long pass in our 22 Ireland I think are are a good enough team to be able to stifle them and to keep them at Bay um so I don’t think they there’s any need to fear that and it should present an opportunity if

They’re on their game yeah Jonathan just to turn it around and look at it from a French perspective you know they also had a devastating quarterfinal defeat at home as well I’d imagine there’s a lot of pressure on them on Friday as well you know there’s no two as you touched

On there there’s there’s kind of murmurings of Fabian G making some very big selection calls maybe not having Cameron wuk in the team going with two big beefy second rows and maybe putting mafen on the wing and not even starting Billy Beret who’s been on real for

Bordeaux so there’s a lot of kind of I don’t know if you say question marks but it’s not just like oh arand coming in under pressure after the World Cup and know to the way game like France need to kind of go out and deliver because if

They don’t losing a home game to start the tournament Fabian G will be under huge pressure not to mention the fact that as badly as the World Cup exit went down in Ireland like France’s World Cup hangover is so much worse than ours here because it was on home soil it was once

In a generation thing they really thought that they were going to have this sort of Coronation in the St the France like as much as it was disappointment here like it’s got to have been so much worse in uh in France given that they were at home and you

Know you mentioned the pressure you reading things where it’s you’re sort of hearing talk about how intense the environment is under G how long players can respond to that sort of thing so it’s not going to take a particularly bad b six nations for there to be an

Awful lot of questions asked about France I don’t think I think you’re 100% right on that the uh the style is going to be really interesting you mentioned are they going to um free it up it almost seems natural that they would because you know they don’t have the

Best kicking scrum half in the world anymore um luky I think is a good player but he he’s not on on the pond it’s a different type of game and if they do go with that backline with four bordo players in it which we think that they

Will do do they lean into that more bordo style which is a little bit more was a little bit more off the cuff than we’ve seen France play as attractive a brand of rugby as they do play but there’ll be question marks then about how well suited that is to

International Rugby as opposed to Top End Club rugby so I think for me France are probably the team that you’re that you’re almost keenest to see because as good as as they’ve been this is probably we’ve got more questions about them than I think that we’ve had at any

Stage really in the last three years yeah and you mentioned kind of The Hangover and how much worse it is it’s probably cost them Dupont I’d imagine like if they win the World Cup I doubt Dupont leaves and goes to sevens it feels like it’s almost like a makeup

Thing for not winning the World Cup trying to go and win a medal on home soil because I know I watched to rosing on Sunday night he’s he’s playing some great stuff at the moment he seems to be in the form of his life so when is he

Not playing is he is there every period where he’s not playing c l r know but even more C later than usual if that’s possible cuz like like you can’t don’t play how much of a loss that is like you know to be lcu’s like looked has looked

Really good A lot of people have seen him play but that’s still a major loss like yeah it is look the one thing I would say is though like it it does become a little bit about Dupont when he’s when he’s playing there now he’s so

Good it’s not really a problem it’s not really a problem but they have they have some serious weapons you know and if you have a player who’s maybe facilitating more for other players um you know and I was thinking more about you know his um you know the options that are around him

Um further to the kind of conversation I was having uh with myself um about um you know the Ireland fly half situation and playing International Rugby sometimes it can be a good thing that you have a pure kind of like a facilitator there and we talked about R

I’m not as familiar with his kicking Ro says he has a very strong kicking game as well not as good as dant but look there there are it’ be to see how they go and you know jaler is a very he’s seriously exciting if they play Ramos there he’s obviously very exciting there

Too I don’t think that’s likely but look I I I think the one thing about playing a very expansive game is if they do pick a large like a very big pack you know how long can they keep that going for and does that play into Arland SS you

Think of how mobile this Irish team is and how dangerous this Irish team are when they have you know possession for long periods they could break teams down they can be very accurate you think of the likes of Keenan and these guys now they are Miss enhancing but there’s

Still lots of quality in this this Irish team that I think um you know they they if the game is played at a high pace and it’s open for long periods of time if they’re on defensively I don’t have a doubt that this Irish team can pick this

The French team apart um you know from an attack perspective I really believe that I just think there’s so much quality there there guys playing well they can play a tough they can play a robust you know up and down game with with with that key there H with probably

Heno maybe on the we don’t know who’s on the bench but someone like a heno there they can be pretty robust there as well but they also have the key to unlock you you know with the ring row with a Keenan with a low with all these kind of tools

That they have there’s plenty in this Irish team and plenty in this Irish pack by the way um to open up spaces and to take advantage of those spaces uh if it’s a fast game so I’m not sure that they want to be doing that even if it’s

What the crowd want I’m not sure it really plays into what the what I would feel like are the the unique parts of this French team which is the sheer size of that pack and you know how much they’ll be able to go at this orang team

And and maybe have a little bit of momentum from that World Cup where Ireland’s set pieces aren’t looking so hot and I think it’s pretty much at to the Forefront of lots of people’s minds when you think of Ireland and the troubles that they had there but we know

That this French team didn’t have those issues and are very very strong there and you look at lar shell and the issues that they’ve caused lster I I would my sense is that it would be a mistake for them to lean into this Bordeaux kind of style rugby I think those opportunities

Will present themselves if the pack is able to do what it should be able to do to this Irish pack based on the previous performances where they’ve done well against them at home you know where they’ve been able to dominate lster or sorry Ireland in the tight exchanges and

They’ve been able to dominate them at set piece so I would if I was galtier that’s where I would lean to I feel like that’s the obvious Advantage they have over this over this team that was the recipe I think in 2022 when they won in

The start of France they like they got a lot of scrum penalties but they still had some lovely tries I remember Dupont timat combining well them scoring another nice try in the second half so that’s definitely and the team that they allegedly are going to be picking seems

To lend itself to kind of that rather than going much more attack minded like if they’re going with two big second rows and not having Cameron walk in the St team if they’re picking A Center on the wing instead of a very Fleet footed you know guy from Bordeaux like maybe

That indicates that they’re not going to go that way delivering the other piece so like I don’t think that those two things like really focusing on attacking and using your size and your strength and your bulk um I don’t think that that means that it doesn’t open up

Opportunities for you to play great rupie either will I think actually in fact that you know someone like jalar will be able to pick those opportunities pretty well uh and if they’re on top the the opportunities become even more obvious that’s what and larelle do like

If you see them in the Champions Cup like they can they’re packing steamroll people and then it gives them license to cut them open out wide and they’ve been really really good to lose to be fair this season Jonathan I want to ask you a question I’m kind recycling one of the

Ones I used to ask during the World Cup we kind of changing it slightly if we’re sitting here say on like March 19th or 20 I think it’s a Tuesday and Ireland have won the Six Nations what kind of conversation are we having like what does that kind of campaign look like

What what did Ireland get right you think over the course of the next six weeks I think they will have uh improved upon their set piece that we saw at the World Cup I think they will have maintained their ability to boss the breakdown against even teams that are bigger than they are

And teams that are more on paper could be more physical than they are I think to use the quarterback analogy that uh Luke was uh edging towards I think we will be talking about Crow in the way sex and decy in the way that people are talking about Rogers to love

Because I think that’s the kind of transition that you need to have to not take a step backwards and I think we’ll have been talking about two to be honest really significant the way wins because we shouldn’t Overlook the fact that Ireland traditionally do not do well in even

Years because they have to go to Twickenham and they have to go to St the front so to win win a six nations in an even numbered year is going to require at least one possibly two really big away performances well yeah just to that point you know when I

Gave you those statistics earlier like in Six Nations that have taken place after a World Cup Ireland have only gotten two out of 12 wins against France and England and in the Six Nations that have taken place in France and England you know in the middle year between

World Cups they’ve won six out of 12 games so they like they’re a lot better Midway through a World Cup cycle in the even number of years than they are at the start and um I actually thought you were gonna go with Brock pie maybe as the quarterback you know taking the big

Step forward but I think Jack Crowley to be fair is is better a bit better yeah a bit more season than Brock I think we could ever call Jack Curley has ever been called Mr Irrelevant to be fair yeah true but do Brock P’s W wi away

From the Super Bowl so uh we can’t uh not give that much credit um you know from your perspective you know anything do you want to add to that like if do want to win the six na like some of the stuff is obvious like but one of the

Things you know we touched on Jack Crowley like if Ireland do win the I don’t winning a six nations without Jack Crowley being really really good you know we ask can they win it with a six nations I don’t think IR can win a six nations if he’s just adequate and has

Just filled in V Johny section I think if they have to go on and win it he likely need to have been like quite influential what uh I suppose I’ve been leaning the other way kind a brock P now almost actually like he can’t just be a

Game manager or kind of well you see I think he can see this is where this is probably where I was differing from you I was saying that it could be a little bit liberating for the team that you know all this risk and all this pressure

Isn’t on Johnny saon to deliver the game plan for them now the responsibility should be a bit more shared even though we are talking about Crowley like really you know the leaders need to step up around him and take pressure off him and and hopefully you know what that does is

It presents options for him him throughout the game that are kind of obvious and I think maybe what a result might look like for him and a really great tournament might look like for him is that we’re actually not talking about him being exceptional that we’re talking

About him getting you know 85% of his kicks that we’re talking about the team having played brilliant and we’re talking about ad darus uh Vander Fleer we’re talking about you know shean really lighting it up we’re talking about you know how good was Peter Mani leading this team how good were was was

Ireland’s set piece they really turned that around and they really you know had a had a brilliant tournament and I think that’s maybe what what a good tournament might we want like that’s what we might be talking about afterwards if you’re if you’re asking me honestly I think it’s

Too much probably to ask for him to be the exceptional guy and I really don’t feel like there should be the need for that I think him actually having an adequate tournament but doing his Basics really really well that might that might be an exceptional tournament if you if

If you’re if we’re being really honest about what we should be reasonably expecting from this guy um and I think if he if if his mindset is that um he actually might have a brilliant tournament and he might have one or two moments you know within the five games

That we say you know what that was a bloody brilliant tournament and he didn’t need to be that guy making all these fancy plays that he used what was around him really really well so that’s maybe what I think we might be talking about afterwards in in terms of a good

Tournament and to coincide with that the last point and I just want to emphasize it it’ll be boring for the listeners but that they get the defense it’s just a little bit stingier I think I think that’ll be a real key component for them to getting a result over in in England

Because in twick and over in in Marseilles because I just think I think England will their game plan has to has to get grow a little bit I think he was being very very conservative they were awful to watch but they were kind of effective and they got something that I

Think you know they felt they got they were jez they were within an absolute whisker of going to the final do you know what I mean um but but I think that they will have to grow the game plan a little bit more I think Farrell leaving and not being there might simplify

Things for them that’s always been a question about whether they should have him at 12 I really never thought that he should have been at 12 and I think that really clarifies things for them so I to what I’m saying is I I think Ireland’s defense would be key to getting those

Two kind of away wins and and that’s what we’d be talking about if it’s a great tournament as well not just how the team attacked and how crowd he plays so yeah Jonathan like outside of Ireland France like what team are you most intrigued to see how they develop like

Luke touched on England there Steve borwick you know the got some results the World Cup but the rugby has been very very poor Ted I think Ted yeah Scotland Scotland or Scotland like you know they have a big game this weekend against Wales if they win that well

We’ve said this before if they win that things might open up for them you know Wales their squad I was very taken back when the squad was announced just looking through it kind of the lack of of of real kind of quality in it or top quality and then Italy are coming off

They had a tough World Cup draw but a very very very poor World Cup so you know who out of those teams are you most intrigued to see how they get on I’m somewhat intrigued to see Italy just under a different coach all the talk would be that they’re going to play

More pragmatic which isn’t going to be great to us but I think they’d probably taken the Kier and klyy throw the ball around a little bit too far by uh by the end you know so I’m intrigued say go but really I think it is England because we

Know that as much as they had a better World Cup than a lot of us thought they would we know that for the last couple of years they haven’t been as good as they should be I think watching the Premiership teams in Europe you can see that they’ve taken a real step forward

Whether that’s because the players are or players are coming through or whether it’s just because things are more concentrated because obviously they’ve lost those three teams for financial reasons I think is an interesting element to it all and there’s almost a sense for me that this is the start or

The proper start of Steve borwick England tenure because this was when he was meant to get the job you know he got the job obviously because of Eddie Jones departing earlier than planned this is when he was really meant to be at the helm and things went so badly for him

That you almost thought that it was going to be difficult for him to recover even to have this as a launching Point as it were so I think how they kick off after the encouraging results of not the encouraging performances of the World Cup and how we see them evolve obviously

Missing farl in the same way that um we’ve talked about Ireland missing Sexton and just even what like it’s always fascinating to see what team England are going to go with because they have so many players and there’s so many different ways that they can play like I think there’s always and this

Could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing there’s always a lot more Intrigue and mystery about an England team announcement like they’re not a settled team so even to see what team they’re going to put out this weekend like we know marus Smith is not yet injured but

To see what direction they’re going to go in from I suppose the start of the tournament to the end of the tournament I think it’s going to be really interesting as well yeah the The Chopping and changing they’ve done in the kind of the latter period of the

Jones ER when he kind of moved away from the Saron core and then Steve bwick in his first six nations as well like really unsettled the team and and I think the results suffered because of that and you know their fixtures are good like so they start off with Italy

Away then they have Wales at home then a week off and then you go into Scotland away week off Ireland at home France away so you kind of build nicely throughout the tournament each week is like a little more difficult than the last it I don’t think they’re going to

Win the Six Nations but if there is quality still on that team if bwick can get it right you know ultimately though I think you’re going to run into the fact that like they’re like we seen Northampton play some really good Ruby and they seem to have some flare players

Or good attacking backs marus Smith obviously he’s injured but he’s one of them but I think deep down borwick is just not that kind of Coach I don’t think that’s the way he wants to play I don’t think that’s the that’s the style that he’d be comfortable with so I think

They’re ultimately going to be kind of clashing with that the whole time he’s the coach that he wants to play a certain style and the fans and the players he probably has at his disposal are more suited to playing a different style what do you think I I I think

They’re I always think that English psyche should be leaning towards borwick style anyway I always feel like an expansive England team you have the players that no they might not have the players that they that they did but I I think look the the one benefit I suppose

Of you know losing three of those teams uh if there is any is that you know some of the other teams got stronger by virtue of that you see some kind of player transfers in between and and maybe that’ll be a good thing for them

Because I do think like Ireland a lot of what what’s been great about Irby for a long time we’ve been competitive for a very long time there probably 10 or 15 years we’ve been there thereabouts for the for the most part I think it’s fair

To say I think a lot of that has coincided with How the Irish teams have done in the cup in the European Cup I just feel like that’s you know it gives you great confidence you’re playing against top players you’re playing against good teams week in week out and

I feel like that confidence has kind of led to a real period of consistency for for this s team so it’s interesting i’ be interested to see interested to see excuse me whether that feeds through to this english team because we have seen some improvements we have seen some big

Wins we have seen you know I think some some green shoots of certainly interest levels but definitely some some progress in terms of their playing as well um so will that feed through like does it need to be as expansive as it is in club rugby I know I think a more pragmatic

Approach can be very effective in International Rugby and it can open up as as I say few opportunities for you if you’re really good at it and this English pack definitely has I think the ability to do that to teams and and I would say um you know a structured game

Generally suits the psyche a little bit better even if they have some fancy players uh you know who who can who can play that way I always feel like they’re better off introducing them once the game is in the balance or has been one

When they need to open up so I think the structure will suit them I think bwick suits them um I think they’re in a difficult stage I don’t think they look like they have the same talent that they have you know you think of the great

English teams but I still think they can be very effective and as you mentioned the way the tournament is structure for this team in terms of who they play and when they play them it can lend itself to quite a quite a quite a good tournament here they could be sneakily

Could be in a very good position by the end of this tournament if they play well and if they can I I do think they do need to be a little bit more expansive but they can still be pragmatic and be very effective so um they could be dark

Horses for this thing will um so yeah we wait and see on on on whether there’s progress there yeah in TR to see he starts out half as well obviously Marcus Smith was probably the likely candle I would have said now he’s injured you have Finn Smith who was so good we gave

Him his Kudos last week for that win so Jones as well coming in is probably an exciting thing fix Jones coming in like can he you know it looks like he’s looking after the defense is yeah so I mean to my mind if he can imp Implement

Some of the pressure that South Africa have been able to achieve on teams like that’s a great basis for a very strong tournament if you can be defensively stingy like that at African team so so that’s I just did want to mention that because it’s been on my mind def in the

Six Nations last year like remember France at twickingham was a disaster I think Ireland scored what three or four tries against with theas Scotland you know remember doing V Mur like and Ireland didn’t play well by the way yeah you mean V Mur ran 60 M you know handing

Off D brand and stuff who was like got kind of cast aside now after that but yeah the defense definitely was one of the things that stood out in the last six nation is something that needed some work on uh we might as we get towards

The end go with their left wing moment of the week in association with Bank of Ireland obviously it was kind of a Down week for the Irish teams last weekend but I still got to watch some rby it’s always R to be watched somewhere I’m going to go with Finn Russell’s ill

Advised cross kick against bristle it’s funny like at a time where he’s been made kind of co- captain and like the Netflix show is kind of shining a light in himself in to and how they allegedly made in fces it’s just like a moment like that where you you kick to a Winger

Who’s like double marked and like they pick it off on the 5 meter line and walk the ball in for a try it just made me laugh it’s like he gives it and he takes it away in equal measure like he’s just he’s just that kind of player yeah well

I didn’t watch any Ruby I took a nice break well but my moment of the week was definitely finy beum uh holding hands with with Peter Al manahy I enjoyed that I don’t know if you saw that um looked like the team was in good SP it’s having

A bit of a laugh away in Port the captain at maybe that too um but yeah no like that’s uh look just look like a happy Squad you see some kind of pictures of them away in Portugal that seems to have been a really good base

For this team and um they look happy and I think that um I think they might pull off an upset in the weekend I think they’re this I’m I’m quietly confident on this Irish team it’s unusual you know you usually I’m like really I’m a worrier about Ireland but um I I think

They’ll be they’re they’re in a good place and they’ve got a really strong bench and um yeah I feel like they’ll they’ll sneak one over Mar we’ll do our full prediction oh yeah but sorry that’s my moment of the week cuz I think they look like in happy in a good place

Excuse me sorry I I went a little far my res Jonathan yeah uh similar to L the I didn’t see much rugby over the weekend unless people want to hear about a schools Cup last 16 game in oler but um from the Netflix document I’m going to

Go with Neil Barnes referring to his Sid’s highest profile player as an PUO or whatever his name is it was the only part so yeah the Netflix documentary an interesting one I watched some of it uh I couldn’t watch it what say I can’t watch it it’s meant it’s meant awful as

This yeah it’s not it’s not great like I don’t know you obviously know some of the lads in the squad are like I don’t know how open they were or weren’t to the cameras being there I I think Ireland provided some of the least amount of access for any team you know I

Don’t know guys is not comfortable with it you know or they just I I didn’t talk I haven’t seen it I’ve just heard that it was kind of restricted access and Rugby teams generally are very slow to move with like different Med you know Ireland particularly are very very cautious

About how much they open up to the media um have always traditionally been that way and haven’t really seen it as a positive conduit to say attract new people in um so yeah I wasn’t surprised to hear that they were kind of they were I think Netflix were a little bit

Disappointed with the access they got um and particularly as well people don’t like see the Finn Russell comment for example I think is a really good example of that he was clearly joking about that messy comment you can clearly see that but that is rugby players like worst

Nightmare for something like that Irish rby players particularly for something for them to say something like that and for it to come out no seriously I think um like if if you would be slagged in the the the team rooms always was in if you said something like that you would

Get the nicknames like you could just feel them coming a mile off or anything stupid you did like you’d be hounded for saying something like that I think it’s a little bit different in England maybe obviously Scotland as well but even for that to be misinterpreted um so I just

Don’t feel like they value it enough um and I think it’s very different like if you’re playing an individual sport like tennis golf you know F1 to a certain extent um you know promoting yourself and being kind of confident of those things being a bit more open and showing

A bit more yourself um it’s probably easier to do than in those team environments rugby is like the Ultimate Team game in my opinion because I always say it there is a position for every single size of person there and there’s really in in the best dressing rooms

I’ve ever been in some of the worldclass players there’s no real room for ego like even if Trio had ever got like he’d slack him to bits as well if he no seriously and he would he would have been able to do that different hairstyles yeah he and he gets absolute

Abused for that but you know what I mean I think there just was never to my mind rugby is not an unbelievable one for behind the scenes um and it’s way more controlled than it was the best one I’ve ever seen is that Lions documentary in ’97 but the other one like individual

Personalities it was just about like the access you know what I mean so I take your point about like one guy might not want to be putting himself a the you know the rest and saying various things but the line Zone was just you know I

Know but it was really good that’s what that was a brilliant look at it but it’s so much more sanitized now and like a lot of the crack in kind of a macho change room might not be like for public consumption you know like in a way it’s

It’s a weird it’s a weird dynamic and people are so much more sensitive about all those things now like if John Bentley was had the camera and some of the stuff he was looking at in the gym like that kind of stuff will go down so badly now because everyone can’t take a

Joke you know what I mean so I I think um it’s it’s a kind of culture around those things now people are really careful because you can get cancelled for for anything now you know it does sound like that though they are filming a second season at the moment and it

Hasn’t been green L officially but that apparently the teams have given more access than they did that’s a good the first season so I don’t know maybe they they saw that maybe it wasn’t so bad after all it would just be good to get a little more because you know I watched

The episode about Andrew Porter and it was noticeable that like all the training footage they were showing was from the training camp in Portugal before the tournament so they obviously let them in to get the shots there and then they kind of were using the stock footage cuz everyone different haircut

And stuff like it was clearly that it been taken like six weeks before but the endre POR documentary episode to be fair that was great to see like I think he’s he’s obviously been very open about that and he’s exposed himself uh a little bit but I think it’s been really well

Received and rightly so by by everyone so that’s great to see the support for for him on that and it’s great that he was able to support other people who’ve been in challenging circumstances but um you know I suppose the other side of that is like I think they probably want

To see yes they want to see the personalities but they probably want to see more of the a little bit of great and maybe some of the team talks you want the team talk you want to see like what’s Andy farell going to say about France this weekend like where are they

Going to look to attack them and then look back in that and go Jesus like that was that was really brilliant by the coach or Gees How did he you know how did he come up with that and how did the team react to that and then you get you

Actually could play back the tournament and go wow like that was amazing like you know the way you see like Max for stappen kind of going back and forth to the team and they’re working on the car all those kind of things where they’re going to find an edge that those things

Were always really interesting so there is loads of that in because obviously from an AR perspective like IR won the Grand Slam so there was an expectation that it would be kind of this great inside look of Ireland on their grand slam journey in the last episode apparently they barely feature because

Obviously Scotland and Italy gave the most access so they focused more on that game on the last day than Ireland beating England and and you would have loved like a behind the scenes look at Ireland winning the Grand Slam but unfortunately that wasn’t the case just

Before you finish up it’s time for our favorite part predictions Jonathan I’ll go to you first you know who win the Six Nations who’ll win on Friday you know throwing anything else play out of the tournament what wooden spoon a whole lot of it I think France will win the tournament I

Think France will win on Friday I don’t necessarily think that the tournament is over for the team that doesn’t win on Friday which is what I’ve sort of thought the last two years I do think there’s a potential for one of these two teams to slip up elsewhere which I

Didn’t think the last two years I’m gonna go Star the tournament I’ll go Damien Pano which I know is not a particularly original answer and for an even less original answer I’ll say Italy for the wooden SP yeah I pretty much agree with everything you said there I think France will win

On Friday night I just think them and Mar I think the atmosphere will be will be massive like ground I was mentioning earlier how passionate those fans are down there it took a different crowd to to the St of France which is tricky enough place as it is so I expect France

To win on Friday but I agree with you wouldn’t shock me if like France did slip up but you know away to Scotland a kind of a Saturday 2 o’clock kind of random kickoff time isn’t the easiest game and then Ireland would have to go on and be and win in twickham which

Which would be tricky so I think France wi the Six Nations I think Italy gets The Wooden Spoon player of the tournament I won’t copy your Damian Peno even though I was going to I’ll go with Thomas Ramos he’s just playing like lights outby at the moment he’s just

Playing so well so I’m going to go with Thomas Romas Luke you can uh just for a bit of crack I don’t really disagree with anything there but just for a bit of fun I’ll put my neck out there I think arand win on Friday I think

Ireland win the tournament I think Dan Sheen uh gets player of the tournament um orus maybe no Sheen I’m going to stick with Sheen and wooden spoon definitely Italy um although Wes might push them um and was there anything else player of the tournament was did I get player of

The tourn I did Sor I’m all done am I I’m through I’m through all yeah nothing else I can think of but yeah I think um yeah I’m a little bit bullish in Ireland I think they might have a great tournament yeah I think settle coaching

Staff settle way of playing um missing a key guy but I think they rebound well and get a few of those key issues sort of because they pretty much I couldn’t believe I thought they were going to win that World Cup I thought they should

Have to be honest so I know I know but I think they the team in the world so I think they should win it yeah yeah like Andy Farland finally over it I can finally move on and H what a game to start us off with on Friday night France

Versus Ireland but for the moment that’s all we have time for on the leftwing podcast I’d like to thank Luke and Jonathan for joining me and of course Roland Ogar earlier we will be back tomorrow with another podcast after the Ireland team announcement until then you

Can subscribe to us on Spotify apple or listen on independent.ie so until next time thanks for listening and goodbye