With the Six Nations upon us, it's time to analyze Ireland's chances at winning the tournament. The current side that head coach Andy Farrell has announced is filled with young talent and experience, so that should help them in their quest to win the Six Nations title. What will help the Irish is their in-form players as this is one of the hardest sporting tournaments to win. Let's take a look at Ireland's fixtures for the Six Nations.
Match One: At Wales
Match Two: Vs France
Match Three: At Italy
Match Four: At Scotland
Match Five: Vs England
The first thing that stands out is that the squad will play more away matches than at Aviva Stadium. That's tough enough as it's never easy to play at someone else's place. Secondly is the competition will be very strong and probably the strongest it's been in a while as now France, a young and talented squad, has finally returned to be a great side. England is one of the favorites as they are deep and are well coached making them a difficult side to face. Wales has been struggling of late, but the squad has a lot of talented and experienced players that should give any other nation some problems. Scotland has been inconsistent the last couple of tournaments, but never count them out as they have the potential to win games. Italy might be the weakest side in the tournament, but their forwards pack quite a punch and could be a handful for most squads this tournament. With that being said, let's take a look at the sides that Ireland will have to face.
England
England is the favorite to win this tournament and for good reasons. They're super talented and deep, plus their head coach Eddie Jones is one of the best. With players like Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Mako Vunipola, and Elliot Daly on the squad, there's good reasons why they're the favorite. There's also a ton of international experience here and that bodes well for England. This juggernaut has a good chance at winning the Grand Slam too if they execute well. What could be interesting is that if things play out the way some believe, the Six Nations title could be decided when Ireland hosts England on the last week of the tournament.
France
France are young and very exciting, but they're also very good. While they don't have the same type of international experience as some nations on here, France is gearing up to be a force for the next decade. France probably has the best scrumhalf in the world in Antoine Dupont, but there are some exciting talents like Gregory Alldritt, Mathieu Jalibert, and Julien Marchand here who can help lead them to winning this Six Nations. What hurts them is players like Romain Ntamack, Virimi Vakatawa, and Demba Bamba are out and having them healthy could be the difference between France beating out England for the Six Nations trophy and them losing it. Having Ireland play them at home, the second week of the tournament, is going to be crucial for the Irish to win the entire thing. If they lose, then things become more difficult to win.
Italy
Italy always seems to be the punching bag in the tournament as they have countless Wooden Spoons, but there are some talented players here. Luca Bigi, David Sisi, Tommaso Allan, and Federico Mori are very talented, but the problem here is that the Italians lack so many impact players especially with the injury to Matteo Minozzi as he is the most dynamic back for them. Italy's forwards will pack quite a punch when they play Ireland in Italy, but how much of an impact will it be?
Scotland
No one will be quite sure how the Scottish do in this tournament as they're never consistent despite having a wealth of talent. What is interesting is that they have a great amount of talent in the backs like Cameron Redpath and Duhan van der Merwe, but they also have Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg which makes them dangerous, plus a healthy Finn Russell gives them more dynamism. However, it will come down to the scrum and that's where things get a bit murky as George Turner, Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrest, and Zander Fagerson will lead the forwards. While the match will be played in Scotland, the Irish will be favored and if they can dominate the scrum, they'll dominate the Scottish on the scoreboard.
Wales
It's going to be hard to get a gauge of what Wales is going to be especially considering their recent woes the last couple of years. There is some talent and are lead by the very experienced Alun Wyn Jones, but there's so many question marks. Just like Scotland, the forwards are going to be interesting despite having talents like Josh Navidi, Taulupe Faletau, Justin Tipuric, and Adam Beard. In the backs, there is scoring dynamism like Nick Tompkins, George North, Dan Biggar, and Leigh Halfpenny, but there are young guns like Louis Rees-Zammit and Callum Sheedy who could make them even more lethal. This match will open Ireland's tournament title quest and could be a good tone setter especially if they dominate in every aspect against the Welsh. Wales has been struggling and it will be hard to see them beating the Irish.
Ireland's chances? Good, but not great. Of Scotland, Italy, and Wales, the Scots possess the biggest threat and it could make for a great match, so it looks good for the Irish here with three likely victories. It comes down to France and England though. The French are going to be really tough to beat, but Ireland has the experience and pedigree to win this one. Against England? The chances for them to win is difficult even if it is played at Aviva Stadium. However, if this match decides who wins the Six Nations, with the given incentives, Ireland will be playing at a high level and everyone knows how tough the Irish are to beat when they play at their best.
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