It feels odd that it starts on a Saturday, but then it’s unusual to be playing France in Paris on a Thursday night.
Everything has been shifted forward by a couple of days for the start of this Six Nations, so after having a down day on Friday in Quinta do Lago, Andy Farrell’s players are kicking into the rhythm of their Test match week today.
Ireland made a headstart on their preparations earlier this week after arriving in Portugal, where they were greeted by wet and windy weather. Thankfully, the sun finally came out yesterday evening and has stuck around for the early part of today, with the temperature around 15°C.
Just like that, with the weather improving and the weekend upon us, the resort of Quinta do Lago went from dead quiet during the week to much busier last night. The Cheeky Pup gastropub, owned by former Leinster centre Eoin O’Malley, was buzzing.
There is more rain forecast in the coming days, but the sunshine is welcome for now. This is a lovely, calm place for Ireland to get through their work. As usual, they booked out the Magnolia Hotel close to their training base, The Campus. Given that Ireland have been coming here every year since 2019, there’s a familiarity to it that the players enjoy.
The first day of Ireland’s Test match week usually involves ‘installing’ plays that the coaching staff believe will help them to break down the opposition, but they’ll likely already have gone through plenty of that.
Tomorrow will be a heavier-duty training day for Farrell and his players, including a big pitch session, before they go through a faster session on the pitch on Monday. Ireland are flying to Paris after that session on Monday.
With everything brought forward, Farrell will be naming his matchday 23 on Tuesday morning at around 8am Irish time. So there’s not long to go until we find out the team that the Ireland boss hopes can upset the odds against les Bleus.
The reigning champions are missing a couple of players due to injury and unavailability, including out-half Romain Ntamack and lock Thibaud Flament, while experienced tighthead prop Uini Atonio has been forced to retire due to his heart issue.
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Andy Farrell with out-half Sam Prendergast. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
They will miss his presence and experience, but Atonio’s shocking news will surely have a galvanising effect on Fabien Galthié’s side. He is hugely popular among the French squad, so they’ll undoubtedly be playing for him.
Any French disruption is nowhere near what Farrell has been hit with.
The Irish injury list is made up of Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy, Jack Boyle, Ryan Baird, Tom Ahern, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O’Brien, Calvin Nash, Shayne Bolton, and Jordan Larmour.
Hugo Keenan was added to that list when he had the misfortune to fracture his thumb in a non-contact drill in Ireland’s first training session in Portugal on Tuesday, just as he looked set for a return from a long-term hip injury.
Tadhg Furlong remains an injury doubt for the French game, although Ireland insisted that they hope he will make it.
And then you have the Bundee Aki suspension thrown on top of everything. The Connacht man’s ban has been a huge talking point here in Quinta do Lago all week. One local Uber driver called Luis’ first question upon pick-up was, “What happened with Bundee Aki?” Luis dropped us off at the United Kitchens of India, where the owner and head chef, Narayan Rao, was also asking about Bundee Aki.
Going to Paris is a major challenge at any time, never mind when you’ve been shorn of so many players.
So it will be fascinating to discover the selection Farrell has settled on and what kind of team he sees fit to impose Ireland’s game on the French, as well as trying to negate the home side’s strengths.
One key consideration for Ireland is the set-piece. The Irish scrum had a nightmarish outing in their last game against South Africa and given France’s size and power in that department, it’s an obvious concern. Ireland will not want referee Karl Dickson seeing French dominance early on.
With looseheads Porter, McCarthy, and Boyle all missing, the decision at loosehead prop will be vital. Michael Milne is very punchy around the pitch, his Munster team-mate Jeremy Loughman been scrummaging well for the province, while Ulster tighthead Tom O’Toole could switch across.
Whoever is in the starting Irish front row will need serious support from behind at scrum time, so tighthead lock Joe McCarthy’s return from injury is a big boost after he missed the November Tests with injury. He is regarded as a powerful scrummager.
Paul O'Connell's pack have a huge night ahead in Paris. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Meanwhile, Ireland’s lineout has been inconsistent at times and downright poor at other times, while the superb French maul is a massive threat. Paul O’Connell’s pack will need to nail their plan for denying France momentum at the maul.
Again, McCarthy’s return should help in that regard but Ireland have surely considered whether they can get even more grunt power into their team. The uncapped Edwin Edogbo might be able to bring some of that.
Some teams only have two locks, but it would be a surprise if Ireland don’t start all of McCarthy, James Ryan, and Tadhg Beirne, and perhaps even Edogbo as well. It would give an unusual look to the back five of their forward pack but it’s worth consideration.
Jamison Gibson-Park will be steering the Irish ship from the number nine shirt, while we await the latest decision from Farrell at number 10, where Harry Byrne is back in the mix. Sam Prendergast is the incumbent and seems to be the one who gets the most flow from the team in attack. His kicking from hand is also strong and that will be an important area in Paris.
Stuart McCloskey and Garry Ringrose seem highly likely to start in midfield, while incumbent starting wings James Lowe and Tommy O’Brien have overcome recent injuries.
Even without Keenan and Hansen, Farrell has nice options at fullback. Going on the pecking order of recent seasons, Jamie Osborne is the next man up at number 15, but Jacob Stockdale and Ciarán Frawley have recent form there for their provinces.
Osborne is just back from a shoulder injury that means he hasn’t played since he was at fullback for Ireland against Japan in November, but Farrell is a big fan of the Naas man.
Jack Crowley remains an intriguing option at fullback. We know that Ireland are very keen to get their attack humming to a far greater degree and a dual playmaker model with two out-halves in the team could unlock a few doors.
The Irish bench will be interesting too and there is surely temptation to go with a 6/2 split, with the likes of Edogbo, Jack Conan and Cormac Izuchukwu in contention to provide impact. If Ireland went with a lock-heavy starting pack, you could have Josh van der Flier bringing his dynamism off the bench.
Either way, despite all the absences, Ireland will have begun this Test match week with Farrell and his coaches framing it as a thrilling opportunity to take down the reigning Six Nations champions in their own backyard.
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Ireland kick into Test match week as the sun appears in Portugal
AND SO, IRELAND are into Test match week.
It feels odd that it starts on a Saturday, but then it’s unusual to be playing France in Paris on a Thursday night.
Everything has been shifted forward by a couple of days for the start of this Six Nations, so after having a down day on Friday in Quinta do Lago, Andy Farrell’s players are kicking into the rhythm of their Test match week today.
Ireland made a headstart on their preparations earlier this week after arriving in Portugal, where they were greeted by wet and windy weather. Thankfully, the sun finally came out yesterday evening and has stuck around for the early part of today, with the temperature around 15°C.
Just like that, with the weather improving and the weekend upon us, the resort of Quinta do Lago went from dead quiet during the week to much busier last night. The Cheeky Pup gastropub, owned by former Leinster centre Eoin O’Malley, was buzzing.
There is more rain forecast in the coming days, but the sunshine is welcome for now. This is a lovely, calm place for Ireland to get through their work. As usual, they booked out the Magnolia Hotel close to their training base, The Campus. Given that Ireland have been coming here every year since 2019, there’s a familiarity to it that the players enjoy.
The first day of Ireland’s Test match week usually involves ‘installing’ plays that the coaching staff believe will help them to break down the opposition, but they’ll likely already have gone through plenty of that.
Tomorrow will be a heavier-duty training day for Farrell and his players, including a big pitch session, before they go through a faster session on the pitch on Monday. Ireland are flying to Paris after that session on Monday.
With everything brought forward, Farrell will be naming his matchday 23 on Tuesday morning at around 8am Irish time. So there’s not long to go until we find out the team that the Ireland boss hopes can upset the odds against les Bleus.
The reigning champions are missing a couple of players due to injury and unavailability, including out-half Romain Ntamack and lock Thibaud Flament, while experienced tighthead prop Uini Atonio has been forced to retire due to his heart issue.
They will miss his presence and experience, but Atonio’s shocking news will surely have a galvanising effect on Fabien Galthié’s side. He is hugely popular among the French squad, so they’ll undoubtedly be playing for him.
Any French disruption is nowhere near what Farrell has been hit with.
The Irish injury list is made up of Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy, Jack Boyle, Ryan Baird, Tom Ahern, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O’Brien, Calvin Nash, Shayne Bolton, and Jordan Larmour.
Hugo Keenan was added to that list when he had the misfortune to fracture his thumb in a non-contact drill in Ireland’s first training session in Portugal on Tuesday, just as he looked set for a return from a long-term hip injury.
Tadhg Furlong remains an injury doubt for the French game, although Ireland insisted that they hope he will make it.
And then you have the Bundee Aki suspension thrown on top of everything. The Connacht man’s ban has been a huge talking point here in Quinta do Lago all week. One local Uber driver called Luis’ first question upon pick-up was, “What happened with Bundee Aki?” Luis dropped us off at the United Kitchens of India, where the owner and head chef, Narayan Rao, was also asking about Bundee Aki.
Going to Paris is a major challenge at any time, never mind when you’ve been shorn of so many players.
So it will be fascinating to discover the selection Farrell has settled on and what kind of team he sees fit to impose Ireland’s game on the French, as well as trying to negate the home side’s strengths.
One key consideration for Ireland is the set-piece. The Irish scrum had a nightmarish outing in their last game against South Africa and given France’s size and power in that department, it’s an obvious concern. Ireland will not want referee Karl Dickson seeing French dominance early on.
With looseheads Porter, McCarthy, and Boyle all missing, the decision at loosehead prop will be vital. Michael Milne is very punchy around the pitch, his Munster team-mate Jeremy Loughman been scrummaging well for the province, while Ulster tighthead Tom O’Toole could switch across.
Whoever is in the starting Irish front row will need serious support from behind at scrum time, so tighthead lock Joe McCarthy’s return from injury is a big boost after he missed the November Tests with injury. He is regarded as a powerful scrummager.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s lineout has been inconsistent at times and downright poor at other times, while the superb French maul is a massive threat. Paul O’Connell’s pack will need to nail their plan for denying France momentum at the maul.
Again, McCarthy’s return should help in that regard but Ireland have surely considered whether they can get even more grunt power into their team. The uncapped Edwin Edogbo might be able to bring some of that.
Some teams only have two locks, but it would be a surprise if Ireland don’t start all of McCarthy, James Ryan, and Tadhg Beirne, and perhaps even Edogbo as well. It would give an unusual look to the back five of their forward pack but it’s worth consideration.
Jamison Gibson-Park will be steering the Irish ship from the number nine shirt, while we await the latest decision from Farrell at number 10, where Harry Byrne is back in the mix. Sam Prendergast is the incumbent and seems to be the one who gets the most flow from the team in attack. His kicking from hand is also strong and that will be an important area in Paris.
Stuart McCloskey and Garry Ringrose seem highly likely to start in midfield, while incumbent starting wings James Lowe and Tommy O’Brien have overcome recent injuries.
Even without Keenan and Hansen, Farrell has nice options at fullback. Going on the pecking order of recent seasons, Jamie Osborne is the next man up at number 15, but Jacob Stockdale and Ciarán Frawley have recent form there for their provinces.
Osborne is just back from a shoulder injury that means he hasn’t played since he was at fullback for Ireland against Japan in November, but Farrell is a big fan of the Naas man.
Jack Crowley remains an intriguing option at fullback. We know that Ireland are very keen to get their attack humming to a far greater degree and a dual playmaker model with two out-halves in the team could unlock a few doors.
The Irish bench will be interesting too and there is surely temptation to go with a 6/2 split, with the likes of Edogbo, Jack Conan and Cormac Izuchukwu in contention to provide impact. If Ireland went with a lock-heavy starting pack, you could have Josh van der Flier bringing his dynamism off the bench.
Either way, despite all the absences, Ireland will have begun this Test match week with Farrell and his coaches framing it as a thrilling opportunity to take down the reigning Six Nations champions in their own backyard.
Preparations continue apace in Quinta do Lago.
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Six Nations France Ireland Portugal Quinta do Lago Training Camp