Winning both of their opening Six Nations games means Ireland are on track to compete for the title, as well as being the only team who can still earn the Grand Slam.
Throw in two try-scoring bonus points and Ireland have a perfect 10 match points after the opening two-game block.
Captain and number eight Caelan Doris, openside Josh van der Flier, fullback Hugo Keenan, and left wing James Lowe are the four players to have completed all 160 minutes of the Six Nations for Ireland so far.
Tadhg Beirne trails just behind on 151 minutes in the opening two games.
Lowe has been the busiest ball carrier for Ireland so far, with a total of 23.
Opta’s data says Lowe has got over the gainline with 74% of his carries, underlining the impression that he has been powerful and impactful.
His four try involvements – one try and three assists – have him top of that chart for Ireland too, with halfbacks Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast next best with two each.
It’s no surprise that Doris has been busy in the carry with a total of 21, making it over the gainline 52% of the time despite many of his carries being in heavy traffic. We’ve also seen lots of flashes of Doris’ passing skill, with that variety key to Ireland’s play.
Fullback Keenan has been busy on the ball with 18 carries, many of which have come after receiving kicks for Ireland.
Bundee Aki [13], Andrew Porter [13], and Robbie Henshaw [12] are the three other Irish players to have hit double figures for carries so far.
Of the players to have made more than 10 carries, Henshaw and Aki top the charts in terms of dominance in the carry at 42% and 39%, respectively.
It’s also notable that 85% of Aki’s carries have committed two or more defenders into the tackle, with Doris also impressing in that regard at 67%. Those big carries that suck in multiple defenders obviously make life easier for everyone else.
Bundee Aki has carried powerfully. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Of the other Irish forwards, Jack Conan and Rónan Kelleher have made a good ball-carrying impact despite their relative lack of minutes compared to some of the aforementioned players.
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No attack can function without an effective ruck and it’s no surprise that Opta have van der Flier at the top of the Irish charts for ruck involvements with 44 across the opening two games.
Finlay Bealham is not far behind on 38, an even more impressive number when you factor in that he has played 116 minutes compared to van der Flier’s 160 minutes.
James Ryan [37], Beirne [34], Andrew Porter [32], and Doris [31] are the other Irish players to have registered more than 30 ruck involvements.
Kelleher is just outside that bracket on 27 but Opta rate his ruck involvements as having been 93% effective.
Of the 30+ ruck hitters, Ryan has the highest effectiveness rating of 89%, no surprise given the obvious venom we have seen from him in all forms of contact in this Six Nations.
Peter O’Mahony’s 90% effectiveness at his 10 attacking rucks last weekend is notable, while Bealham [79%], van der Flier [77%], and Doris [74%] are all going well in this regard.
Attacking obviously isn’t just about the physical stuff and anyone who has seen the games will know Ireland have been passing well.
Smartball data provided by Sage and Sportable shows that Ireland and Scotland have thrown the joint-highest percentage of long passes – which travel more than 10 metres – at a rate of 17%.
Ireland have a pass/kick ratio of 6.5, with only Scotland higher at 7.8.
Opta’s data hammers home the point about Ireland’s passing game. They say Ireland have moved the ball beyond second receiver considerably more than any other side at 21%, with Wales next highest at 11%.
Jamison Gibson-Park has had a huge influence for Ireland. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Easterby’s men have played the fewest ‘tight’ phases of any side, according to Opta, with just 10% of all their phases focused in the space around the preceding ruck or set-piece.
Ireland have eight tries from two games, behind only France’s 10, but will feel they have left a few more scores behind them in the opening fortnight.
36% of Ireland’s entries into the opposition 22 have led to tries, which has them behind Scotland, England, and chart toppers France [50%].
Seven of Ireland’s eight tries have come from set-piece platforms, with the other score coming on kick return.
The Irish attack has produced 16 linebreaks, second only to France’s 17, while they are third for offloads on 11, well behind Scotland’s 23 and France’s 22.
The Irish and Scots also share the joint-highest average passing speed of 31.2 km/h, showing the zip they are bringing in the pass.
In that regard, it helps Ireland that Jamison Gibson-Park has the highest average pass speed of any of the starting scrum-half in the Six Nations at 36.3 km/h. Tomos Williams of Wales is the next highest of the starters at 35 km/h.
Gibson-Park also has the longest average pass of any starting scrum-half at 7.9 metres per pass, just ahead of Williams again.
Prendergast is clearly a big fan of zipping passes too and it’s no surprise that he has the highest total pass distance of any out-half in the Six Nations at 292 metres.
His average pass speed of 29.3 km/h leaves him fourth overall so far, with Finn Russell top of that chart at 31.8 km/h.
Prendergast has thrown the longest single pass of any player in the Six Nations so far, with his assist for Calvin Nash’s try against Scotland registering at 24.4 metres, taking him just head of Garry Ringrose’s 24-metre pass to Lowe before Gibson-Park’s try against England.
Sam Prendergast's passing has impressed. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Prendergast has also delivered the longest single kick in the Six Nations so far, a 57.6-metre spiral kick against the Scots.
Hugo Keenan’s 53-metre kick and Jack Crowley’s 52.5-metre kick against England rank fourth and fifth in terms of the longest kicks of the championship at this stage.
Prendergast is sixth overall for total kick distance with 602 metres, some way off table-topper Martin Page-Relo of Italy with 847 metres.
Prendergast’s restarts have been good, with his average hangtime of 3.8 seconds per restart meaning he is joint-top of that chart with Matthieu Jalibert.
Furthermore, Prendergast has landed two of the top three longest goal kicks from distances of 44.8 metres against England and 42.8 metres versus the Scots. Only Tommaso Allan has kicked a longer goal at 45.7 metres.
Gibson-Park has been box kicking well in the opening rounds, with his excellent average box kick hangtime of 4.1 seconds meaning he is the best of all the starting scrum-halves.
But Ireland have box-kicked the least of any team in the Six Nations so far by some distance, with the majority of their 51 overall kicks made up of clearing kicks from their defensive territory.
Speaking of kicking, Ireland have the joint-lowest success rate [87.5%] when it comes to exiting from their 22. It’s something Easterby’s side will surely be looking to improve in the next three games.
Ireland have run with the ball from this area considerably more than anyone else at 38% compared to a kicking rate of 62%. This points to their self-critical concerns about “overplaying” in their half against England in particular.
As we as being a busy man at Ireland’s attacking rucks, van der Flier has shown his work-rate by making more tackles than anyone else in the Six Nations so far.
Ireland’s openside tops the charts with 40 at a success rate of 92.5%, three tackles ahead of Italian pair Sebastian Negri and Giacomo Nicotera.
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Doris is fifth on the overall list for tackles with 36, while Porter [30] has been impressively busy in defence. Beirne [27], Ryan [22], Henshaw [21], and Bealham [20] are the other players to have hit the 20-tackle mark.
Opta say Bealham and the impactful Dan Sheehan [11] are the only Irish players with more than 10 tackles to remain on a 100% success rate in the Six Nations so far.
Josh van der Flier has been busy with lots of dirty work. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Interestingly, Gibson-Park tops the Irish charts for dominant tackles with five, according to Opta, while Garry Ringrose [2] is the only other Ireland player to have registered more than one dominant tackle by their metric.
Of players to have attempted more than 10 tackles for Ireland, out-half Prendergast has the lowest success rate at 59%.
Prendergast has attempted more tackles at the ball-carrier’s hip level or lower than any other Irish player at 62.5%, while chop tackling experts Ryan and Bealham are standouts in this regard at 57% and 55%, respectively.
At the other end of the scale, Opta say Porter has tackled above the ball-carrier’s hips 96% of the time, clearly intent on using his physical power with that technique. Beirne and Sheehan have hit 83% in this regard.
Collectively, Ireland have made 69% of their tackles above the hips, with Scotland having the highest upper-body tackle focus at 78%.
Ireland will be frustrated that more of their missed tackles have led to linebreaks [22.4%] than any other side, while they have registered the second-lowest number of dominant tackles overall with seven, well behind Italy’s 20. The Italians have the lowest collective tackle focus with 63% at hip level or below.
Scrum coach John Fogarty will be pleased with Ireland’s 93% success on their feed and the fact that they haven’t lost any of their scrums via penalties, according to Opta.
Forwards coach Paul O’Connell will hope to see Ireland’s lineout success rise from its current 88% on their throw, with only England behind them on 86%. Scotland’s lineout is top of this table at 96%.
The smartball data says Ireland have thrown to the front 70% of the time, winning all but one of their 23 throws to that area of the lineout.
Opta suggest that Ireland have the lowest ‘maul win’ percentage at 67%, so it might be another area where they look for more success in the coming weeks.
Yet Ireland’s superb lineout and maul defence has probably been the most impressive area of their game in the opening two rounds of the Six Nations.
The statistics never quite tell the full story but the early numbers are promising for Ireland as they now go after a Grand Slam.
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Lowe's impact, Gibson-Park's pass, and Van der Flier's engine
THE NUMBER THAT matters most so far is two.
Winning both of their opening Six Nations games means Ireland are on track to compete for the title, as well as being the only team who can still earn the Grand Slam.
Throw in two try-scoring bonus points and Ireland have a perfect 10 match points after the opening two-game block.
Captain and number eight Caelan Doris, openside Josh van der Flier, fullback Hugo Keenan, and left wing James Lowe are the four players to have completed all 160 minutes of the Six Nations for Ireland so far.
Tadhg Beirne trails just behind on 151 minutes in the opening two games.
Lowe has been the busiest ball carrier for Ireland so far, with a total of 23.
Opta’s data says Lowe has got over the gainline with 74% of his carries, underlining the impression that he has been powerful and impactful.
His four try involvements – one try and three assists – have him top of that chart for Ireland too, with halfbacks Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast next best with two each.
It’s no surprise that Doris has been busy in the carry with a total of 21, making it over the gainline 52% of the time despite many of his carries being in heavy traffic. We’ve also seen lots of flashes of Doris’ passing skill, with that variety key to Ireland’s play.
Fullback Keenan has been busy on the ball with 18 carries, many of which have come after receiving kicks for Ireland.
Bundee Aki [13], Andrew Porter [13], and Robbie Henshaw [12] are the three other Irish players to have hit double figures for carries so far.
Of the players to have made more than 10 carries, Henshaw and Aki top the charts in terms of dominance in the carry at 42% and 39%, respectively.
It’s also notable that 85% of Aki’s carries have committed two or more defenders into the tackle, with Doris also impressing in that regard at 67%. Those big carries that suck in multiple defenders obviously make life easier for everyone else.
Of the other Irish forwards, Jack Conan and Rónan Kelleher have made a good ball-carrying impact despite their relative lack of minutes compared to some of the aforementioned players.
No attack can function without an effective ruck and it’s no surprise that Opta have van der Flier at the top of the Irish charts for ruck involvements with 44 across the opening two games.
Finlay Bealham is not far behind on 38, an even more impressive number when you factor in that he has played 116 minutes compared to van der Flier’s 160 minutes.
James Ryan [37], Beirne [34], Andrew Porter [32], and Doris [31] are the other Irish players to have registered more than 30 ruck involvements.
Kelleher is just outside that bracket on 27 but Opta rate his ruck involvements as having been 93% effective.
Of the 30+ ruck hitters, Ryan has the highest effectiveness rating of 89%, no surprise given the obvious venom we have seen from him in all forms of contact in this Six Nations.
Peter O’Mahony’s 90% effectiveness at his 10 attacking rucks last weekend is notable, while Bealham [79%], van der Flier [77%], and Doris [74%] are all going well in this regard.
Attacking obviously isn’t just about the physical stuff and anyone who has seen the games will know Ireland have been passing well.
Smartball data provided by Sage and Sportable shows that Ireland and Scotland have thrown the joint-highest percentage of long passes – which travel more than 10 metres – at a rate of 17%.
Ireland have a pass/kick ratio of 6.5, with only Scotland higher at 7.8.
Opta’s data hammers home the point about Ireland’s passing game. They say Ireland have moved the ball beyond second receiver considerably more than any other side at 21%, with Wales next highest at 11%.
Easterby’s men have played the fewest ‘tight’ phases of any side, according to Opta, with just 10% of all their phases focused in the space around the preceding ruck or set-piece.
Ireland have eight tries from two games, behind only France’s 10, but will feel they have left a few more scores behind them in the opening fortnight.
36% of Ireland’s entries into the opposition 22 have led to tries, which has them behind Scotland, England, and chart toppers France [50%].
Seven of Ireland’s eight tries have come from set-piece platforms, with the other score coming on kick return.
The Irish attack has produced 16 linebreaks, second only to France’s 17, while they are third for offloads on 11, well behind Scotland’s 23 and France’s 22.
The Irish and Scots also share the joint-highest average passing speed of 31.2 km/h, showing the zip they are bringing in the pass.
In that regard, it helps Ireland that Jamison Gibson-Park has the highest average pass speed of any of the starting scrum-half in the Six Nations at 36.3 km/h. Tomos Williams of Wales is the next highest of the starters at 35 km/h.
Gibson-Park also has the longest average pass of any starting scrum-half at 7.9 metres per pass, just ahead of Williams again.
Prendergast is clearly a big fan of zipping passes too and it’s no surprise that he has the highest total pass distance of any out-half in the Six Nations at 292 metres.
His average pass speed of 29.3 km/h leaves him fourth overall so far, with Finn Russell top of that chart at 31.8 km/h.
Prendergast has thrown the longest single pass of any player in the Six Nations so far, with his assist for Calvin Nash’s try against Scotland registering at 24.4 metres, taking him just head of Garry Ringrose’s 24-metre pass to Lowe before Gibson-Park’s try against England.
Prendergast has also delivered the longest single kick in the Six Nations so far, a 57.6-metre spiral kick against the Scots.
Hugo Keenan’s 53-metre kick and Jack Crowley’s 52.5-metre kick against England rank fourth and fifth in terms of the longest kicks of the championship at this stage.
Prendergast is sixth overall for total kick distance with 602 metres, some way off table-topper Martin Page-Relo of Italy with 847 metres.
Prendergast’s restarts have been good, with his average hangtime of 3.8 seconds per restart meaning he is joint-top of that chart with Matthieu Jalibert.
Furthermore, Prendergast has landed two of the top three longest goal kicks from distances of 44.8 metres against England and 42.8 metres versus the Scots. Only Tommaso Allan has kicked a longer goal at 45.7 metres.
Gibson-Park has been box kicking well in the opening rounds, with his excellent average box kick hangtime of 4.1 seconds meaning he is the best of all the starting scrum-halves.
But Ireland have box-kicked the least of any team in the Six Nations so far by some distance, with the majority of their 51 overall kicks made up of clearing kicks from their defensive territory.
Speaking of kicking, Ireland have the joint-lowest success rate [87.5%] when it comes to exiting from their 22. It’s something Easterby’s side will surely be looking to improve in the next three games.
Ireland have run with the ball from this area considerably more than anyone else at 38% compared to a kicking rate of 62%. This points to their self-critical concerns about “overplaying” in their half against England in particular.
As we as being a busy man at Ireland’s attacking rucks, van der Flier has shown his work-rate by making more tackles than anyone else in the Six Nations so far.
Ireland’s openside tops the charts with 40 at a success rate of 92.5%, three tackles ahead of Italian pair Sebastian Negri and Giacomo Nicotera.
Doris is fifth on the overall list for tackles with 36, while Porter [30] has been impressively busy in defence. Beirne [27], Ryan [22], Henshaw [21], and Bealham [20] are the other players to have hit the 20-tackle mark.
Opta say Bealham and the impactful Dan Sheehan [11] are the only Irish players with more than 10 tackles to remain on a 100% success rate in the Six Nations so far.
Interestingly, Gibson-Park tops the Irish charts for dominant tackles with five, according to Opta, while Garry Ringrose [2] is the only other Ireland player to have registered more than one dominant tackle by their metric.
Of players to have attempted more than 10 tackles for Ireland, out-half Prendergast has the lowest success rate at 59%.
Prendergast has attempted more tackles at the ball-carrier’s hip level or lower than any other Irish player at 62.5%, while chop tackling experts Ryan and Bealham are standouts in this regard at 57% and 55%, respectively.
At the other end of the scale, Opta say Porter has tackled above the ball-carrier’s hips 96% of the time, clearly intent on using his physical power with that technique. Beirne and Sheehan have hit 83% in this regard.
Collectively, Ireland have made 69% of their tackles above the hips, with Scotland having the highest upper-body tackle focus at 78%.
Ireland will be frustrated that more of their missed tackles have led to linebreaks [22.4%] than any other side, while they have registered the second-lowest number of dominant tackles overall with seven, well behind Italy’s 20. The Italians have the lowest collective tackle focus with 63% at hip level or below.
Scrum coach John Fogarty will be pleased with Ireland’s 93% success on their feed and the fact that they haven’t lost any of their scrums via penalties, according to Opta.
Forwards coach Paul O’Connell will hope to see Ireland’s lineout success rise from its current 88% on their throw, with only England behind them on 86%. Scotland’s lineout is top of this table at 96%.
The smartball data says Ireland have thrown to the front 70% of the time, winning all but one of their 23 throws to that area of the lineout.
Opta suggest that Ireland have the lowest ‘maul win’ percentage at 67%, so it might be another area where they look for more success in the coming weeks.
Yet Ireland’s superb lineout and maul defence has probably been the most impressive area of their game in the opening two rounds of the Six Nations.
The statistics never quite tell the full story but the early numbers are promising for Ireland as they now go after a Grand Slam.
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Six Nations damned lies and statistics Ireland James Lowe six nations 2025 The Video Review