Ireland’s pack was rocked by Italy in their Six Nations meeting and England have taken note
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wo snapshots will be nagging away in Irish minds before Saturday’s visit to south-west London. The first is the sobering sight of Tadhg Furlong and Dan Sheehan, both distinguished British & Irish Lions, being rocketed skywards by Italy’s power in the set scrums last Saturday. The second dates back 14 years to another Anglo-Irish contest that epitomised the “no scrum, no win” ethos that remains non-negotiable at the highest level.
The airborne Furlong footage has certainly caught the eye of England’s front-rowers and a quick dip into the archives will also remind both teams of what can happen when things up front go pear-shaped. In 2012, Ireland were left badly exposed when Mike Ross injured his neck at the first scrum and ended up conceding a penalty try, six scrum penalties and three scrums against the head as they subsided to a humbling 30-9 defeat.
As recently as 2022 Ireland conceded six scrum penalties against England at Twickenham, but were bailed out by Charlie Ewels’s early red card. So little wonder there is a slight hint of green foreboding this time, particularly bearing in mind the pack’s torrid scrummaging examination at the hands of South Africa in Dublin in November.
