It’s time Irish rugby fans demanded more from their team

Ireland need to go beyond St Patrick’s fueled victories over England and become more consistent.

Four years ago Ireland produced what can only be described as a heroic performance that almost beat the All Blacks. Joe Schmidt had just taken over as Ireland head coach and it seemed like we were about to enter a golden era of Irish rugby. Fast forward to 2017 and where can we say Ireland stand?

Following the victory over England in the Six Nations, an article appeared in the New Zealand Herald claiming that Ireland, and not England, should be deemed the second best in the world. As much as Irish sports fans like to get caught up in the moment and relish a victory over our neighbours, one has to take such claims with a pinch of salt.

Yes, there is so much to celebrate about Irish rugby at the moment. Our provinces are among the best teams in Europe, three will most likely reach the knock-out stages of the Guinness Pro12 and we can expect a healthy Irish contingent to travel with the Lions squad this summer. Not to mention the young, talented players who are coming up through the academy systems across the country.

In the past 12 months we have beaten New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, France and England, all the major behemoths of the rugby world. And that’s just it, with some of the best players and coaches in the world, we have the ability to beat anyone. There’s no one like the Irish to fight when their backs against the wall and they have nothing to lose. It’s easy to put on the green-tinted glasses, say we’re almost the perfect outfit and leave it at that.

But once the hype and excitement of beating England begins to wear off, a little bit of worry starts to creep in. Because that age old foe of Ireland has begun to rear its ugly head again: consistency. It was talked about when Schmidt first entered the fray but two back-to-back Six Nations Championships seemed to put the issue to bed. But it’s time to start asking questions of this squad again.

The manner in which they dismantled England was incredible. The young stars like Kieran Marmion and Garry Ringrose really stood up to the task at hand, Johnny Sexton again proved himself to be one of the best out-halves in the world under immense pressure and the substitutes played their role perfectly. But at the end of the day, it was still Dylan Hartley lifting the Six Nations trophy. And it could have been, and some will argue should have been, Ireland’s.

There can be no glossing over Ireland’s loss to Scotland. Credit to the Scots but Ireland were coming into the Six Nations off the back of an incredible November series and at a time when the provincial teams were flying high. Were the media and fans guilty of over-hyping the squad prior to kick-off?

Absolutely not. Ireland had proven themselves to be one of the best teams in the world and, on paper, it should have been an automatic victory. Yet they fell apart. Scotland beat them at their own game and Ireland were shell-shocked. The post match metaphors of the bus being late no longer cut it with a nation that has gotten used to seeing the best out of this bunch.

But Ireland recovered and fought on, keeping themselves in contention. Until the Wales game. Granted losing a player like Conor Murray at an early stage would have knocked the stuffing out of any team, but with Marmion proving himself a worthy back-up, Ireland ran out of excuses, and ideas it seemed.

With literally nothing left to lose, Ireland humiliated England in Dublin. As sweet as such victories are, they become quite tiresome. It’s easy to win when patriotism is at an all time high during St Patrick’s weekend and nothing gets the heart pumping like the visit of such a rival.

Four years ago, Irish fans would have rejoiced in that victory and while it was enjoyed, it’s no longer enough. They now demand to be contending for trophies, to be challenging the best and brushing aside the others. And based on the last few months, that’s not what they’re getting.

I don’t believe those who say Irish rugby is going backwards or is in a crisis. But it is definitely time to review the plan of action. Go back to the provincial teams, look at their success. It’s time to stop taking the safe path, trusting in the old reliables and put faith in the young guns who are driving that provincial success.

Ireland is about to enter a period that won’t necessairly make-or-break them but that should set them aside from the rest. We need to see the Irish Lions contingent making an impact, proving themselves on such a stage. In extraordinary circumstances, France beat Wales after 99 minutes of play meaning Ireland are now in the top seedings for the next World Cup.

In the video launching their bid to host the 2023 World Cup, Liam Neeson’s booming voice stated that Ireland are “ready for the world”. No doubt our country is, now it’s time that our team proved they are.