JEREMY GUSCOTT
OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK

WAS the speed of the Irish recovery after the World Cup surprising?
No, because I don’t call it a recovery. They showed against France in the Six Nations opener in Marseille last week just how high their standards now are.
On any other day, the Irish might have beaten New Zealand in that 2023 World Cup quarter-final, and it is why, in the last six matches between the two teams, they are level at three wins each.
Under Andy Farrell they are in this rich vein of form and, despite World Cups regularly being big downers for the Irish, this...