Six Nations 2019: Gordon D’Arcy writes off England’s chances as he tips Ireland and Wales for title battle
The former Ireland centre believes the Six Nations finale between Wales and Ireland in Cardiff will prove the title-decided as he is ‘not convinced’ by England
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Six Nations will boil down to a final-weekend title decider between Ireland and Wales, according to Gordon D'Arcy.
Former Ireland centre D'Arcy has tipped Joe Schmidt's men to take their title defence right to the wire, when facing Wales in Cardiff on March 16.
The former Leinster star insists he is "not convinced" by England's autumn resurgence, branding Warren Gatland's Wales the main challengers to Ireland's 2018 crown.
Ireland will kick-start a hectic 2019 by hosting England in Dublin on Saturday, with D'Arcy confident in the hosts' chances.
"I think it is a decider on the final day between Wales and Ireland," said D'Arcy, speaking on behalf of ITV.
"With both carrying form from the November internationals, and more strength in depth across their squads.
"The freshness of centrally contracted players for both could be a telling difference from the rest of the pack.
"The more success a team has, the larger a target they become; Ireland are a giant target at the moment.
"However Ireland have become very adept at looking after their own performances, I don't see them wavering from that formula during the Six Nations.
"They can't control everything, so a bounce of a ball may go against them or a decision. Can they win? Yes, but they might need a little luck along the way."
England have already ploughed into the mind games ahead of Saturday's tournament opener, with boss Eddie Jones claiming fly-half Johnny Sexton has the "bat phone to the referee".
Defence coach John Mitchell has since claimed Ireland will try to "bore the s**t out of us", in a withering attack on Joe Schmidt's gameplan.
Ireland saw off England at Twickenham to complete the Grand Slam last season, before finishing 2018 second in the world rankings after beating New Zealand in Dublin.
England sit fourth in the world standings, behind Wales, while New Zealand retain top spot despite November's Dublin defeat.
Asked to rate England's chances, D'Arcy said: "I'm not convinced, they won elsewhere and nearly beat the All Blacks (in November).
"The way they played looked more like individuals under pressure to perform rather than a team that pulled together to win close games.
"But it is a good place to build from and Eddie (Jones) is the master of that."
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments