Lineout Calls of the Week – The Year Ahead – Part 2 – Ireland and Italy

With the Six Nations JUST around the corner, we start 2025 with a look at Ireland and Italy and what lies in store for them this year.

With Ireland as back to back Six Nations Champions and their Coach temporarily stepping aside and deputising to Simon Easterby as a result of Lions Tour preparations, it will be an interesting year for Ireland. In addition, with Italy no longer the whipping boys of the Six Nations and clearly starting to develop a talent pool that is showing some genuine promise, both sides have plenty on the line in 2025 and lots to prove. For Ireland, it’s time to fast track a new generation of Irish players, while for Italy it’s a chance to show that they are finally on an upwards trajectory that is more than just a flash in the pan and has some genuine staying power for the next World Cup.

Ireland will want to show their Coach Andy Farrell who has temporarily stepped aside on Lions Duty that the bulk of his squad should hail from the Emerald Isle as they prepare to travel to Australia in the summer, and what better showcase to do so than the Six Nations, and even more so if they pull off a third consecutive Six Nations title – something no side has ever done in the tournament’s illustrious 142 year history (in 4,5, and 6 Nations formats). However, Ireland have been painfully slow to relegate some tried and trusted veterans to the sidelines and as a result one can’t help but get the feeling that the Men in Green don’t look quite as youthful as some of their counterparts. There are plenty of green shoots waiting to mature, but they are seriously short on big game experience. Something that simply has to get addressed and quickly if Ireland are to avoid yet another seemingly inevitable World Cup quarter final exit in just over 3 years’ time.

Italy meanwhile appear to be embracing the challenge of absorbing a promising raft of young talent into their World Cup aspirations at a rate of knots. 2024 was a decidedly cheery year for the Italians with plenty of cause for optimism.  The year started with a Six Nations campaign that finally allowed them to hand the Wooden Spoon to Wales after being cursed with holding the much maligned tournament artifact every year since 2016. Italy were extremely competitive in the Six Nations and unlke in years gone by, there was only one absolute hiding at the hands of Ireland. Otherwise, Italy ran England close, drew with France, and beat both Scotland and Wales. That was followed up by a solid tour of the Pacific, which, despite losing to Samoa, saw them get convincing wins over Tonga and Japan. The Autumn, however, saw Italy lose some of their Six Nations shine, as they only managed a narrow win over Georgia and were thumped by Argentina. They did show some of that promise once more in their final Test against New Zealand despite being comprehensively beaten by the All Blacks at the final whistle.

This year, all eyes will be on how Italy fares with a relatively favorable draw in the Six Nations, especially with their club side Benetton remaining competitive in Europe so far this season. A tough opener in Murrayfield with a Scottish side desperate to atone for their loss to the Azurri last year, will push this young Italian squad to its limits, but apart from a difficult trip to Twickenham in the fourth round they have the advantage of facing Wales, France and Ireland at home. If they can maintain their ability to catch the French napping again and get some other big wins along the way, could a fourth place finish become a reality that could serve them so well as preparation for a gruelling summer Tour to South Africa? As always with Italy, we can’t wait to find out!

So many questions to answer for Ireland – and it all centers around who will be the Man in the Middle for 2025 and usher in a new dawn for a team that needs a new lick of paint

Ireland could best be described as a fancy race car that’s lost some of it’s shine and is still waiting for the new and improved components to get through testing and be fitted to what should be on paper a dominant machine. 2024 was a good year for Ireland, of that there is little doubt, but we were all left feeling that it was an Irish side resting on its laurels and unsure how to forge a brave new path at the start of this next World Cup cycle. A path they simply have to take if they are to avoid yet another quarter final exit at the global showpiece event in 3 years’ time in Australia.

Ireland has some amazing players, but a large proportion of them are sadly the wrong side of 30. Ireland may not be fielding the oldest average age starting 15 this opening weekend of the Six Nations, that honor goes to Scotland, but along with Wales the combined age total of their starting 15 is 420 years and an average age of 28. Compare that to their opponents on Saturday, England, who, along with France, have an average age of 26 and a combined total of 390. While experience is not to be sneezed at there is no denying that Ireland needs to start bringing to the fore some of its promising youngsters and quickly. While Ireland remain the second best team on the World Rugby rankings sheet, everyone else is catching them up at a rate of knots, and there is very little that comes as a surprise from Ireland these days on the pitch. In other words, they have become a tad predictable at times, which leaves them hugely vulnerable to more youthful and adventurous outfits.

However, write one of the best Coached and organised sides in World Rugby off at your peril. As mentioned above, 2024 saw Ireland clinch a second consecutive Six Nations title albeit without a Grand Slam. But apart from the opening three Rounds where they brushed France, Italy, and Wales aside, the shine started to wear off the Green Machine by Round 4 and their loss to England. They then almost got undone by Scotland in the Final Round, and one couldn’t help get the feeling that there was a collective sigh of relief around the Emerald Isle when the final whistle of the Six Nations was sounded.

Next up was a challenging Two Test tour of South Africa, with Ireland rediscovering their penchant for the mighty drop goal as Ciaran Frawley drop kicked Ireland into a one point win in the Second Test and thus tied the series. The Autumn Nation Series saw Ireland fail to shake off their World Cup hangover in a repeat of their quarter final against New Zealand, which, to be honest, showed Ireland up as decidedly undercooked. Then, a tense and scrappy win over Argentina was followed up by a convincing thrashing of Fiji.

However, they were then only able to just squeak home against a rapidly improving Wallaby side. Ireland’s Autumn Nations series was poor by their own high standards despite getting 3 from 4. The clinical, ruthless, and spectacularly efficient Ireland just wasn’t there anymore. Performances were error strewn and at times looked almost lethargic, and their set piece work was often downright alarming along with their discipline. In short, the composure we’re used to seeing from Ireland simply wasn’t there.

It’s not simply a question of in with the new and out with the old, as they head into a challenging Six Nations, with this year’s edition being billed by many as potentially the most competitive tournament we’ve seen in its history. Ireland do have the luxury of playing their two biggest rivals, England and France, at home in Dublin, but 3 tough road trips await them. Scotland at Murrayfield is likely to be exceptionally challenging this year, and although they may not be losing too much sleep over their trip to Cardiff, any kind of complacency could be fatal. Then there is that conundrum of their trip to Rome on the final Saturday of the competition. If Italy have had the kind of positive campaign that many pundits, ourselves included are tipping them to have this year, then that could be a giant banana skin lying in wait in the Italian capital –  especially if the stretcher bearers and medics have largely been able to ignore the Italian squad during the course of the tournament, but instead have paid a lot of attention to Ireland.

There is still a strong possibility that a very large proportion of Irish players will make up Andy Farrell’s Lions squad, but it will be fascinating to see how the team fares under Irish defence Coach Simon Easterby as Farrell takes a sabbatical this Six Nations in preparation for the Lions Tour to Australia this summer. The ongoing debate swirling around much of the media is the competition for the 10 jersey between established successor to the legendary Johnny Sexton, Munster’s Jack Crowley and Leinster upstart and wonder kid, 20 year old Sam Prendergast. Many feel that Crowley’s ability to cope with pressure is superior but Prendergast’s ability to create some genuine magic Sexton style is hard to overlook, along with the fact that he is maturing into Test Rugby at an astonishing speed, much like a cheeky 24 year old Sexton did way back in 2009.

Meanwhile, Caelan Doris, at the tender age of 26, has cemented his role as Ireland’s Captain and is likely to lead the team through the next two World Cup cycles. The rangy Number 8 is an outstanding leader of men and simply gets better every year. There is a certain calmness and focus to the way he carries himself on the pitch that will serve Ireland well over the course of an exceptionally challenging Six Nations campaign and beyond this year, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see him as part of the leadership spine of the upcoming Lions tour. Other than the Lions, we’re at this stage not sure of what lies ahead for Irish players in 2025, except for a highly anticipated return to Soldier Field in Chicago this November against the All Blacks.

If Ireland can combine their seasoned veterans with a shiny coat of new paint from their promising youngsters this year, then Ireland could easily get themselves back into the groove of a team moving forward and constantly evolving, leaving their opponents continuously on the back foot. In their present form and shape that’s simply not there, and if they fall back too heavily on their old guard and don’t embrace the future, Ireland’s fortunes could well see a decline this World Cup cycle forcing wholesale change come the end of events in Australia in 2027. We think it’s unlikely given some of the talent at Ireland’s disposal, but the tea leaves will need to analysed on a regular basis this year if it’s to be avoided and sometimes taking chances, blooding the next generation of Irish players and learning lessons will be the more important imperative than just simply getting results.

Perennnial underdogs no more – this could potentially be the BIGGEST year in Italy’s rugby history!

Every year, we talk Italy up, and every year, they let us down, so imagine our excitement when last year the Azurri finally decided to honor our longstanding faith in them and enthusiasm for their cause. Hang on, we hear you say they only finished 5th in the Six Nations, and their Autumn campaign wasn’t exactly the best. Of the twelve Tests they played, they drew one and lost seven, so not exactly a stellar record. However, look at the nature of some of those losses and the character shown in some of those wins. They only lost by three points to England, drew with France and arguably but for a freak gust of wind, actually could have won that game with the clock in the red. Their win over Scotland was impressive and showed that they have finally managed the composure necessary to win big games and were able to reproduce that same attitude a week later against Wales. In short, imagine if that kick had gone over against France when the clock was in the red – they would have finished fourth.

This year they have a run of home games in the Six Nations which sees them host France and Ireland, so far an injury free squad and after France and England the youngest group of players in the competition. In Argentinian Gonzalo Quesada, they appear to have a Coach who gets the nuances and culture of Italian rugby and has the buy-in of the players, while still being the hard task master they need at times. In short, there is no reason that if the injury gods are kind to them that Italy couldn’t have the best Six Nations in their history this year. Come out of the next two months fighting fit along with some results to show for it all, and all of a sudden their daunting Two Test tour to South Africa this summer becomes a cause for eager anticipation as opposed to a prescription for sleeping medications and pain killers.

One of the things that struck us the most last year was how good a forward pack Italy are developing. Second rower Federico Ruzza has in our opinion always been one of the most underrated players in Test Rugby, and his work rate at times has to be seen to be believed as well as being one of the most successful lineout poachers in last year’s Six Nations. Italy finally has a scrum that is competitive and a group of hard-hitting yet highly mobile forwards. Their discipline is vastly improved, as is their ability to be patient in the heat of battle.

However, for us, it’s the new generation of Italian backs that are really making us sit up and take notice. 22 year old Tommaso Menoncello is likely to be one of the greatest Italian players of his generation though how long Italian club side Benetton will be able to retain the centre’s services remains to be seen, before wealthy French clubs snatch him up, just as they did with outstanding winger Ange Capuozzo who makes headlines every time he runs out for Toulouse. Allied with Juan Ignacio Brex, Menoncello gives Italy an outstanding attacking platform with the fleet footed Capuozzo and Monty Ioane outside them and Paolo Garbisi at fly half and Lyon scrum half Martin Page-Relo pulling the strings.

Italy, could well shine this Six Nations, and either way, regardless of the results, we know we’re going to have a huge amount of fun watching them have a crack at it. They are already our favourite underdog team, and we have a hunch that regardless of what happens in the rest of 2025, a strong finish in the Six Nations will be Italy’s first step in ensuring a ticket to a quarter final berth in Australia in 2027 which is so much more than just an idle dream this time around.

We’ll finish off tonight with Scotland and Wales. Happy Sixmas Eve everyone!