Could Ireland be on course for the Six Nations title?

 

Three down and two to go – what price Ireland, England or France pipping Wales for the Six Nations Championship?

The bookies might see Warren Gatland’s dragons, now the only unbeaten side in the competition, as a shoe-in for the championship on the back of three successive wins. But certainly in Dublin, where the guys in green face the Welsh at Croke Park in two weeks, the destiny of the title is anything but decided.

If you’d been party to the RTE summary team’s thoughts after Ireland’s 34-13 thrashing of Scotland in Dublin, you’d already have Brian O’Driscoll’s pencilled in as champions. Their studio experts dismissed Wales as ‘’nothing special’’ and the French as ‘’definitely beatable’’ – no doubt buoyed by the five-try spectacular they had just witnessed.

But perhaps the achievement was not quite as wonderful as the Irish studio team reckoned when you consider that the Scots, who have lost every game so far, are probably the worst team in the tournament. As for those putdowns of the Welsh and French, England would testify to the fact France are no supermen, while even the rampant Wales players would admit they are anything but the complete article. And with Ireland still to visit Twickenham, it's hard to see them ending the campaign with more than three victories.