Preview: Staying in the game as long as possible the Ireland with England determined to put on show

Ireland's improvement this season has been relatively easy to measure.

Beyond passing the eye test, the numbers back up the assertion that the team are on an upward curve, albeit, following a season in which there was no other direction to travel.

The WXV3 can be largely discounted due to the quality of the opposition (in name only) provided by Kazakhstan and Colombia but the Guinness Six Nations can be taken as a good metric.

France, playing with 14 for most of the game, beat Ireland 53-3 last season and scored nine tries in Cork.

This year’s clash saw Ireland emerge from Le Mans with a respectable 38-17 defeat, in which they conceded five tries and crossed for two of their own.

Ireland lost 24-7 to Italy in 2023, conceding three tries with only a penalty try in response. Three weeks ago they were within a score, 21-27, of winning and indeed blew a number of attacking opportunities.

The biggest turnaround, however, came against Wales last weekend. When the sides met just over 12 months ago in the season opener, the gulf in quality became obvious early on.

Wales raced into a 26-0 lead before Ireland could catch their breath; the final score was 31-5.

The tables were turned in Cork as Ireland’s fast start saw the game over as a contest before half-time. This time it was the hosts who ended up with five tries in a 36-5 win.

"All we want to keep going after is improved performance," said head coach Scott Bemand when asked about how they have closed in on, and in the case of Wales, overtaken their rivals.

"We said we want to close the gap and become a World Cup contender and that's not going to happen overnight.

"We just need to keep taking the next steps.

"Getting a winning performance [against Wales] is part of the next step."

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