All In Line In Dublin

Tony Johnson Is a Commentator and Presenter for Sky Tv’s Rugby Coverage in New Zealand.

EVER SINCE EDDIE JONES stepped into the role of England coach we’ve been fed a steady diet of how the next match between the All Blacks and England will be the biggest of all time.

Now instead of the match of the century, the clash on November 10 will just be the biggest match of that particular week, and it’s the Ireland test the following week that looms as the biggest of the year, the decade etc.

We don’t know yet whether it will be between the champions of the two hemispheres, because that’s a path the All Blacks have yet to navigate, but regardless, this will be seen as a massive pointer to next year’s World Cup.

And it will bring into sharp focus two coaches who are going to be central figures in a rugby equivalent to Game of Thrones.

Steve Hansen still wears the crown as coach of the best team in the world, but Ireland have built a strong challenging force under their Kiwi mentor Joe Schmidt, and with those dastardly, scheming Aussies Michael Cheika and Eddie Jones in the mix, well, you have quite a plot brewing ahead of next year’s showpiece.

Schmidt has taken a lead role, his team rising to number two in the ratings for only the second time, and should the All Blacks by some remote chance fall into some sort of deep, dark hole this winter, Ireland could even go into the November 17 clash as number one. Win it, and it could light a fire.

For those of us who prefer to wait and see how things unfold, then let us take some time to give Ireland credit for what they have achieved in the last few years.

Many anticipated their stocks would fall as outstanding figures like O’Connell, O’Driscoll, D’arcy, Heaslip and Wallace slipped out of the game.