6 Nations At Kieran's

Round 4 Saturday, March, 14th Wales vs. Ireland, 09:30am England vs. Scotland, 12noon, Sunday, March, 15th Italy vs. France, 10:00am This weekend sees the 4th round of the 2015 Six Nations at Kieran's. Ireland, still on course for a Triple Crown, Championship and Grand Slam, make the difficult journey to Cardiff. The Irish, under one of the most astute coaches in World rugby, will not enter the dragon's den displaying any illusions as to the size of their task. Joe Schmidt, who is enhancing his already impressive reputation on a weekly basis, will impress upon his charges that nothing less than 100% total commitment to the cause will suffice. The Welsh dragon will match fire with fire and the opening phases promise to be frantic and committed. The victory over England proved that the number three ranking in World rugby is no fluke for the Irish. Ireland, the only unbeaten team left, are hoping to retain the Six Nations title for the first time since 1949, and also claim a second Grand Slam in six years. However, a victory for Wales, and with the final game to come against Italy, could mean that they are still in the hunt for the championship. This could be the pivotal game of the championship. The second confrontation on Saturday features the Calcutta cup game at Twickenham. Scotland will that hope their fortunes improve against the English. The Scots have showed much promise during the tournament without lady-luck being on their side. They have played open and entertaining rugby and will hope that the trend continues. England, even in the defeat in Dublin, have looked strong and inventive all throughout the competition. The English should have a wee bit to much in the tank for the Scots. England need to beat Scotland and hope Wales beat leaders Ireland in Cardiff to leave all three teams level on six points going into the final round. England's injury problems ease a little this weekend; Mike Brown, Tom Wood and Courtney Lawes are in line for selection after recovering from injury. On Sunday, France exchange the Parisian sunshine for the equally sunny Italian capital. The "Azzuri's" inspirational captain and Roman gladiator, Sergio Parisse, should be fit to play after "tweaking" his hamstring against the Scots. While the Italians should be in buoyant mood this weekend; this writer feels that the victory in Edinburgh only papered over the cracks. Both these two teams have lost two games in the Championship thus far and the French should be favourites to win on Sunday. If you plan on coming to Kieran's for the rugby on Saturday, we advise all our rugby fans to be early. This Saturday is the annual " Get Lucky " run and and many of the runners will make their way into Kieran's to enjoy the rugby.