Ireland's 31-5 win over Wales today was a much-needed boost. That they restricted the Welsh to one score in total was heartening. Now they are on four points along with England, France and Scotland.

Ireland appeared to have learned a good few lessons from the debacle in Paris. Their defence was excellent today, and even when they didn't have the ball, they looked like never letting the Welsh in to score. There was the one occasion when they were caught flat-footed and Mark Jones got the better of Andrew Trimble, but on another day the bounce of the ball might have favoured the Ulsterman.

Ireland's slow start was a worry at first, and it took about ten minutes or so before they got any meaningful possession. The set piece held up pretty well, even in the absence of Paul O'Connell. The line-out functioned effectively, and although the scrum looked a bit shaky at times, the front eight held on for most of the match.

The turning point was the loss to Wales of out-half Stephen Jones. In partnership with Duane Peel, they were the only Welsh players with any creativity. His replacement, Gavin Henson, was utterly hopeless. He kicked when he should have passed and every now and then he attempted a breakout himself only to be completely smothered by the Irish cover. As one of the RTÉ panelists commented, his girlfriend Charlotte Church would have been about as effective as he was.

There is still some room for improvement from Ireland. We could have won by a much bigger margin. Once again there were too many handling errors and some indiscipline at the breakdown, resulting in turnover ball to the Welsh. O'Gara had a good game, but missed a couple of place kicks that he would normally put away with his eyes closed. Stringer had a fine game, capping it with a last minute try. Shane Horgan deservedly won Man of the Match for a barnstorming performance on the wing. In Fact, Ah have a tribute to the Drogheda man here. Marcus Horan was stretchered off late in the game, but thankfully it looks like his injury is not serious.

So, it's the reborn Scots next. Having seen off England at Murrayfield, their tails will be up when they come to Dublin on Saturday week. If Ireland can mount that sort of defence again then it shouldn't be too massive a task to keep them at bay.

Six Nations 2006 is developing into the most open contest in years. As I write, five of the six teams are still in with a shout of the championship. There will be no Grand Slam winner this year, as England's loss to Scotland this evening means that every team has lost at least one game. Ireland are the only team left who can win the Triple Crown, as we have yet to play the three British nations, and Wales have lost to England, who in turn have lost to Scotland, who in turn have lost to Wales.

Tomorrow's game is very hard to predict. Wales have been through the wringer in the last couple of weeks, with the departure of their coach Mike Ruddock, and the loss of their influential captain Gareth Thomas. I'm really sorry that Thomas will play no further part in the Six Nations, as he is a great player. Also missing tomorrow is the other Welsh sharpshooter Shane Williams, which leaves their attack somewhat blunted.

We, of course, are missing Paul O'Connell, our most influential forward. This could mean that there is a lack of leadership in the pack, particularly now that Anthony Foley seems to be out of the frame altogether. Who else is there? Easterby? He has captained the side a few times and he's captain of Llanelli, but I don't think he has the sheer presence of O'Connell in the front eight. This could be crucial, as in order to get the upper hand in the match, the Irish forwards will need to boss their Welsh counterparts. If the Irish pack can come up with a decent supply of quality ball, then our backs should be able to finish the job. Particularly if they show the sort of flair that was on display during the second half of the French match. Having Trimble, who is still relatively unknown, on the wing could make the difference.

Also, there's the maul. O'Connell's absence here could be telling, as it is he who is always at the centre of the maul, whether for Ireland or Munster. But they need to get it going early in the match to see if it's an option. The scrum should hold up better this time.

So overall, I'm cautiously optimistic. As long as the Irish game plan isn't too rigid, and they can stifle the Welsh half-backs, then a win shouldn't be beyond them.

I have been invited to contribute some content to Irish Rugby Now, a site run by David O'Neill of Dave's Rants.

So be sure to nip over there as well! I'll get started with some stuff in the run up to the Welsh match on Sunday.

Eddie O'Sullivan named his side today for Sunday's Six Nations match against Wales at Lansdowne Road.

Marcus Horan returns in the front row after missing the French match due to illness. Donncha O'Callaghan comes into the second row in place of Paul O'Connell, who misses the match due to a shoulder injury. Andrew Trimble gets the nod over Ulster team-mate Tommy Bowe on the wing. Bowe is dropped from the side altogether. Mick O'Driscoll and Girvan Dempsey are named on the bench. Shane Byrne is on standby in case Jerry Flannery has any problems with an ankle injury he picked up recently.

So no real surprises there, then. Trimble came on for Bowe in Paris last Saturday week and in truth, he should have been on from the start. He looked very sharp and got in for a sweet try following a blistering run by O'Driscoll. He's a decent player in defence too, which will help to keep the Welsh speed merchants at bay.

Team in full is:
G Murphy (Leicester); S Horgan (Leinster), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, captain), G D'Arcy (Leinster), A Trimble (Ulster); R O'Gara (Munster), P Stringer (Munster); M Horan (Munster), J Flannery (Munster), J Hayes (Munster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), M O'Kelly (Leinster), S Easterby (Llanelli), D Wallace (Munster), D Leamy (Munster).

Replacements: R Best (Ulster), S Best (Ulster), M O'Driscoll (Munster), J O'Connor (Wasps), E Reddan (Wasps), D Humphreys (Ulster), G Dempsey (Leinster).

Ireland and Wales have both lost influential players ahead of their Six Nations clash at Lansdowne Road this Sunday.

Paul O'Connell's shoulder injury hasn't healed sufficiently to allow him to start, but it is hoped that he will be available for the Scotland match on 11 March. The most likely second row will be Donncha O'Callaghan and Malcolm O'Kelly, with Mick O'Driscoll on the bench.

Wales, whose squad is already heavily depleted through injury, lose their talismanic captain and full-back Gareth Thomas for the rest of the tournament. Thomas is suffering from an injury to an artery in his neck.

Jaysus, me nerves!! That was a true "Game of two 'alves."

After an unbelievably awful first half, Ireland managed to start playing in the last 30 minutes. Where in the first half when passes were missed and knock-ons committed, here they managed to hold onto possession, and ran in four converted tries.

With ten minutes to go, Ireland were 12 points down, and it could have been. They spent most of that last ten minutes camped in the French 22.

In the end it was too much to hope for. In the immortal words of Red in The Shawshank Redemption: "Hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a man insane. It's got no place here. Better get used to the idea."

The Ireland of the last 30 minutes was very different from the Ireland of the first 50. It looks like they just decided to rip up the script and play to their strengths. And it worked.

So that gives some hope for the visit of Wales in a couple of weeks.

My prediction was half right. In the first half they got the hosing I expected, but fair dues to the Irish players for not giving up.

Dear, oh dear!

Being a blogger usually means that you want to be right. You go online and publish your opinions, and if you're wrong, someone usually pulls you up on it. Being wrong is embarrassing.

But tomorrow, I really want to be wrong.

I'm convinced that Ireland are going to get trashed by France. I have come to this conclusion for several reasons.

First of all, since the last two games of last season's Six Nations, the Irish game plan has been woejus. There has been no flair, no invention and no indication that the huge amount of talent available is being allowed to shine.

Secondly, the French have a lot to prove. They lost to Scotland last week, and so will want to redeem themselves in front of their home crowd.

Thirdly, our scrum will collapse. Reggie Corrigan and Jerry Flannery have never packed down in an international front row together in a game like this before. That will tell.

Fourthly, the French nearly always manage to turn it on when Ireland are in town. The last time we beat them there in 2000, we had several unknown and very talented players. O'Driscoll scored a hat-trick that day. Now all our guys are well known to them, particularly the backs. So 2000 is unlikely to happen again. (Unless Tommy Bowe manages to pull off the performance of his career, that is.)

Come on Ireland - make me look foolish. It's all I ask.

Well what about that then? Scotland, having only won two games in the last three Six Nations tournaments, see the French off in a thriller at Murrayfield. Fair play to them.

Is this the beginning of a Scottish renaissance? Or is it just an example of the French not turning up, as they sometimes do? Remember that Scotland almost beat France last year in Paris, and only a last gasp try by Damien Traille saved the day for the home team.

So what does this mean for Ireland? First of all, it means that we are in for the mother and father of all hidings next week. Going to Paris for the first home game of the season, after the French have been beaten the week before is not an enticing prospect. The French team must save face in front of their home crowd, and rarely do they have two poor showings in a row. Given that Ireland's play is devoid of both inspiration and originality, all they can do is try to stem the blue tide that will attack relentlessly all day.

The second thought to consider is how the Scots will perform after this superb opening. They have Wales away next week, the Calcutta Cup clash takes place a fortnight later in Murrayfield, and they come to Lansdowne Road on 11 March. By the time they arrive here we should be able to see if this is a true rebirth, or if this win was just a flash in the pan.

Ireland's win over Italy in Saturday's Six Nations clash was utterly unconvincing. There were times during the match when it looked like the unthinkable might happen and Italy would prevail. In times past, a match against Italy would bring the prospect of a hard first 60 minutes up front, with the Azzuris' only threat coming from their forwards, leaving the last 20 minutes for Ireland to cut loose and run in a decent number of tries.

Today the Italian backs looked a good match for their more stellar Irish opponents. Half-backs Pez and Griffen ran the show for a lot of the game. Pez's break left the Irish defence flat-footed and allowed Bergamasco in for a well-taken try.

Ireland were lucky. Tommy Bowe's try was doubtful to say the least, and there was also the suggestion that the ball was dropped before it was grounded for the first try.

One thing is for sure. Next week, we are going to be shat upon from an almighty height in Paris. Nothing has changed since the autumn. The passion of the Munster forwards and the artistry of the Leinster backs just wasn't on show today. Ireland coughed up two line-outs before winning one on their own throw. Brian O'Driscoll lost the cool twice and was lucky to stay on the field.

On the positive side, David Wallace demonstrated why his selection was justified. He was immense around the park and managed a number of key turnovers. Save for an early dose of the yips, Jerry Flannery had a decent game. No key players were injured.

Looking at the England-Wales game, it's hard to see how Ireland will get past either of them. Man for man, in theory, there is nothing between the best Ireland have to offer against the best England and Wales have. But both England and Wales operate as a team, which is something Ireland don't do.

I stand by my prediction - Ireland to finish fourth.

And so here we are again, at the beginning of the best and oldest international rugby tournament in the world, the Six Nations.

The tournament started life in the 1880s as "The Home Championship", contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. France joined in 1910, were chucked out in 1931, rejoined in 1939 for one season, and came back again in 1947. Italy made it Six Nations in 2000.

Looking back on my preview of the 2005 Six Nations, I had high hopes. We had England and France at home, and could surely put enough past the other three teams away from home. A Grand Slam was seen as possible. But alas it didn't happen. We got past Italy and Scotland handy enough, and managed to see off England at Lansdowne Road by exactly the same score as we'd beaten them in Twickenham the year before, 19-13.

Then the wheels fell off. We lost 19-26 to France in Lansdowne, and a week later, the Welsh beat us 32-20 in Cardiff, and ran off with the Grand Slam.

The cheeky fuckers!

THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUR GRAND SLAM!!

I'll never forget that day. My wife was at work and we had visitors coming over for dinner that evening. So I had to tidy the place up. I was fuming that Ireland could have capitulated so easily and almost tore strips out of the carpet with the hoover. I was mopping the floor of the kitchen going "Fuckin'fuckin'fuckin'fuckin'fuckin'fuckin'fuckin'..."

Completely irrational, of course, but understandable. We even had a very enjoyable evening with my wife's sister and her husband, though Kieran and I didn't actually discuss the rugby all that much. We were both too disgusted.

So this year, I should be confident. Munster and Leinster make up the bulk of the Irish team and both teams have their tails up, having qualified for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup. Our two talismen, Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell are both back from injury and playing ferocious rugby. David Wallace is in the team.

But I'm not confident. The Irish national set-up is very different to the provinces. Declan Kidney and Michael Cheika allow their player to show their natural flair. They allow risk taking and like for players to use their heads. That doesn't happen in the national scheme of things. Witness the Autumn internationals. Here the team stuck to a rigid game plan that only allowed for damage limitation. They knew they were not going to beat the All-Blacks, so why try? The best they were hoping for was to try to keep the All-Blacks score down to an acceptable level. In the end it didn't happen, and only for Marcus Horan's last minute try, Ireland would have suffered the ignominy of a whitewash.

We will lose both our away matches. England will emerge from their post-World Cup ennui this year, and our two match winning run against them will come to an end. France will beat us, as usual. What is it about the French? They often play indifferently against Wales, England and Scotland, but when it comes to Ireland, they are ruthless and clinical. As Kevin Keegan said about Man Yoo once "I'd LUV IT if we beat them!" but we won't.

We should see Scotland and Italy off without too much drama. How badly we lose to France will determine how we fare against Wales. Two years ago we beat them comfortably, but that is unlikely to happen again, even with their injury and suspension problems. I'm worried about this one.

So overall, my prediction is that we will come fourth, our worst standing in the Six Nations since Italy joined.

1. France - Champions but probably not Grand Slam
2. England - Triple Crown
3. Wales
4. Ireland
5. Scotland
6. Italy