The true health of Irish rugby has been the subject of intense scrutiny for the past week following an annihilation at the hands of the French and a largely underwhelming performance against Italy in the Six Nations.
Despite winning four of their five games and a Triple Crown, concerning performances against Wales and Italy coupled with the loss to France have led to discussions about Irish rugby that are apprehensive at best and downright disastrous at worst.
Unfortunately, if the statistics are anything to go by, the conversation will be falling closer to the latter than the former.
The Opta Index, which ranks individual players across the tournament have named their team of the tournament and Simon Easterby's Ireland have received just one place in the XV.
The single selection is the lowest of any nation, including wooden spoon winners Wales who saw both flanker Jac Morgan and lock Dafydd Jenkins earn places on the side.
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15 March 2025; Ireland players, from left, Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Beirne and Conor Murray during the playing of the national anthems before the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Italy and Ireland at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Opta select just one Irish player in team of the championship
Leinster and Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan was the only Irish player selected in the side - a selection only made more impressive by the fact that Sheehan missed Ireland's tournament opener against England and started on the bench for their defeat of Scotland.
Despite initially being plagued by injury, Sheehan scored five tries in the Championship, including a hat trick against Italy. The 25 points brought his total Six Nations tally to 13, making him the highest-scoring forward in the history of the tournament.
The data didn't allow for any other Irish inclusions in the squad, with the rising star of the tournament Sam Prendergast notably beaten out by Italy's Paolo Garbisi and Andrew Porter by Pierre Schoeman.
The three teams who finished below Ireland; Scotland, Italy and Wales, made up eight of the squad's fifteen. Surprisingly, tournament winners France had just three players, less than Scotland who laid claim to four names.
England had just three names as well, while both Italy and Wales had two each.
ICYMI - Our 2025 Men's Six Nations Team of the Championship. Lineup. pic.twitter.com/ipgKpSHYbW
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) March 18, 2025
Data is rarely a true indication of quality in rugby, however, Ireland's single entry is a far cry from the 2024 Opta side where Ireland had four players, more than every other nation bar France.
Since then, Tadhg Beirne, Budnee Aki and James Lowe have all dipped out of the team, while, for Sheehan, it's his second year running on the data-driven side.
23 - Based on the unique Opta Index, Dan Sheehan was the top ranked player in the 2024 Men's Six Nations, with each side having representatives in the Team of the Championship (inc. subs). Squad. pic.twitter.com/6ZVSumfuBG
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) March 18, 2024
While it's far from reflective of where Irish rugby is, for a team who over recent years have prided themselves on their physicality and dominance in all areas of the field, the three-player dropoff is not unnoteworthy.
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