On Saturday, March 16, Ireland defeated Scotland 17–13 at Lansdowne Road in Dublin to keep their Six Nations Rugby title. After defeating Scotland in Dublin, Ireland raises the trophy to win the Six Nations championship once more.
We examine how Ireland won the 2024 Six Nations tournament and wonder if they can continue to have such success following consecutive championship victories.
Although Ireland lost out on a Grand Slam in Round 4 at Twickenham, Andy Farrell has since led his team to Six Nations championships in 2023 and 2024 in addition to a Triple Crown in 2022.
Ireland back-to-back Six Nations titles on Saturday
Ireland came victorious in the 2024 Six Nations, and the narratives and determinants that surfaced during the competition provide intriguing questions for the future…
During that period, Ireland triumphed in a Test series against the All Blacks Rugby, 2-1 on the road, defeated the Springboks twice, ranked first in the world from July 2022 to October 2023, and won 17 consecutive Test matches.
For the third time ever, Ireland won the Six Nations twice in a row, following in the footsteps of the 1949 and 2015 classes. At the end of the evening, everything was OK. Singing along to Zombie, the sold-out Aviva crowd brought back memories of French World Cup invasions, creating the finest atmosphere this place has had in a year.
Granted that they were denied the opportunity to complete consecutive Grand Slams, this title was not exactly decided in the most spectacular fashion. And maybe this had anything to do with it.
Consequently, the excitement that greeted the St Patrick’s Day Grand Slam crowning in what would turn out to be Johnny Sexton’s final game wearing an Irish jersey on Irish soil was nothing like that which greeted him.
Read More: Ireland Six Nations champions again after beating Scotland
Ireland’s success was the third time in their history
Stunning first night performance in Marseille, with a post-World Cup statement made Ireland kicked off the post-Johnny Sexton era in perfect manner, defeating France 38-17 to earn extra points on opening night.
At the Stade Velodrome, Jamison Gibson-Park, Tadhg Beirne, Calvin Nash, Dan Sheehan, and Ronan Kelleher scored tries against a French team that had lock Paul Willemse sent off for two yellow cards in the first half for high tackles.
Shortly after, Robbie Henshaw was ruled to have been held up on the line by Porter, who then scored a tap-and-go penalty after Ewan Ashman was given a yellow card.
Feeling that the job was done, supporters replied with a stirring performance of the Fields of Athenry.
But the last few minutes were nerve-wracking for home supporters as Scotland centre Jones broke free to touch down and replacement fly-half Harry Byrne was sent out for a head-on challenge on Russell.
Ireland dutifully sidestepped any more problems to joyfully celebrate winning their fifth championship in eleven years—and sixth overall—to further cement their place as the top country in the northern hemisphere.