FULL RANKINGS
There has been a large amount of controversy over the IRB rankings recently, placing England above Ireland after England's victories over Italy and Wales and Ireland's narrow victories over Italy and France, but do the new rankings accurately reflect the teams' position in world rugby?
Reigning 6 Nations champions Ireland are disappointed to see themselves below England, given the form of each team. A fantastic end to last year for Ireland saw them beat Australia and South Africa, whilst England lost 4 times to New Zealand last year and lost to the South Africans, so many Irish fans are upset to see them scored just below the English. However, England beat Ireland in the last 6 Nations, and the one before that, and the one before that and in the World Cup warm up before that. However, that was a long time ago now and the Irish with the sensational Jonny Sexton are a different team, as shown last year. So who deserves it?
To be honest, it doesn't really matter. People are getting worked up over nothing, but it is helping to fuel the hype before the game. Everything will be settled on March 1st, with the English looking to secure a vital victory away at the AVIVA and the Irish looking to assert themselves as the third, possibly second best team in the world. It will be a passionate contest and the more build-up we get to it the better it is as far as I'm concerned, flaring tempers and harsh banter will make this one of the biggest games of the year, even with the World Cup coming up.
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