The Molecast

Was Ireland's successful game plan against Wales about "playing what's in front of you", or was it something more subtle altogether?We also look ahead to the trip to Twickenham: can England's stutters be put down to typically tough Six Nations away days or are there bigger problems for the team since the high watermark of their semi-final victory over NZ ahead of our Triple Crown chance?

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Scotland delivered the kind of performance they wish they had in Yokohama last September but Ireland still came away victorious. So, how much credit can Ireland take from their narrow, nervy win?England's unbridled brutishness never turned up without their three brutes in chief on the pitch, and France looked both reborn and prone to a long rattle in the in second half. Can anyone stop them now they've got motoring?Wales eased into gear and look a bad match up for Ireland. Can we stop them from - ooof - another Grand Slam tilt?

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"It arrives like the spring, and like the spring, it too lifts the hearts. First the snowdrops, then the daffodils, then St Brigid's Day, then Six Nations." *wipes away tear*Rejoice that January is over, the World Cup is behind us, and we're still bitching about not picking on form. We scrutinise Andy Farrell's (conservative) first selection as Irish coach, discussing the virtues of experience and "experimentation". We preview Le Crunch: Eddie Jones promises withering physicality for the French who, with their glittering youthful talent, promise a return to the days when they ruled the championship along with Les Rosbifs.Finally we talk briefly about Wales and Italy. Five of the six coaches are new but Gatland casts the longest shadow of all those departing. How will Wales cope? And should Italy just embrace La Brutta Vita?

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Cheaters never win, except when you don't take their trophies back off them. The Saracens saga rolls on. Relegation a certainty but European success a possibility. Everything else seems to be up for grabs.After that we ask the difficult question about the Irish coaching ticket: how did they get the gig again?Lastly we touch briefly on the plight of Munster and their youth in the wake of their European exit.

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Mid-season Stocktake! Which notable characters from the long running Pro 14 series "went mainstream" in the last round of games, and where does that leave the future Ireland team and its captaincy, Johann van Grann's coaching trajectory and Ulster in general.

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Will Connors is coming for your clothes, your boots, your motorcycle, and your number seven jersey: the man known as Porridge gets lower than Lil' Jon and smashes all in front of him as Leinster march on with another win with a young team on a tough away day.Later on we take a deep dive into a hypothetical world of a CVC Capital Partners-inspired British and Irish league, as suggested by Ospreys chairman Rob Davies' mention of it this week. If this is where we're headed, what might it look like?

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Munster's Latham... I mean Larkham revolution yields a sliding doors moment for JJ Hanrahan and despite a cracking performance leaves them in a tight spot. Ulster and Leinster are 2/2 with wildly varying qualities of performance. Is it Leinster's tournament to lose? And lastly international coaching tickets are moving and shaking. Is Ireland's *management* ticket out of step with the rest of world rugby?

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Leinster's production line is the focus — and how freely they might play — but the inescapable shadow of the Rugby World Cup is never far away: what does it mean for Ireland? In Munster, Ulster fielded a pack with no Ulstermen: all the players will end up coming from St Michael's and Blackrock if no one else is producing them.And how do you deal with cheats?

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Chapter I: The World Cup and the Winning ThereofChapter II: The World Cup and Dumping There-out-ofExcept, like Prince's Lovesexy (or Royal Trux's Twin Infinitives) there's no separate tracks, it just blazes all the way through.

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A lot to get through, including: How did we lose to Japan? How did we actually get on against Russia when not dropping the ball? How do we go about beating Samoa?And then: These refs, eh? Here come England's White Orcs who keep passing the ball. Growing into tournaments. Fail to evolve, evolve to fail. And what will go down in the QFs?

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