Concern replaces schadenfreude as Wales become sick man

The fear of the Wales-Ireland fixture becoming a pushover game is a mournful moment for media on both sides of the water.

Through the 2010s, it was the most vibrant and spiteful rivalry in the Six Nations. At its zenith, online sports desks would spend the week of the game surveilling the press on the other side of the water for any hint of slight.

It peaked back in 2015 when Neil Francis said Warren Gatland's intellectual capacities were on a par with a tub of Flora. Back then at least, Welsh fans were inclined to disagree with this assessment.

The Principality rose in fury. Condemnations poured forth from Wales Online. Reminders came thick and fast that Adam Jones had amassed more Grand Slams than Ireland (thankfully, we have since surpassed him in the all-time standings). Tony Copsey was prodded into recommending that Franno get "another slap". By the end of the week, we expected to hear denunciations in the Welsh Assembly and calls to boycott Kerrygold.

But can you prolong this air of needle when the rivalry is in danger of becoming so lop-sided?

Our friends at Off the Ball on Newstalk gamely sought to keep this relatively modern tradition alive by wondering aloud whether Ireland could beat Wales with 13 or indeed 12 men.

Needless to say, the Welsh retorts to this provocative train of thought were all a variation on the theme of 'quarter-finals'

The question as to how Ireland might cope with a numerical disadvantage was worth posing, given that their only loss to Wales this decade occurred after Peter O'Mahony had been sent off in the first 15 minutes. (Wales' improbable 2021 Six Nations victory - which rivals 1994 in the WTF stakes - owed much to the fact that their opponents kept getting men sent off).

Needless to say, the