James Ryan: 'Irish teams are at their very best when we're on the edge'

James Ryan believes Ireland can't afford to lose their edge in their bid to clean up their discipline.

Penalties and yellow cards were a common feature of Irish matches in 2024, allowing their opponents regularly stay in touch in games with three-pointers off the tee.

In terms of cards, Andy Farrell’s side averaged a yellow card for every game they played last year, which was a dramatic leap from the three yellows they had picked up in their previous 29 matches.

"We definitely want to push the boundaries and for us, it's getting the balance right between the avoidable and the unavoidable penalties," Ryan said, ahead of Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener against England.

"Sometimes when you play on the edge, you're going to give penalties away that are unavoidable. We don't want to take that license away from us to get after a team physically.

"But then there's the avoidable ones likes offsides or playing the nine, little ones that we don't necessarily need to give away and that put us under pressure. So trying to cut out the avoidable ones is a big thing for us this month."

The sweet spot between playing on the edge and being undisciplined is a very fine line, although with Ireland’s defence giving up just 12 tries in 11 games last year, it does give them licence to test the patience of match officials.

And Ryan believes it's imperative that Ireland continue to attack the margins.

"If you’re not playing on the edge at this level, that's just not going to go too well for you.

"It's just getting the balance right and trying to take those ones away that we don't need to give away out of our game but I think Irish teams are at their very best when we're on the edge."

The 28-year-old's role has changed for Ireland in recent