Ireland need a statement win to frank progress under Andy Farrell, says Bernard Jackman.
The head coach has overseen 12 games since taking over from Joe Schmidt at the end of 2019, with seven wins and five defeats to his name.
That sequence of results, which includes home wins over Scotland and Wales and home and away losses to France, constitutes a fairly average return and while the win against Italy last weekend was Farrell s first away win, it doesn’t by itself signal a marked improvement.
Victory in one of their remaining two Guinness Six Nation fixtures, against a Scotland side still in championship contention, away on 14 March, and against England in Dublin six days later would mark progress, says the former Ireland hooker.