Six Nations 2024: Sam Warburton says Ireland are wearing 'invincibility cloak' and won't be stopped
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Ireland are two wins away from becoming the first team to win back-to-back Grand Slams
Having shaken off their World Cup disappointment, Ireland have picked up exactly where they left off in the Six Nations arena.
Showing no signs of teething issues in the post-Johnny Sexton era, Andy Farrell's side have opened the 2024 championship with victories over France, Italy and Wales.
Their dominance has naturally fuelled talk of them becoming the first team in the Six Nations era to complete back-to-back Grand Slams, although they still have England and Scotland to come.
Were Ireland to secure a bonus-point win at Twickenham on 9 March, they would win the title with a game to spare.
'I'm in awe of how they're playing'
Last year, Ireland beat Scotland and England in the last two rounds to win the Grand Slam, but can either of them stop Farrell's team this time around?
"No," former Wales captain Sam Warburton said on the BBC's Rugby Union Daily podcast.
"I think Scotland will have a real good crack. I watch Ireland and I'm genuinely in awe of how they're playing. I can cast my mind back to when I was playing for the couple of seasons when Wales were pretty good. We weren't near that level.
"Their work-rate off the ball, both sides in attack and defence. The accuracy is almost unseen at international level. How comfortable they are, everyone just gets into shape so quickly.
"I thought it was crushing for them in the World Cup [losing their quarter-final against New Zealand], but they've responded so well.
"South African fans will hate me for seeing this, but I still think they [Ireland] are the best team in the world. I've just never seen a team that's that complete."
Warburton, who captained Wales to the 2012 Grand Slam, added that Ireland are "wearing this invincibility cloak that's just such a powerful thing".
Ireland's form is nothing new, of course. They won a Test series over the All Blacks on Kiwi soil in the summer of 2022 before beating South Africa in the autumn internationals later that year.
The Grand Slam followed in March, and while they lost 28-24 to New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-finals, thanks to an earlier pool-stage victory they were the only team to beat South Africa during the Springboks' triumphant campaign in France.
Former England player Ugo Monye used Ireland's "crazy" statistics to illustrate their form over the past few years, including:
Wins in 20 of their past 21 matches
18 wins in a row at home
11 straight Six Nations wins, equalling England's record
Ugo Monye believes Simon Easterby (left) deserves praise for overseeing Ireland's defence
For Monye, Ireland's defence is the area of their game most deserving of praise. They have conceded just 24 points in this year's Six Nations, 17 of which came against France.
They shut Italy out completely - their first championship clean sheet since 1987 - and only conceded a penalty try against Wales.
Monye used more stats to back up his argument and shine a light on Ireland's defensive might.
Since the beginning of 2022, based on games played against the world's top-10 sides, Monye pointed to Ireland having:
Won the most breakdown turnovers
Conceded the fewest linebreaks of any team
Conceded the fewest points per 22 entry
Conceded the fewest tries of any team
Conceded the fewest 22 entries
Conceded the fewest points
Monye said: "We can talk about their attack and cohesion and how nicely they score tries and how they have these game-breakers.
"But let's not overlook or underestimate the job, stewarded by Simon Easterby, in defence. While they are a beautifully gifted attacking side, their USP and their love for defence is the hallmark of who Ireland truly are now."
While what Ireland are doing at the moment is clearly impressive, former Scotland captain John Barclay cannot see it stopping anytime soon given how the team have adapted to losing the talismanic Sexton to retirement.
Barclay said: "How do you break what Ireland are creating? The only way it breaks, because you see the conveyor belt coming through, it's not going to be from a lack of talent point of view.
"The only time you see it in the best teams is when something culturally shifts and players don't put the same work in, the mentality's different or coaches move on.
"Once you lose it, it's very hard to get it back again. You see it with all these dynasty teams. Something happens and it's the end of an era.
"We thought 'maybe this might be when Johnny Sexton leaves', but that didn't really turn out."
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