Brotherly Irish luck loves heavy England win
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The Rugby Union Six Nations tournament is always a special time for fans of the competing nations, but those in the Irish contingent have had a number of things to shout about when it comes to the last couple of weeks of the 2026 campaign.
With three games played so far in this year’s competition, Ireland are sat in third place in the table with nine points from two wins, and last week saw one of the biggest wins of all in traditional sports’ historic rivalry – England were comfortably put to the sword in a comprehensive 21-42 victory at the Allianz Stadium.
Fans who like a flutter would have relished the win even more, and plenty of punters will enjoy Aussie Rules Footie and enjoy both the AFL and the NRL, but betting on them does require different styles. When betting on the NRL, it’s usually more controlled because the scoring is lower and games are built around sets and field position. AFL tends to have bigger momentum swings and higher scores, which can make live betting exciting but harder to predict. Either way, one injury, sin bin, or repeat set can flip a match fast.
It was a huge confidence boost and underlined Andy Farrell’s ambitions for the side, not least it was the perfect response to tonic the criticism that they have received in recent times, and for the Irish squad in 2026 it is simply just one of the many stories that could be focused on when looking at how the side are trying to grow and develop themselves towards sustained success.
One of those stories is, of course, a certain pair of brothers known as Zac and Bryn Ward, as they have been on their own journey in the last few years. 24 months ago Zac was showing his potential on the biggest stage and starring for the Sevens side as they reached the Paris Olympics quarter finals, and having now established himself in Richie Murphy’s Ulster side, younger brother Bryn has now joined him.
Given the potential they have both shown, Farrell is now casting a very close eye over them both in the national setup, and they are clearly relishing the opportunity of both playing alongside and supporting each other on the pitch, as well as some typical sibling rivalry and using a dose of healthy competition to drive themselves on further.
It has certainly been a crazy couple of months for the pair, and their Six Nations adventure now has only magnified that craziness and the journey that they are on, and father – and former Ulster and Ireland flanker Andy Ward – is far from alone in being delighted in how their career curve is now going.
As the duo continue to shine for Ireland at the Six Nations as they continue to step up to that level of competition, they will also hoping that Ulster can continue their own success at the club level of the game, as having put a disappointing 2024/25 campaign behind them, they are sat in fourth in the United Rugby Championship table and have also reached the Challenge Cup knockout stages. Ending that search for a trophy and some silverware would be the perfect cap for their recent adventures, and if Ulster manage that, the pair will undoubtedly continue to play a major role in that success this year.
Like all sport, the truly genuine talents never allow themselves to get too high or too low as on-pitch matters play out, but few have a family angle to consider in that journey, and these two are clearly loving it right now, and that alone makes it a story of interest.
