Irrelevant.

Andy Farrell’s Ireland side have been the talk of the town in recent weeks following their phenomenal form in the Six Nations this year.

The men in green are undefeated after three games, securing bonus-point wins in all of their games so far with England and Scotland still to come.

Victory against England this weekend in Twickenham and they are just one game away from unprecedented back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams, but rugby writer Gavin Mortimer reckons it’s all a waste of time.

Writing for Rugby Pass, he reckons there’s an argument that the Six Nations shouldn’t take place after a Rugby World Cup for player welfare reasons, and that another Six Nations win is “irrelevant” for Ireland as long as they continue to fail on the world’s stage.

“As it is, this is a largely irrelevant Six Nations,” Mortimer writes.

“Ireland are on course for another Grand Slam – richly deserved – but surely even their most fanatical supporter will feel a little hollow if they complete the clean sweep on 16 March.

“Ireland blew the big one in October, losing to New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-final and extending their baffling record of never reaching the last four of the tournament.

“The Irish can win as many Grand Slams as they want, but they’re all meaningless if they can’t make an impression at the World Cup.”