“There was a lot of playacting going on.”
That’s what former England scrum-half Austin Healey has said about Ireland's Six Nations win.
The TV pundit has accused Ireland of ‘playacting’ in their win over England at Twickenham last weekend.
Ireland claimed a 14-25 victory and the Grand Slam – just the third in history – on Saturday.
But despite describing the team as ‘world class’, Healey was critical of Joe Schmidt’s team’s performance.
Speaking on BT Sport’s Rugby Tonight podcast with Ben Kay, he said: “That’s my only problem with the Irish team – brilliant side, great players across the field – but there was an awful lot of playacting going on.”
“A lot of screaming, a lot of noise, it’s working for them and it’s getting them where they need to be – I mean they’ve won three Six Nations in the last five years and now they’ve got a Grand Slam – undoubtedly one of the favourites for the World Cup.”
Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray was described as ‘the best in the world’.
Co-host Ben Kay said: “His box kicking is absolutely superb, which they’ve built a lot of the foundations for some of their performances over the years on; the speed that he gets the ball to Sexton or the forward carriers’ hands is as quick as anyone.”
