IT’S A BIG week for Irish rugby.

Andy Farrell has only been in the job a wet week and he already has a chance to get his hands on the first silverware of the post-Schmidt era.

But first he will have to go through his native England — and his son Owen — in Sunday’s Triple Crown decider in Twickenham.

So we’re asking, are Farrell’s Ireland actually any good?

Are Eddie Jones’s England genuinely as bad as they’ve looked so far this season?

And are we really learning anything about Irish rugby’s future prospects or have we already lost sight of the bigger picture and traded in four-year plans for a shot at short-term glory?

There’s a lot to discuss, but members of The42 won’t have to look very far with three bonus Rugby Weekly Extra podcasts in the coming days.

If you haven’t already signed up to get these pods, as well as all the rest of our great member-only content, you can try out The42 Membership now for just €5 a month or at the annual rate of €42 for a full year.

The first bonus episode is out now as Garry Doyle and Murray Kinsella give their snap reaction to the Ireland matchday 23 announced by Farrell earlier today.

Our regular episode of Rugby Weekly — which is, of course, free to all — returns in its usual Thursday slot when Andy Dunne joins Murray and Gavan.

And once the action on the field at Twickenham is done, we’ll have two more bonus pods — an immediate post-match reaction pod with Murray and Garry from the stadium on Sunday, and then further in-depth analysis when Eoin Toolan joins us on Monday.

Needless to say, our members’ WhatsApp group has been buzzing with anticipation already this week.

And that’s before we get into all of the rest of our non-rugby content, including the next episode of the Behind The Lines sportswriting pod which will air early next week featuring none other than the brilliant Bryan Curtis of The Ringer in conversation with Gavin Cooney.

If you love Irish sports and great sports storytelling, join The42 Membership today.