Monday, November 24, 2008
AFTER THREE successive defeats at the hands of Argentina a win of any kind was most welcome.
As a contest Saturday’s Test was always going to suffer by comparison with the heroics witnessed in Thomond Park last Tuesday. The baseline for Declan Kidney at the outset of this autumn series was two wins and retention of a top eight IRB ranking with the World Cup draw around the corner. With those minimum goals achieved it is time for the new management team to take stock and re-assess before the onset of the Six Nations championship in February.
Saturday’s game was never going to be pretty. Argentina are one of those teams that frustrate and suck the life out of even the best of sides.
This latest instalment was no different. Lady luck certainly shone on Ireland in the build up when Puma captain Felipe Contepomi was ruled out on Thursday. However the biggest blow to the visitors’ challenge came just 20 minutes before kick off when mercurial out half Juan Martin Hernandez was ruled out after failing a fitness test.
You could see the Argentine heads drop ever so slightly at the sight of Hernandez being led away to the dressing rooms before they finished their pre-match routine.
His withdrawal meant that Argentina were left with only five of the team that conquered Ireland in Paris at the World Cup a year ago. In the circumstances, replacement out half Santiago Fernandez coped well. However in the absence of their three most potent attackers — Hernandez, Contepomi and Ignacio Corleto — the visitor’s backline lacked any potency and never threatened the Irish try line.
Viewed in isolation Ireland’s performance delivered the desired result but longer term question marks still remain. The set piece was solid and productive yet despite a steady stream of possession (and with proven broken field runners of the calibre of Brian O’Driscoll, Luke Fitzgerald, Geordan Murphy and Rob Kearney), Ireland failed to produce a line break of any significance. The try when it came was the result of a judicious cross field kick from Ronan O’Gara resulting in a trademark finish from Tommy Bowe. That in itself was somewhat ironic given that Ireland’s kicking game was poor throughout
Despite being named man-of-the-match O’Gara did not have a good game and needs to exert more self control on the field. At times he was totally over-hyped and lacked the composure that someone of his experience and stature needs to deliver. He is a leader and someone that the younger players in this squad look to for direction. On this occasion he allowed his emotions override better judgement. In his defence, Argentina have that effect on people. The bad blood that has festered between these two sides was there again for all to see and the amount of sledging and finger pointing that was going on was incredible.
As always Argentina defended resolutely throughout, crowding the midfield and offering very little space for Ireland to attack. They are one of those teams who perform better without the ball. Deprived of their most potent attacking armoury behind the scrum, they relied on their artistry at the breakdown to slow down opposition ball which was vital in restructuring their defensive alignment.
They do that better than most. To make matters worse, Ireland persisted in trying to run slow ball which set up easy targets and played right into the visitor’s hands. In addition for the second game in a row Ireland’s kicking game was sub standard with the emphasis almost exclusively on getting distance which made it very difficult for the chasers to exert any pressure on Argentina’s back three.
However, with the pressure of that top eight seeding for the World Cup draw now firmly put to bed, the hope is that this squad can move on and make further gains in the spring.
It was noticeable, however, that the body language of the players has changed ever so slightly over the course of the last three weeks. In the build up to the Canadian game and immediately afterwards there was a fresh exuberance within the squad and even the seasoned campaigners seemed to be reinvigorated. After the New Zealand game and throughout the course of last Saturday’s game, the smiles were gone and the visible strain that accompanied the World Cup last year was back in evidence.
The challenge for Declan Kidney now is to build on the positives of this autumn series as he prepares for France in February. The good news on that front is that they looked decidedly ordinary against Australia on Saturday night and their coach Marc Lievremont looks out of his depth at this level. He has nothing like the coaching base that Kidney has accumulated over the years.
On the playing front the emergence of Stephen Ferris as a physical ball carrying presence has added to the mix up front. The forwards were back to their best against a powerful and experienced Argentinean eight with David Wallace the stand-out figure. He is playing the rugby of his life at present and to see him depart the scene on a stretcher was distressing. With crucial back-to-back games against Clermont Auvergne in the Heineken Cup in less than two weeks Tony McGahan will be hoping that the news on Wallace and Jerry Flannery, also forced to leave the field with a knee injury, will be favourable.
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