Turning point or one-off?
In the final game of what has been a poor Six Nations, Declan Kidney’s players finally emerged from their shell and unleashed a sustained display of power, pace, passion and panache which reflects the talent and capability within the squad.
The disappointing thing is that it took the sight of a red rose to finally unleash the devil within. What a pity we didn’t have England in the first game. That said, and with the World Cup just over the horizon, never was it more necessary to finish on a high.
After six weeks of under-achievement and brutal self assessment, the Irish players can now return to their respective provincial squads happy in the knowledge that as a collective they are capable of competing with the best when everything falls into place.
Ireland dominated this contest because they bossed three key areas we highlighted before the game. The set piece offered the stability so necessary against England, their key half-back pairing of Ben Youngs and Toby Flood were played off the park (literally), and Ireland won the key defensive battle hands down.
Those who have never played this game find it hard to appreciate the psychology of the scrum. In recent seasons, Ireland’s scrum has been a holding operation, always under scrutiny from the opposition and consequently an area for damage limitation from an Irish perspective.
On Saturday, England brought a front row with an average age of 23 to Dublin and expected to dominate. Ireland had other ideas and expressed them in the very first engagement when England were sent packing.
It set the trend for the day. The Irish players knew it. Of equal importance the Irish crowd, who finally showed that the new Aviva can be an intimidating cauldron, knew it and reacted accordingly. The English looked slightly deflated by it.
In an understated way and in the ultimate team sport where even the most talented individuals — usually in the backs — are so dependant on the unglamorous work done by others, it is only right that the graft of Ireland’s front five be singled out for special mention.
Mike Ross will never attract the big sponsors or a gaggle of autograph hunters but those within the sport appreciate what he brings to the table. He has brought stability to the key tight head side of the Irish scrum and the benefits are beginning to show. To think that if Stan Wright had not been injured in September, he may not have made the Leinster side.
Beside him Rory Best and Cian Healy were superb in all facets of play. In the second row, Paul O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan played like men possessed, showing power in the tackle and excellence in defence with O’Callaghan central to wrapping up opposition bodies, holding them up in the contact area, engineering welcome scrum feeds for Ireland.
In addition the two combined to revive the ancient art of the Munster foot rush which terrorised many a touring team in a bygone era, when the ball was kept at the feet and the opposition dare not fall on it for fear of losing life and limb. Even Jamie Heaslip got in on the act in the second-half. It was that kind of day.
With the forwards on the front foot, England’s half backs were in serious trouble with the pressure proving too much for Ben Youngs at scrum half. This guy is a prodigious talent but has a lot to learn, most of all the necessity to keep your head under pressure. When he picked up a stupid yellow for throwing the ball into the crowd directly in front of the touch judge, I wasn’t in the least surprised Martin Johnson opted against reintroducing him when his ten minutes of purgatory had elapsed.
The most pleasing aspect — and the most pertinent one with the World Cup in mind — was the potency of Ireland’s attacking display. At last we had a counter attacking policy in place, led by the magnificent Keith Earls from full-back and supported by Andrew Trimble and Tommy Bowe. The Ospreys flyer was back to his best and could be seen all day gesticulating to Ireland’s midfield that he was available to be utilised off his wing.
The advertised edge Ireland had prior to kick-off was in midfield and how the experience and guile of Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy exposed the limitations of Shontayne Hape and Matt Banahan. Both are one-trick ponies, their shortcomings exposed by the excellence of the Leinster duo. O’Driscoll, on the 11th anniversary of his hat-trick in Paris, celebrated by breaking the championships try-scoring record. To maintain that level of excellence for that length of time is what differentiates the great from the good.
LOOKING forward to New Zealand in September, it was also crucial that Jonny Sexton produced at out half. It hasn’t been an easy championship for him with the Roy of the Rovers interventions from Ronan O’Gara off the bench plus the fallout from his difficult introduction off the bench in Cardiff.
Declan Kidney knew that in order to restore Sexton’s confidence at test level before RWC 2011, he would have to gamble on starting him Saturday. The gamble paid off big time. The one thing Sexton has continuously shown in his relatively short career is steel but this would be the ultimate test.
When he displayed the confidence to tap and go from that early penalty to set up Bowe’s opening try, you just knew he had the mental smarts.
On the back of an excellent service from Eoin Reddan, he bossed this contest and completely outplaying Toby Flood. When he was eventually replaced by O’Gara, their embrace was a significant moment. It was a recognition from O’Gara that Sexton had arrived as a conductor at test level and now they were competing as equals. Sexton’s apprenticeship has been served. This game could prove the pivotal moment in Sexton’s career and places Ireland in a better place come World Cup time.
It was fitting no side captured the Grand Slam this year because in truth, nobody deserved it. England, while disappointed with the manner of their defeat in Dublin were still crowned champions and will benefit in time from their experience on Saturday. A poor championship with few standout performers makes the selection of a team of the championship a bit of a lottery. Here is mine.
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