Donal Lenihan: What Ireland need now, on and off the field, are cool heads
Ireland players leave the field dejected after the game. Picture: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
There was a lot more at stake for Ireland, and by extension head coach Andy Farrell, than vital Six Nations points when his players took to the field at a deserted Principality Stadium in Cardiff yesterday.
Fifteen months into his reign, this is now his team, playing his style of rugby. Even allowing for the havoc the global pandemic has caused on the way he would have liked to go about his early body of work, Farrell has had sufficient time to make this team his own. This campaign will define how far down the road he has travelled, this opening game a pivotal moment on that journey.
With champions England deservedly beaten by a Scottish team that finally delivered on their pre-match hype and France laying down an early marker with a comprehensive demolition of an Italian side that played a lot of decent rugby in defeat, Ireland needed to hit the ground running with that French squad arriving in Dublin next weekend.
This opening game was never going to be as straightforward as many painted it in advance, even allowing for how bad Wales were last year. After all Joe Schmidt, despite presiding over the most successful period in Ireland’s rugby history, never experienced a Six Nations win over Wales in Cardiff.
Under pressure Welsh coach Wayne Pivac’s default mechanism coming into this crucial contest was to take a step back in time, selecting the most experienced Welsh XV of all time with 874 caps between them. To have any chance of reversing their recent downward trend, Wales had to explode out of the blocks and dominate the opening quarter which they did, sprinting into a six-point lead.
Then everything changed. As Mike Tyson famously said before a big fight, every boxer has a plan until he gets punched in the face. Likewise, all of Ireland’s pre-match planning went out the window once Peter O'Mahony was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Thomas Francis at the breakdown after only 14 minutes. Any contact with shoulder or elbow to the head is a straight red card and O'Mahony left referee Wayne Barnes with no option but to issue the ultimate sanction.
Once that happens the ground rules change and every player, especially up front, has to dig deeper and up their work rate which is exactly what happened. The character of every player in green was exemplified by the fact that, despite the sending off, Ireland clawed their way back into the game to lead by seven points at the break.
Having been on the back foot for long periods of the opening half, Ireland kicked less after O'Mahony’s dismissal, held on to the ball a bit more and reaped the rewards. It was a remarkable effort to enter the dressing room in the lead. The problem with that is the toll that additional physical exertion and extra workload taken on by every player was bound to tell entering the final quarter.
The fact that Ireland were still in a position to win the game entering time added on was reflective of the incredible work rate of each and every player. Unfortunately, Ireland have nothing but a losing bonus point to show for their efforts having wasted two gilt-edged attacking opportunities off penalties.
When Johnny Sexton decided to kick to the corner but failed to find touch off the first, it enabled Wales to clear their lines which offered them a huge psychological boost.
The second was even worse when Billy Burns kicked dead right at the death, wasting the chance for Ireland to launch a match-clinching try off their line out maul and a potential conversion to somehow win the game.
This defeat will be hard to stomach. From an attacking perspective, Ireland looked really dangerous with Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose, Hugo Keenan and James Lowe all having their moments and looking capable of cutting Wales apart.
To their credit, Wales dominated the crucial period after the break, scoring two opportunistic tries while playing under a penalty advantage. For whatever reason, Ireland appeared to switch off mentally, and left space on the outside channels for George North and 20-year-old Six Nations debutant Louis Rees-Zammit to exploit. Those two tries were devastating.
In the circumstances Ireland found themselves in, fighting an uphill battle from the moment of the O'Mahony dismissal, they showed amazing fortitude in pushing Wales all the way to the finish line. Whilst we will never know, there was plenty of evidence to suggest that with a full complement, Ireland would have landed the opening win that everyone craves coming into this tournament.
Some of the performances were heroic, none more so than Tadhg Beirne who worked himself to a standstill, scored a crucial try and was Ireland’s main ball winner out of touch in an improved lineout showing. In the back row, Josh van ver Flier more than justified his inclusion with an all action display that hoovered up every loose ball and offered excellent support lines that played a vital role in Beirne’s try.
However, Ireland missed Caelan Doris’s ball-carrying ability with CJ Stander having to do most of the heavy lifting in another excellent showing from him. He needs more support in that department.
The big worry for the Ireland management is not only in dealing with the mental fallout from this defeat but in the physical toll it took. James Ryan was a huge loss when he departed with a head injury and must be a doubt for next weekend. In all three Irish players, Ryan, Sexton and Henshaw were sent for HIAs as were two more on the Welsh side. That is a concern for the game in general.
In the circumstances, Iain Henderson, himself only returning from injury, put in a massive shift and could well start against France next week even if Ryan recovers. Given the size and ball-carrying capacity of the French pack, and with O'Mahony certain to be suspended, there is a case for shifting Beirne to the back row.
Of bigger concern to Farrell will be the latest knock to Sexton and the mental state of his replacement Burns who looked absolutely shattered after his blunder at the death. What Ireland need now, on and off the field, are cool heads. Despite this defeat, there were a lot of positives to be taken with visible improvements at the breakdown and in attack.
That said, this defeat means that the immediate challenge in dealing with a rejuvenated French side whose confidence is sky-high at present and hit the ground running in Rome has become even harder.
Factor in also the fact that Ireland must also travel to Murrayfield to face a Scottish side who will be buoyant after that win over England and will fancy their chances next up against a Welsh side, who despite this win, are no world beaters. This championship has just got a whole lot more difficult for Ireland.
