Donal Lenihan: Ireland's focus must now shift from silverware to planning for the future
Craig Casey failed to win his first cap off the bench but should now come under serious consideration to start against Italy. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Miracles do happen in sport but, unfortunately, not as often as we would like. If there were points available in this championship for pride of performance and unrelenting commitment in the face of adversity, Ireland would be top of the table.
Thankfully Ireland stopped playing for those intangible rewards a long time ago with our target firmly focused on accumulating silverware over the last decade. Our record on both the provincial and international front speaks for itself but, in this year’s tournament, there will be no fairytale ending as Ireland lost their opening two games in a Six Nations championship for the first time since the expanded format was introduced back in 2000.
One can point to a number of mitigating factors in both of those defeats, the most obvious being the challenge of playing with 14 men for the majority of the game in Cardiff and the loss of so much intellectual rugby knowledge and experience with the withdrawal of Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray, Peter O’Mahony, and James Ryan in the week leading into this game. Having lost Caelan Doris and Jacob Stockdale before the championship, Ireland’s resources are stretched to the limit.
To be within a penalty kick or drop goal of winning as the game hung in the balance in the closing minutes confirmed the tight margins that exist between a team that is now destined to finish in the bottom half of the table when this fascinating tournament ends and one on course for ultimate honours with a potential Grand Slam even if they were less than convincing this time out.
England’s shock defeat to Scotland at Twickenham offered fresh breathing space to France in their quest to end an 11-year drought and win a Six Nations championship for the first time since 2010.
That is their main goal this season, a Grand Slam would be a bonus.
Therefore opening this campaign with two wins on the road amounts to the perfect start.
When they learned on Friday that Ireland would be forced to start this game short their first-choice half backs, who between them had amassed 184 caps, you wondered if it helped or spooked them, given that facing Jamison Gibson-Park and Billy Burns presented an unknown quantity.
Sometimes it’s just written in the stars but everything appears to be falling into place for the French at present. When they awoke to the torrential downpours that persisted throughout their bus journey to the Aviva Stadium, they must have been disappointed at the potential impact those conditions would have on the way they want to play.
Then, right on cue, as they emerged from the dressing rooms for the pre-match warm up, the rain stopped, the clouds disappeared and it became positively balmy. You could almost feel the sense of relief across their smiling faces.
Given the level of adversity Ireland faced during the week— due largely to an avalanche of injuries that led to four changes to the starting team in Cardiff and four more on the bench — it came as no surprise to me that, with a deep fear factor that if Ireland backed off this French outfit to any degree they could be cut wide open, Ireland asked all the questions in the opening 25 minutes of play.
How ironic then that France chose the period, when they were reduced to 14 men after second row Bernard le Roux was yellow carded for a trip on Keith Earls, to show what they are capable of. Ireland had the measure of the French out of touch on the visitors’ throw throughout the opening half with some superb defensive reads from Tadhg Beirne pilfering valuable possession.
Yet from the first piece of quality possession moved quickly off the top of the line out into the French midfield, the visitors produced 30 seconds from rugby dreamland with a magnificent try from their captain Charles Ollivon. The running lines, off loading, and support play was mesmeric as Ireland were left chasing shadows.
Up to that point, Ireland had managed to contain the mercurial Antoine Dupont but such was his influence that he touched the ball four times in the passage of play that opened Ireland up in the lead in to Ollivon’s brilliant score. It was as if France spent the opening period sizing Ireland up before reverting to what they do best.
Ireland’s forwards competed superbly throughout the opening half, their scrum rock solid, their lineout back to its best. The only problem, when the French kicked, they kicked long and parallel to the touchline and not dead. As a result Ireland had only nine feeds to their own lineout throughout the match, while the French enjoyed 15.
Barely a minute after he joined the action, he scored a fortuitous try that gave Ireland the boost they needed after an opening two minutes of second half carnage saw three Irish players forced off.
A horrible clash of heads cost Ireland two of their best performers in new captain Iain Henderson and new record cap holder for a prop Cian Healy. Thankfully both recovered after a protracted period of treatment to carry the fight to the French in the final quarter.
The other casualty during this period was out-half Billy Burns, who once again in his short international career had to leave the field for a head injury assessment. While Burns displayed admirable character during his time on the field after the fallout from his missed touch finder at the death in Cardiff, once again, his early departure left more questions than answers.
What his period on the field did confirm is that he is not an international standard goal kicker, having missed one of two straightforward efforts. Playing against a top side like France, you have to take every point on offer. It doesn’t help his cause that he is not a front line kicker at Ulster with John Cooney assuming that role.
His replacement Ross Byrne stood up impressively on that front when introduced but, overall, Ireland continue to kick away too much possession to threaten the opposition line with any consistency.
Newly-qualified New Zealander James Lowe has kicked more ball in this championship than he did in the three years it took him to qualify on the basis of residency in Leinster colours.
With Italy next up in Rome and Ireland out of the running for championship honours, the time has come to look again at our options at half-back. With the game in the balance right to the final whistle and Gibson-Park having a decent game, Craig Casey failed to win his first cap off the bench but should now come under serious consideration to start against Italy.
With 5 and 12 caps respectively at this stage, neither Burns nor Ross Byrne, even if he is a top of the range goalkicker, have grasped their opportunities at this level as the race to find the long-term successor to Sexton continues. Now that Harry Byrne is in Irish camp, Farrell needs to have a serious look at him in training over the next two weeks with a view towards starting him against the Italians.
Given the fact that the casualty ward is full to the brim, what Ireland need now is a few days rest and recreation, if such a thing is possible in a pandemic bio-bubble, before they regather for the next phase of the tournament. Championship honours may be beyond them but are are still so many opportunities and tangible rewards worth fighting for.
