Donal Lenihan: Ireland add attacking flair for satisfying end to Six Nations campaign
Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Jack Conan, Conor Murray and Josh van der Flier celebrate a try by Keith Earls during the win over England in Dublin.
Super Saturday has come and gone but the Six Nations trophy remains to be presented.
In a remarkable finish to a pulsating game at the Stade de France, Wales were denied the Grand Slam they appeared destined to win due to an incredible comeback from the French, scoring two tries in the last six minutes of dazzling action.
They remain on track to win the championship for the first time in 11 years when they host Scotland at the same venue next Friday night but, to do so, need a bonus-point win by a margin of 21 points.
Therefore Wales are the only side to lift silverware of any description to date, having already secured the Triple Crown in what has been a captivating Six Nations, played out in the most challenging of circumstances.
For England, a Triple Crown with a difference was secured. Marginal favourites ahead of the French coming into the tournament, losing to Scotland, Wales, and Ireland in the same championship for the first time in 45 years has placed Eddie Jones’s very future as head coach under considerable threat.
It may have taken a while but, finally, Ireland managed to stitch together all elements of their game to deliver their most complete and composed performance, not only of this championship, but of the Andy Farrell era.
Saturday’s game not only marked the completion of Farrell’s second Six Nations tournament in charge, since assuming the reins from Joe Schmidt after the last World Cup, but marked the halfway point before the next global showpiece in France.
To this point in the tournament, Ireland’s displays have been hugely frustrating given that so many elements of their game were in such fine fettle, a number of players were delivering consistently high performances on an individual basis but, as a collective, the side was lacking the creative spark in attack to put teams away.
What was never questioned, despite having to deal with the restrictive demands placed on a squad having to operate for so long in a pandemic bio-bubble, was their togetherness, unity of purpose, and work ethic.
Add to that, technical excellence at the set-piece and accuracy at the breakdown which meant Ireland were highly competitive in every contest throughout the series.
For that credit goes to Farrell and his coaching team for not only absorbing the harsh lessons of the recent past from this fixture but for asking different questions of England defensively than was the case in those defeats.
The one thing you have to do against this England side is build a lead against them, forcing them to play. They are a very difficult to contain once they get their noses in front. Put them on the back foot and force them to chase a game and they lack the composure one would normally associate with such an experienced side.
Ireland weathered the storm in the key opening quarter despite England exerting a huge amount of pressure. They received a major psychological boost when preventing Maro Itoje from grounding the ball off a five-metre line out maul and by manufacturing a free-kick off the subsequent scrum engagement.
That proved the first of three free-kicks, with the third elevated to a full penalty, for consistent infringements when setting the scrum. Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty deserves immense credit for changing the set-up and launch technique of the front five on engagement with little or no gap required between the two front rows.
England, and in particular their highly experienced loosehead prop Mako Vunipola, found it difficult to deal with and ended up on the wrong side of referee Mathieu Raynal. On top of that Vunipola was receiving a torrid time from Tadhg Furlong, enduring the ignominy of being withdrawn by Jones at halftime. Ireland’s scrum has been magnificent throughout this tournament and England struggled to cope.
Just as well the scrum was so dominant as Ireland were starved of attacking lineouts for vast periods of that opening half. Crucially, however, from their first real attacking opportunity in the England half, Ireland finally showed some creativity with a brilliantly constructed power play off the tail of the lineout, executed with pinpoint accuracy.
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— Brett Igoe (@brettruganalyst) March 20, 2021
When previewing this game on Saturday, I bemoaned the lack of attacking creativity from off the top lineout ball at the middle or tail. Bang on cue, Ireland launched such a play. Starting in the scrum-half position, Jack Conan, who fully justified Farrell’s decision to promote him to the starting side following injuries to Will Connors and James Ryan, not only won a perfectly timed throw from Rob Herring over the tail, but directed it straight into the hands of Keith Earls on a disguised run off his blindside wing. The manner with which the Limerick flier finished, rounding Jonny May with ease, highlighted the enduring brilliance of the Limerick man.
England were reeling from the concession of that score and that stroke of genius drove Ireland to new heights. Even better was the second Ireland try which Conan finished himself. It had everything in a 23-phase buildup, including a brilliant aerial take from Hugo Keenan plucked from the grasp of Elliot Daly after a high, hanging bomb from Johnny Sexton, a sumptuous offload from Furlong, two punishing carries from CJ Stander who bowed out of the international arena in some style.
This was precisely the type of attacking flair Ireland had spoken about so often in advance of games but failed to deliver outside of the predictable win over Italy.
Quite what has happened to this England team since losing the World Cup final is difficult to fathom. Every now and then they offer a glimpse of their capabilities before slipping back into mediocracy. As a result, they appear short on confidence.
Despite the excellent win over France, the minute Ireland got on top in the second quarter, you could visibly see England wilt. It didn’t help that, not for the first time in this tournament, their discipline let them down and were rattled by the intensity of Ireland’s challenge. It also helped that a few marginal refereeing decisions went Ireland’s way, which tends to happen when you get on top.
Those two tries coupled with the excellence of Sexton’s place-kicking - he converted 25 of 26 kicks at goal in the championship - meant Ireland were in a really commanding position, leading 20-6 at the break. The fact that they enjoyed a similar 14-point lead against Scotland the previous week, but almost blew it, set the narrative at half-time. Thankfully the lessons were learned on that front too and Sexton’s superb game management, in tandem with a rejuvenated Conor Murray, kept England on the back foot.
Throughout this campaign Ireland’s work at the breakdown has been phenomenal. The speed of the recycle and the accuracy of the clean-out when Ireland carry into contact has improved immeasurably. On the other side of the ball, Beirne’s remarkable facility to generate turnovers has surely won him a place in the Lions squad.
His ability to play at such a high intensity for the 80 minutes has been immense. He has been Ireland’s most consistent forward in the championship. Behind the scrum that accolade goes to Saturday’s man of the match Robbie Henshaw who proved a thorn in England’s side right from the first whistle.
The only disappointment from Farrell’s perspective is that, just when Ireland deliver on all fronts, this squad of players, with a number destined for Lions duty, won’t play together again until next November. For now, he will have to content himself with a job well done as he contemplates what is required next to stay on an upward trajectory.
