Irish to learn from late, late show
On the receiving end for most of the second-half, it would require a mighty effort to rescue this test. That is exactly what they produced.
Having the facility to draw on moments like that will stand to this squad in the future. One can envisage a scenario with the team in a huddle behind the posts; trailing with time running out, when Brian O’Driscoll will be able to reassure his troops – remember Australia – we will go up the other end and score. That is the type of belief that this team has and last Sunday’s brilliantly-constructed try at the death will only reinforce that feeling within the group.
O’Driscoll’s praise for Tomas O’Leary after the game was well merited, for while the move which produced that last-gasp try was straight off the training ground, the scrum half still had to identify in a split second which one of Ireland’s dummy runners had fixed an Australian defender and where the space was. In the end, O’Leary’s radar was spot on and the captain ran into a gaping hole.
To pull that off with the last play of the game must have been incredibly satisfying.
Yes, serious improvement is required for the forthcoming tests against South Africa on Saturday week and for France later in the season, but for a first collective outing in seven months against a battle-hardened Tri-Nations side, Ireland have reason to be satisfied and will only get better.
Of the six full internationals played over the weekend, pride of place must go to the French. Like Ireland, they too were playing their first game of the autumn series but clearly benefited from two gruelling encounters against New Zealand in addition to a further test against Australia over the summer when Ireland’s finest were displaying their wares in the red of the Lions.
Warren Gatland has preached for some time that the only way to improve as a team is by constantly exposing yourself to contact against the southern hemisphere’s big three. Wales have being doing that for some time now, always attracting an additional fixture during the November window.
It is clear that this new young group of French players are learning quickly at this level. Beating the All Blacks in Christchurch in June has given them a newfound confidence. If I were French coach, Marc Lievremont, I would push for the national team to play as many of their big games as possible in the south of France. The atmosphere in Toulouse was electric and on Saturday week they will bring the All Blacks to the Velodrome in Marseilles where another partisan crowd awaits. A Six Nations game in the south? Don’t hold your breath: 80,000 bums on seats at the Stade de France are required on a regular basis to fund the professional game.
Friday night’s game was a cracker. If you thought that Australia were physical in Croke Park, wait until the Springbok bone crunchers come calling. The scary bit is that by the end of the game in the Stade Toulousain, South Africa had been outmuscled by France in the collisions. Even the French discipline was impressive, conceding just five penalties over the 80 minutes and just one in the entire opening half. That must be a record for a French team. The average penalty concession per game is about 10.
There is no doubt that the Springbok tank is running on empty after all their recent exertions against the Lions and a full Tri-Nations schedule. They are vulnerable at present. This will present Ireland with a great opportunity to finish the autumn on a high.
Before that, however, there is the little matter of taking on Fiji in the RDS on Saturday. On the evidence of their clash with Scotland in Murrayfield, they are well short of the standards they reached in the World Cup two years ago.
With only six tests between the last RWC and the Scotland game, that is probably no surprise. They will benefit appreciably from that game but it is a shame that they are shorn a number of their first-choice selections, especially up front. As a consequence, their set piece was obliterated in Murrayfield. It is now time for the IRB to guarantee a level playing field for teams like Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Georgia by enforcing Regulation 9 – player availability across the board. Players from those countries are not encouraged by new employers to seek a release clause for internationals when they sign for English and French clubs. It is stifling their development.
In naming his side yesterday, Declan Kidney took the opportunity to blood Jonathan Sexton in the familiar surroundings of the RDS and by pairing him with his Leinster half partner Eoin Reddan, Kidney has offered him a seamless transition to international rugby. In fact, with an entire Leinster backline, bar Keith Earls, he will have every reason to feel at home.
EIGHT changes in total seems just about right to me and I can understand why Kidney chose to retain John Hayes and Jerry Flannery in order to accumulate as much game time as possible before the Springboks arrive. Sixty minutes should be about enough. Former Munster academy product Sean Cronin will finally get his first cap at some stage in the second half along with his former clubmate Tony Buckley. Two Shannon front rows replacing two more – even if Hayes is aligned with Bruff these days. Despite all the changes, it is still a very strong and competitive-looking Irish team. Kidney’s goal of achieving more depth to the squad is bearing fruit and will prove too strong for the South Sea islanders.
Spare a thought too for Martin Johnson. He must be going through hell at the moment. England have been simply awful over the last two weekends and the thought of the All Blacks fetching up at Twickenham on Saturday must be giving him sleepless nights. He made a fundamental error after his appointment by not strengthening his coaching ticket with serious international coaching experience. He is now paying the price.
As a team, Ireland’s quartet of Kidney, Gert Smal, Les Kiss and Alan Gaffney are streets ahead. Perhaps Johnson’s biggest headache, however, is the lack of serious talent available to him. How many of England’s starting side against Argentina do you think Kidney would select?
On second thoughts – don’t even go there. Remember Springbok coach Jake White falling into that trap a few years ago...
