It’s a joke, but no one’s laughing
With a differential of +50 points — it could have been even more but for a brave and committed fightback from the Italians at the Stade de France on Sunday — France already have the championship trophy in the bag.
With England the only side standing between them and a first Grand Slam since 2004, even by their unpredictable standards, you just can’t see France slipping up at this stage. If they need any additional motivation to beat what they see as their greatest sporting rival, they need only look back as far as Twickenham last year when an average English side humiliated them by 34-10.
How fitting also that Ireland have the opportunity to finish their tenancy in Croke Park with silverware as another Triple Crown beckons. It would provide a fitting finale to an arrangement that has worked well over the last three years and reflected positively on all parties involved. While it could be a long time before a Six Nations contest will grace the hallowed turf again, don’t discount the possibility of Heineken Cup or Rugby World Cup action adorning that magnificent arena at some stage.
That’s all for the future. Of more immediate concern is the constant meddling by our friends in the IRB with the laws of the game or in this instance the interpretation of law. In last Wednesday’s column, I highlighted the influence of our southern hemisphere brethren in constantly tweaking with the way the game is adjudicated in order to suit their particular needs.
I didn’t intend returning to the subject again quite so quickly. However, the insistence by the law makers in changing the way the tackler conducts his business in the middle of rugby’s biggest annual international competition beggars belief and consequently, necessitates further comment.
Even if the adjustment makes for a better game — and that is still up for debate — it cannot be implemented halfway through a tournament. The same applies to the Heineken Cup. By insisting that the tackler must now release the tackled player and re-engage before contesting for possession, the whole technique employed by the tackler must now be revisited. It has major implications for Ireland, because notwithstanding the outstanding poaching ability of the Stephen Ferris, Jamie Heaslip and David Wallace, Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy are streets ahead of any international midfield pairing in generating turnovers from the tackle situation.
With Ireland struggling in the possession stakes elsewhere, this subtle change has big implications for the way they perform. There is a very cunning game at play here by the southern hemisphere nations as there is agreement at IRB level that post ELVs, there will be no tinkering with the laws of the game until after the 2011 World Cup. They are now getting around this edict by focusing on interpretation of law instead.
The aspect of the game that differentiates rugby union from similar sports like rugby league and American football is that the game continues after the tackle is executed. If, because of this change of emphasis, teams stop contesting for possession at the breakdown with the same intensity as they do presently, then they will counter by committing fewer numbers and instead flood the field with bodies. You then have the spectacle of the side in possession retaining the ball through multiple phases until the opposition run out of defenders and eventually score. Hence, the crazy scorelines we are witnessing in the Super 14 at present.
Another alternative is to maul with more frequency as the team in possession seek to draw in those opposition forwards now standing off. To think only a year ago the maul had become surplus to requirements because of the ELV that allowed it to be legally collapsed, despite the safety implications.
Is it any wonder that so many fans of the game will admit to not really understanding what is going on at times? If it is any consolation to someone who count themselves among that group, I have former players, many of whom played the game for a long time at a decent level (admittedly in a different era) seeking clarification for what is happening on the field. Unfortunately the game is shifting ever closer to a rugby league-type format. Those who bemoan Ireland’s perceived weakness in the scrum or the dearth of fresh talent in the propping stakes may derive some comfort from the fact that there were only five scrums in the Welsh game on Saturday. Tomás O’Leary only fed the Irish scrum twice. That meant that Heaslip had only two opportunities to display his prowess off the base of an Irish put-in.
In times past, we would do 50 live scrums on the Sunday morning before an international to prepare for the attrition that lay ahead. That is the equivalent of 10 games based on last Saturday’s stats. How long will it be before the spectre of rugby league scrums evolve when both sets of forwards engage in an uncontested mass of bodies as the scrum-half feeds the ball in under the second rows feet? Don’t get me wrong, the modern game is a far better model than the version I played but there are limits and the core elements of the game must be protected.
As for this weekend, France look set fair to become the third different side to achieve a Grand Slam in as many seasons in the wake of Wales in 2008 and Ireland last year. This reflects the fact that Scotland and England are nowhere near as competitive as in the recent past. As a result, depending on the sequence and location of fixtures, one big win away from home against one of the more competitive nations sets up the possibility of a clean sweep — hence, the frequency with which Ireland are now delivering Triple Crowns. This tends to be a cyclical thing, however, and doubtless, England will be a force to be reckoned with again in the near future.
Scotland, despite only a single point to show for their efforts, have shown signs of improvement under Andy Robinson. The turning point of their tournament came in the closing minutes of their contest at the Millennium Stadium when two yellow cards left them floundering. That sickening loss to Wales at the death coupled with the frightening injuries to Thom Evans, Chris Patterson and Rory Lamont have proved an insurmountable loss. Knowing Robinson, they will make life difficult for Ireland on Saturday but the desire to finish off in GAA headquarters on a positive note with silverware will be enough to propel O’Driscoll’s men over the line.
