Ireland need all the help they can get
Brian O’Driscoll started his Test career against the world champions-in-waiting Australia, on June 12, 1999 and was on the receiving end of a 36-point hammering in Brisbane.
Thirteen years later and with a wealth of touring experience under his belt, he is entitled to think that things should have moved on. Yet all he has to show for a truck load of expeditions to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa over that period are two wins over the Wallabies, one with Ireland at the last World Cup and an opening Test victory with the Lions 11 years ago.
He will be more familiar with that sickening empty feeling on returning to the dressing room on a southern hemisphere tour than anyone else in the Irish squad.
The challenge for him in his role as captain ahead of tomorrow’s second Test against the All Blacks in Christchurch is that it is his responsibility, along with some of the other senior players, to lift morale, stay positive and keep the show on the road.
The only other time in his illustrious career he faced such an onerous task was on the 2005 tour of New Zealand with the Lions. On that occasion, having been cynically taken out of the series in the opening minutes of the first Test in Christchurch, he was in no fit state to lift the troops.
Ironic then that he now returns to the scene of the crime — the city if not the stadium. Christchurch has suffered far greater pain and suffering since the fallout from that Umaga-Mealamu tackle, with the lives of so many families devastated by the effects of the earthquake in February of last year. Tomorrow, Ireland become the first international side to play in a rugby-mad region on what is sure to be an emotional day for the Cantabrians within the All Black squad. The key leaders within that group, Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Kieran Read, all play for the Crusaders and will demand a performance from those around them for a city deprived of any World Cup action due to the structural damage caused on that dreadful day.
There were aspects of their performance against Ireland in the opening Test last weekend that new coach Steve Hansen was not happy with — that is a scary prospect for Ireland.
When Declan Kidney’s men sat down to study the fallout from Eden Park, their findings made grim reading. Of the 20 stats examined in detail, four will cause greatest concern; metres run with the ball (633-179), clean line breaks (16-1), defenders beaten (11-3) and offloads (14-5), all in favour of New Zealand.
I highlighted the fact after the first Test that New Zealand use the set-piece as a means to an end and not an end in itself as the likes of England and South Africa do. They use their scrum and line-out as a vehicle to set up opportunities from broken play and those stats highlight that. Ireland can be as competent as they like off scrums and line-outs but it is how they use the ball once in possession from those phases that differentiates the two sides.
The frightening thing is that New Zealand only produced five tries off those 16 line breaks.
That is one of the specific areas Hansen has focused on this week. He has also highlighted the 16 turnovers Ireland manufactured — the outstanding Sean O’Brien was responsible for many of those — as an area that also needs to be rectified.
Despite that brave effort from the Irish back row, the ball that New Zealand did win was recycled far too quickly and with the pace they have in their back three, that is a recipe for disaster. It helps too that they have discovered a gem at scrum-half in debutant Aaron Smith.
Of their three new caps last weekend, giant wing Julian Savea attracted all the attention with a hat-trick of tries but their most impressive newcomer was the diminutive No 9.
His service is the quickest we have seen at this level since Peter Stringer was in his prime; that buys Carter an extra second on the ball.
New Zealand won the World Cup despite having serious issues at scrum-half. Smith has now exploded onto the scene after some spectacular performances for the Highlanders in Super rugby and his presence is set to ignite the talent New Zealand now have available to them behind the scrum. Ireland will have to devise some formula to slow the delivery of the ball to Smith and protect the ball better when in possession themselves.
Back in that series against Australia in 1999, O’Driscoll and his new team-mates absorbed sufficient lessons from the opening Test hammering to narrow the gap to six points the following weekend in Perth. For Ireland to do likewise here would be a major achievement and the prospect of inclement weather for Christchurch tomorrow should help. At this stage of a never-ending season, Ireland will take all the help they can get.
