Can we turn to Irish Under 20s for some solace?
Last September’s magnificent victory over Australia at the World Cup sparked realistic expectations of a first World Cup semi-final and that against familiar foes France. We dared to dream until Warren Gatland and his super confident young Welsh side did a number on us in Wellington.
The heart-breaking defeat to New Zealand in the second Test with the last kick of the game left this Irish squad crestfallen for a second time this season with the realisation that the elusive first win over the mighty All Blacks was within their grasp only to be pilfered in those dramatic closing sequences.
That was hard to take and the question on everyone’s mind as the squad entered the 51st week of this marathon season was had they the fortitude and real belief to put it up to the world champions for the second time in eight days?
Losing Jamie Heaslip and Gordon D’Arcy during the week in addition to those already ruled out of contention from the outset in Paul O’Connell, Tommy Bowe and Stephen Ferris, meant it was always going to be a tall order.
New Zealand also had problems and injuries of their own to deal with, most notably Jerome Kaino, Kieran Read and Dan Carter. They also appreciated that a repeat of their performance in that epic second Test would not be acceptable to their management or ever-expectant public. Something had to give but what transpired at the Waikato Stadium on Saturday evening was a drubbing of nightmare proportions. Ireland were blown away, delivering a ‘performance’ — if that’s the word — aptly described by Brian O’Driscoll as embarrassing.
On the back of that narrow defeat in Christchurch, Ronan O’Gara was spot on when suggesting the biggest blight on this Irish squad is a lack of consistency. Rarely have they managed to put a series of quality performances back to back but nobody expected them to fall so far off the mark in this, their 17th Test of the season.
Injuries cannot be used as an excuse as New Zealand also had issues to deal with especially when Carter’s replacement Aaron Cruden was forced off after only 25 minutes, opening the door for yet another debutant in 21-year-old Beauden Barrett. In all, New Zealand coach Steve Hanson blooded six new caps over the three-Test series without any appreciable difference to the cohesion of his side. Ireland, on the other hand, recalled Paddy Wallace from his holidays and promoted him to the Test side within three days of his arrival. That was a very poor selection call, asking far too much of the Ulster man and sent the wrong message to the likes of Keith Earls, Darren Cave and Fergus McFadden, all of whom craved an opportunity to play in midfield.
To have any chance of competing with New Zealand, you have to take the game to them in the opening 20 minutes. That is what Ireland managed to do in the second Test and led by 10 points at the end of the first quarter. By that stage on Saturday Ireland were 21 points down and it was already game over. The intensity and line speed in defence was missing once again and New Zealand flooded the breakdown, generating the quick ball they crave. Ireland had no answer and were blown away, with Sean O’Brien the sole irritant to the New Zealand back row.
Despite the closeness of the second Test, a series aggregate score of 124-29 in favour of New Zealand, with a try count of 15 to 2, illustrates the vast chasm between the two sides.
Once again Ireland looked devoid of ideas in attack while their renowned defensive structures were shredded. I’m not sure which aspect of the result was worse, the 60 points conceded or the fact that Ireland were kept scoreless.
With Australia breaking Welsh hearts for the third weekend in a row, this time by a single point, a highly creditable draw for England against South Africa in Port Elizabeth denied the southern hemisphere’s big three of a clean sweep over Ireland, England and Wales in their collective nine-game series. Who would have thought that Scotland would record the only Test win against one of that trio this summer?
The one positive for Irish rugby over the last three weeks has been the performance of our Under 20 side in the Junior World Cup. Their achievement in beating the hosts and eventual winners South Africa in their opening game was a significant milestone at this level of rugby. Of even more importance was the display of a number of individuals who will undoubtedly progress all the way to the senior ranks in the not too distant future.
Chief amongst those is Leinster tight head prop Tadhg Furlong, who was magnificent in a position that Ireland badly need to see some talent coming through. Munster out-half JJ Hanrahan capped an outstanding tour by being nominated for the IRB Junior Player of the Tournament and looks capable, in time, of filling the boots of Ronan O’Gara for Munster. Here’s hoping he gets an extended run in the RaboDirect Pro12 next season.
Ulster’s Iain Henderson was superb throughout regardless of whether he started in the second or back rows, Connacht scrum-half Kieran Marmion brought a smashing variety to his play while Munster’s Niall Scannell led the side magnificently from hooker. In addition, Leinster’s Jordan Coughlan and Jack Conan are set to add to an impressive list of emerging back row talent. After the horror show in Hamilton at least that offers something positive to cling to.
