Caught between a rock and a hard place
Even the composition of the RaboDirect Pro12 — heaven knows what that tournament will be called given that no sponsor has yet stepped forward to take over from the Dutch multinational bank — is up in the air, with the turmoil in Wales between their regions and the WRU.
The latest shock comes from the Italian federation which is now expressing dissatisfaction with the Pro12, claiming it is costing their representative sides, Zebre and Treviso too much to partake in the competition. Quite where they would go as an alternative for regular game time is anyone’s guess.
The one constant in the rugby calendar is the Six Nations championship. This great rugby institution has so far survived the ravages of the money men creating havoc in the club game but it appears only a matter of time before their actions at club level impact on the oldest rugby tournament in the world. Hopefully not.
Professionalism has shifted the emphasis some international coaches place on the tournament itself, using it as a stepping stone towards building a side for the World Cup.
A succession of Ireland head coaches have been subjected to varying degrees of criticism for failing to give younger players an opportunity to prove their credentials in the championship, preferring instead to confine experimentation to the summer tour or autumn international window.
On his watch, Eddie O’Sullivan insisted that his hands were tied by the desire of the IRFU on playing the strongest team at all times in order to finish as high up the Six Nations table as possible — thereby maximising the financial return for the hard-pressed union coffers. Difficult to argue with that.
So how will the respective coaches view this championship, just over a year and a half out from the next World Cup? Given that France and Italy are in Ireland’s pool at the 2015 event, it will be interesting to observe the approach taken by Philippe Saint-Andre and Jacques Brunel.
Saint-Andre is under more pressure than any other head coach in the tournament. By French standards, his record since assuming control from the eccentric Marc Lievremont is appalling. In his two seasons in charge, France have won only three of their 10 Six Nations contests, with five defeats and two draws (both against Ireland), making up the balance.
For him, experimentation has never been a problem but nothing on the scale of his predecessor. To be fair to Saint-Andre, France have performed well in their autumn campaigns but appear dead on their feet by the time the Six Nations rolls around in February due to the punishing schedule attaching to the Top 14.
Saint-Andre hasn’t helped himself by ignoring the prospects of some players in excellent form — how could he have omitted Louis Picamoles from all of his matchday squads in November? — and by picking others out of position. His biggest clanger on that front was selecting the mercurial Wesley Fofana on the wing in his first year in charge when the Clermont man was clearly the best attacking centre in the country.
Saint-Andre badly needs to start this campaign with a win over England in Paris tomorrow, otherwise he will be under even more pressure. He doesn’t wear that burden well.
England head coach Stuart Lancaster was in a difficult position in his two championship campaigns to date in that he had to first rebuild the morale and image of the national team in the aftermath of a disastrous World Cup campaign on especially off the field in New Zealand.
That took time but in that respect he has done a marvellous job. His challenge now is to show he is capable of bringing England to the next level.
Given that Lancaster also introduced a number of young players into the squad for the first time, he had to stick with them in order to gain confidence and experience at this level. Everything was going brilliantly until they were physically blown away by Wales in the championship decider in Cardiff last season. England were ripped apart in that game, losing by 27 points and it will be fascinating to see what adjustments Lancaster brings to the England set-up to adjust for the lessons learned from that encounter.
Shorn three test Lions up front in Alex Corbisiero, Geoff Parling and Tom Croft, Lancaster has rejigged his forward pack already this season with ever-improving youngsters in the Vunipola brothers, Maka and Billy along with Joe Launchbury already playing a central role. That will add to the strength in depth in his squad as will the overdue maturity being shown by Northampton second row Courtney Lawes.
The biggest challenge facing Lancaster is what to do at out-half. Owen Farrell improved massively over the course of the Lions tour when he learned to play a bit flatter and was more positive in attack. Farrell has reverted to type since then however and it was instructive to see Saracens picking Charlie Hodgson ahead of him against Connacht in round six of the Heineken Cup when they were chasing tries. It worked.
Lancaster showed his ruthless side by immediately dispensing of the services of Toby Flood once he confirmed he is heading to Toulouse next season. Could you imagine Ireland doing that with Johnny Sexton? Question now is whether he throws George Ford, who doesn’t celebrate his 21st birthday until the day after England’s final championship game against Italy, in at the deep end to start any of their championship outings.
That really would be a selection with one eye focused on the World Cup.
The big question from an Irish perspective is just what is Joe Schmidt going to do? What approach will he take? He faces two very interesting challenges in terms of matching his short-term objective with his desire to build depth in a number of positions, the most pressing being in the centre and at tight-head prop.
The new engagement sequence at scrum time, with the front rows now partly bound before impact, has negated somewhat the bulk of the likes of Mike Ross and Adam Jones. Ross now finds himself in the same position as the great John Hayes 18 months out from the 2011 World Cup in that there were major concerns within the Irish management that the Munster tight head could extend his career that far.
That proved the case and Ross was fast-tracked at international level, proving a more than capable replacement. While the Fermoy man has nothing like the mileage accumulated by the ‘Bull’, questions are beginning to be asked as to whether Ross will now last the course. At the very least a viable alternative needs to be offered serious game-time and not just 10 minutes at the end of a test when the level of pressure exerted at scrum time has abated.
To date this season, Schmidt has used Stephen Archer and Declan Fitzpatrick as back-up to Ross but the rapid development in Martin Moore’s game has seen him leapfrog the other two for a potential place on the bench against Scotland.
The question now is will Schmidt be brave enough to start Moore in a Six Nations battle?
The combination in midfield is even more intriguing. Brian O’Driscoll has a maximum of five tests open to him before he calls time on his amazing international journey. With the two summer tests against what will be an Argentinean side shorn the majority of their overseas players, can Schmidt afford to wait until next November to test the credentials of the heir apparent Robbie Henshaw in a meaningful test?
O’Driscoll will surpass Ronan O’Gara as Ireland’s most capped player when he starts against Scotland on Sunday and his achievements as a player and captain are unlikely to be surpassed by any Irishman in the future. Yet Schmidt must weigh up his options and may be tempted to hold the great one in reserve for at least one Six Nations outing.
The same applies to Gordon D’Arcy who was outstanding against New Zealand, playing one of the best tests of his multi-capped career. Yet time is ticking on his test future also and the ever improving Luke Marshall could do with more front-line exposure.
