High intensity game takes heavy toll rugby players
While it took a while for some of the fancy dans behind the scrum to cop on to what was happening, it eventually clicked what the phrase “ar an talamh” meant.
That was the signal for someone to hit the deck and go down ‘injured’ in order to take the sting and momentum out of the opposition.
Needless to say, there were plenty of willing volunteers up front. Even the Ulster lads began to recognise and appreciate the only bit of the Irish language that made any sense to them.
The modern game is so intense, they simply haven’t got the time for an “ar an talamh” call.
Maybe they should. When fellows go down nowadays, you know they are in trouble. The medical team supporting Ireland at present are required to be as fit as the players, given the amount of time they spend sprinting across the field to treat the latest casualty of a massive hit.
The number of concussive incidents alone in a game has now reached epidemic proportions with Johnny Sexton, Mathieu Bastareaud and Wesley Fofana all checked for symptoms on Saturday.
They were only three of a number similarly grilled over the weekend, with England’s Mike Brown also carried from the field.
The increasing incidence of concussion is the biggest issue facing the game and one that I will return to in the near future.
Even the warm-ups are conducted at such a pace and intensity now that making it back out of the dressing room for the start the match is an achievement in itself.
As a commentator, you can’t afford to take your eyes off the pre-match routine which are so intense, they are fraught with danger.
Having been within touching distance when Sean O’Brien was put through his paces during the preparatory phase in Rome, I couldn’t help sharing my thoughts with the nation on RTÉ television as to the magnificent physical condition the Tullow man was in after such a long injury layoff.
Within minutes he tweaks his hammer and was forced out of the game. Thanks for that Sean! At least he was able to recover quickly and play a central role in Saturday’s hard-fought win over the French.
Watching France going through their elongated warm-up, which lasted over 30 minutes on Saturday, I couldn’t help but notice that Sexton’s tormentor in chief, Bastareaud, was left alone with the French medical staff after the rest of the players decamped under the stand.
He was nursing a heavily-bandaged right thigh and was put through a sequence of stretches and didn’t look at all comfortable. For the second week in a row, it seemed as if a team was about to lose another key figure before kick-off.
My mind drifted immediately to a comment from my old Irish team-mate Willie Duggan who famously declared when the prospect of a vigorous pre-match routine was being mooted for the first time, “I can do the warm-up or I can play the game, but I can’t do both.”
Perhaps O’Brien might share those sentiments now.
The game has changed in so many ways since Duggan last played but one has to say the quality of spectacle on offer over the opening two weekends of Six Nations action has been disappointing.
Of the six games played, the only one that would warrant a second viewing was the gripping opener between Wales and England in Cardiff.
The contact area is such a minefield that when you have an official like Wayne Barnes in charge, who referees to the letter of the law, you are left with little continuity and a truckload of penalties.
To be fair, he is almost always correct in his application of the law but lacks the empathy of a Nigel Owens who, through clever communication, negates the requirement of awarding the penalty by anticipating the potential illegal action in advance and warns the player off, preventing its occurrence. While you may well ask if that is his job, it certainly makes for a better spectacle.
The best game in the Six Nations was played out far from the main venues when Ireland’s U20 side took on their French counterparts in Athlone on Friday night.
It was a magnificent spectacle, with both sets of backs looking to explore their options out wide rather than bashing up the middle.
The quality and range of passing and the appreciation of space from a multi-talented Irish contingent behind the scrum was a joy to behold. The future of the game at national level, and for Leinster in particular, is in good hands if the majority of this crop can keep on an upward trajectory.
In out-half Ross Byrne, Leinster appear to have a readymade replacement for Sexton when he hangs up his boots. In fact, the UCD man appears like a clone of the Ireland No 10.
Inside him, his long-term scrum-half partner Nick McCarthy (apparently they have been playing together since starting out in mini rugby at six years of age) is also a very accomplished performer and with Luke McGrath now well established in their senior squad, Leinster look well placed to cover the retirements of Isaac Boss and Eoin Reddan.
Outside centre Gary Ringrose and full-back Billy Dardis, two more from the UCD stable, were also outstanding and despite the retirement of Brian O’Driscoll, Leinster could yet have an embarrassment of riches in that outside channel with Luke Fitzgerald and Ben Te’o soon to come under pressure from the talented Ringrose.
Munster had only one player on view but he too looked a gem. While we have struggled for a long time to produce game-breaking three-quarters with pace, awareness and stepping ability, Munster appear to have one ready to make the breakthrough and follow in the footsteps of Keith Earls and Simon Zebo in Shannon wing Stephen Fitzgerald.
While starring at rugby with Ardscoil Rís, Fitzgerald was also a very accomplished hurler and featured for Limerick at minor level.
His brother Conor, also a Limerick minor who featured in last September’s All-Ireland final defeat to Kilkenny, kicked 18 points in knocking CBC out of the Schools Cup this season and is another great prospect.
I remember a conversation with Ian McGeechan not so long ago where he bemoaned the fact that kids in Scotland are now concentrating on one code far too early and lack the range of skills that develop when playing a multiplicity of sports.
Munster rugby suffers at underage level as a number of talented young players across the province dabble at a few sports until leaving school. When they do specialise, that exposure to other sports and the varying skill sets acquired can prove very beneficial.
Fitzgerald is the latest to fall into that category and is worth keeping a eye on.
