Destined for the Grand Slam

ONE can’t but escape the feeling that Ireland is destined for this year’s Grand Slam. Prior to Saturday, all indications were that Ireland would secure a comprehensive victory in Cardiff. The thing about sport, however, is that it is never straightforward.

In the past, people have questioned Ronan O’Gara’s bottle under pressure. Never again. With less than 10 minutes on the field, he won the game for Ireland. It was a tremendous sign of the bravery within the Ireland team that they were able to get themselves into a scoring position after Stephen Jones had secured what he presumed was a match-winning drop goal.

Even after O’Gara’s intervention, Wales could have won the match. However, teams which are low on confidence forget how to win matches. Ireland have forgotten how to lose. On Saturday they won a game which in truth could have gone either way.

The most important component in sport is the mind. The “psychology of winning” is a subject that has enthralled those involved in sport for decades. In 1998 I travelled to Paris, after Brian Ashton had resigned as coach, with the bookies predicting a landslide victory for France and humiliation for Ireland. Ireland lost that game by two points, conceding a try in the last three minutes. The fear of being hammered drove the players to unprecedented heights. Wales were in a similar position on Saturday.

On the other hand, Ireland were not as focused as usualnormal, despite publicly denying any over-confidence. Nowhere was this more evident than in Ireland’s defensive application. All season we have lauded the improvements in their defensive organisation, which had restricted our previous three opponents to one try in the championship. Effective defence relies on good communication and total concentration, but the mindset of some of the Irish players resulted in a number of missed tackles and uncharacteristic errors. The only difference between the sides in the first 50 minutes was that Ireland were more clinical in taking their chances. The fact that their tries came in the crucial minutes either side of the half-time break should have been the platform to kill off the Welsh challenge.

For Wales to have any chance, their front five had to perform. While many countries are working towards the World Cup in October, Wales picked a front five looking no further than five o’clock on Saturday afternoon. The recall of veteran hooker Jonathan Humphries to the captaincy, and Garth Llewellyn, who won his first cap 14 years ago, to the second row, were designed to inject more steel into the Welsh pack. It had the desired effect.

Ireland’s scrum was in serious trouble all afternoon. The concession of a number of penalties in this area will be a source of worry to the management in the build-up to Sunday’s game. Without this platform our back row spent the day on the back foot.

The lineout was our saving grace. Ireland currently boasts the most productive lineout in the Championship and was equally effective in pressurising the Welsh throw. Their efficiency in this phase of play was ultimately responsible for winning the match.

The regularity with which the ball was kicked away to the opposition was another disappointing feature of Ireland’s play. Ireland has potentially its best attacking set of backs since the Triple Crown brigade of 1985. Yet the likes of O’Driscoll, Hickie and Murphy were afforded precious few attacking opportunities on Saturday.

At full-back, Geordan Murphy once again provided a mixed bag of tricks. His ability to fix two defenders in putting Keith Gleeson in for his second try was textbook stuff. Unfortunately his attempted tackle on Stephen Jones in the corner when scoring his try will only encourage questions about his defence skills. However, his attacking flair guarantees him a place in the side.

So now we are eighty minutes away from a prize that has eluded successive Ireland teams for 55 years. It is a tribute to the side that they have arrived in this position without reaching their true potential in the championship to date. On the basis of their respective performances over the weekend, England will be slight favourites, even in Dublin. This will suit Ireland.

I am quite sure that the team management will think long and hard about the composition of the side to face England over the next few days. Assuming that Victor Costello and Gary Longwell are fit, I think both will be re-introduced to the side. Certainly Costello’s ball-carrying ability was missed on Saturday, an omission further compounded by an injury to Anthony Foley. From a scrummaging perspective, I suspect that Longwell’s power in the second row was missed. However, both Cullen and Donnacha O’Callaghan made positive contributions.

The selection of out-half will be crucial. The fact that Ronan O’Gara was only introduced because David Humphreys was suffering from cramp would suggest that Humphreys will play against England. While O’Gara is lacking recent game time for this level of football I feel his range of skills are better suited to tackle the English.

To beat Clive Woodward’s side, we must trust our backs and not kick the ball away to the likes of Robinson, Lewsey and Cohen.

Either way, it is going to be a massive call.

Talk of England and Grand Slams was banned in the Irish camp for the last two weeks. There will be no such luxury over the next six days. We can thank Ronan O’Gara for that.