All Blacks won’t be losing any sleep
The quality of the championship as a whole was very disappointing, with massed rugby league style defences dominating.
The fact that France won the honours outright without ever reaching anything like their true potential must be a concern for the other competing sides. The absence of Yannick Jauzion in the centre for the entire tournament had a far greater effect on their attacking potential than one would have thought.
Given the overall emphasis on defence, it was fitting that the two sides that scored the most tries - France with 18 and Ireland with 12 - collected the silverware. England also managed 12 tries, but six of these came in their opening day victory over Wales. Their form thereafter slipped alarmingly, failing to score any tries against Scotland or France.
With just 18 months to the World Cup, New Zealand and South Africa will hardly be quaking in their boots at the standards set in this year’s northern hemisphere showpiece.
With the RWC being played in France and with a full summer lead in to the kick off in September 2007, I suspect that Bernard Laporte’s team will still have a major say in the destiny of the Webb Ellis Cup. At present, the French players are forced to play a massive amount of rugby. This also impacts on their preparation. That situation will change in the four months prior to next year’s event.
From an Irish perspective, winning four out of five in this year’s tournament will add significantly to the self-belief within the squad. The core of Ireland’s Six Nations panel has now been together for six years and their experience and age profile looks spot on for 2007.
More importantly, this squad has developed a mental strength that separates them from many Irish sides in the past. As a result of below par performances in the autumn and the opening two Six Nations games, the team and management were subjected to severe scrutiny. Yet they got on with the task in hand. This resilience manifested itself in the closing minutes last Saturday when Ronan O’Gara, Brian O’Driscoll and Peter Stringer manufactured Ireland’s winning score for Shane Horgan.
In many respects it reminded me of the Australian attitude when they were staring at defeat in the quarter final of the 1991 World Cup after Gordon Hamilton’s memorable try. On that occasion, Michael Lynagh calmly told his troops behind the posts after conceding that score exactly what needed to be done to score the winning try. With seconds remaining, David Campese famously scored and Australia advanced to win the World Cup.
It is imperative that Ireland now take that new found belief on their demanding summer tour for the three test series against New Zealand (twice) and Australia. A test win on Southern Hemisphere soil is the next stage in the squad’s development.
Of even more significance to Ireland’s future was the comprehensive victory of the A team in Gloucester on Friday night (33-18). These A internationals are crucial. The decision to select all the promising young players at this level was fully justified.
Tomas O’Leary, Robert Kearney, Ian Dowling, Barry Murphy, Jamie Heaslip, Kieran Lewis and Shane Jennings were all blooded this season. One hopes that Ireland will soon have even more players pushing for full international honours. With only 18 players used in the five championship matches, Ireland desperately need more options off their bench with the World Cup fast approaching.
While their senior counterparts are touring this summer, an A squad will play in the Churchill Cup in America and Canada against quality opposition including the New Zealand Maoris. While resources will be fully stretched, the long term benefits justify the risk.
The biggest losers in this year’s Six Nations championship were the reigning Grand Slam holders Wales. If the debacle surrounding the departure of Mike Ruddock finally derailed them, it was the loss of so many players to injury beforehand that led to their undoing. Of the team that lined out against France last weekend, only six played in the championship decider against Ireland last season. The demands of the Lions tour certainly hit them more than any other country.
The success story of the championship was Scotland’s achievement in winning three games for the first time since 1999. The fact that two of them were against France and England shattered the predictable pattern of previous seasons. The limited nature of their game plan finally came unstuck in Lansdowne Road and the fact that they only scored five tries in the entire championship highlights the area that needs most urgent attention.
The unluckiest side in the tournament were Italy. From the moment they opened the campaign with a positive performance against Ireland they demonstrated their ability to compete. For 60 minutes in Paris, they asked serious questions of the French and were decidedly unlucky not to record victories against Wales and Scotland. In Mirco Bergamasco, they had one of the best backs in the competition and their forwards created major problems for every opposition.
It was fitting that Shane Horgan scored the winning try on Saturday, as he was Ireland’s back of the tournament, with Paul O’Connell the most influential player. The award for the best newcomer sits comfortably on the shoulders of Jerry Flannery. Andrew Trimble also made a positive impression since his elevation post Paris. At some stage I would love to see him switch with Gordon D’Arcy and have an opportunity of playing alongside Brian O’Driscoll in the centre.
One of the saddest moments of the tournament for me was the sight of Lawrence Dallaglio confined to his exercise bike on the sideline last Saturday. The number of times he looked forlornly towards Andy Robinson, yearning for some game time was humiliating. Dallaglio is an outstanding player and individual. He deserved better.
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