Ireland needed earlier bench-press

NOT FOR the first time, an Irish touring party has departed New Zealand without the rewards of test victory. That said, in the context of a two test series, none have done better.

With all the other home countries completing their Southern Hemisphere turn this weekend, Ireland now face the unenviable task of travelling to Perth to face a rejuvenated Australian side.

If the Irish players were disappointed with the outcome of the first test, then they have every right to feel even more gutted by Saturday’s defeat. In many respects, the Auckland performance was even better than that in Hamilton. The character shown in turning a 17-0 deficit into 20-14 at the break says everything you need to know about the belief and resilience of this team.

Unfortunately, modern rugby is a 22-man game. All too often Ireland are attempting to defy the odds by relying on the starting 15 for practically the entire game. For the second week in a row, the failure to introduce fresh legs off the bench entering the final quarter proved costly. Whether or not it would have resulted in an Ireland victory, we will never know. Quite what the point is in handing out caps with only minutes remaining escapes me. It is impossible for any player to make a positive impact at that stage.

Ireland’s effort in reaching half-time only six points in arrears was remarkable in the context of the 75% possession and territory the All Blacks enjoyed in the opening half hour.

The selection of Jerome Kaino and Troy Flavell from the start ensured a more secure lineout platform to add to their already impressive scrum. The New Zealand forwards were totally dominant in the opening sequences. Indeed they did a “Munster” when new loose head Clarke Dermody scored from a close in lineout maul for his side’s second try — even if referee Jonathan Kaplan missed a knock-on from Chris Jack in the build-up.

ONE OF the crucial differences between the sides was New Zealand’s core skills in the atrocious weather conditions. Their handling, in particular, was of a superior quality to Ireland’s and all too often Brian O’Driscoll’s men, in an effort to keep ball in hand, made too many unforced errors. As a consequence, New Zealand secured a number of turnovers, which eluded them last week.

For Ireland to have any chance of creating history, it was imperative that they hold New Zealand in the crucial period after the resumption. Not only did they do that but defied the odds in keeping their hosts scoreless until the 70th minute. An early second-half penalty by Ronan O’Gara succeeded in reducing the deficit to three points.

At this stage the Irish forwards were magnificent, dominating the All Blacks out of touch where, once again, hooker Kevin Mealamu was less than assured with his throwing. After such a long and arduous campaign with Munster and Ireland, it was incredible that Paul O’Connell, Donnacha O’Callaghan, Denis Leamy and Jerry Flannery still managed to produce a highly competitive and aggressive performance. Their efforts deserved more.

In defence, the midfield of O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy was superb and frustrated the New Zealand combination of Aaron Mauger and Casey Laulala.

For the second consecutive week, Graham Henry introduced fresh legs from the bench, this time in the form of Greg Rowlinson, Craig Newby and Nia Tialata. Inevitably, this took its toll on the visitors and when Luke McAlister scored under the posts for a seven pointer, victory for the home side was assured. The introduction of Mick O’Driscoll and Bryan Young after the concession of that score, proved too little too late.

Ireland now face another daunting challenge against an Australian team fresh from scoring 77 points against a very poor England outfit over the last two weekends.

Ireland are still chasing a first test victory down under against one of the major Tri Nations sides since 1979. All indications are that Eddie O’Sullivan will field yet another unchanged side with a view to rectifying that record. To do so would be an opportunity lost.

With the World Cup fast approaching, we are still no closer to unearthing the crucial back-up to O’Gara, Peter Stringer, Marcus Horan and John Hayes. In that context, it may be more beneficial to expose Isaac Boss and Bryan Young to the rigours of international rugby from the start and see how they fare. The announcement of the side in Perth next Tuesday will offer a clear indication of O’Sullivan’s thinking.

In the short term, one can derive much satisfaction from two excellent performances in the most demanding test arena of all. If success cannot be achieved, respect is the least one aspires to. Ireland have earned that in spades.