Warning for Ireland: breakdown tactics out

IRELAND have been warned that referee Steve Walsh will not stand for any so-called “cynical” breakdown tactics in their RBS 6 Nations clash with France.

Walsh was running the line at the Millennium Stadium for Ireland’s 19-9 victory over Wales on Sunday and is said to have taken specific note of their approach to the contact area.

Wales claim they were denied a number of try-scoring opportunities, because referee Kelvin Deaker allowed Ireland to repeatedly kill the ball.

Frustrated assistant coach Nigel Davies revealed he had an “informal” chat with Deaker after the game – and that Walsh had vowed to crack down on Ireland when he takes charge at Croke Park on Saturday.

Davies said: “We put a lot of good stuff together, but it didn’t come to very much because the Irish were allowed to kill the ball in key areas.

“It was one of the areas we made a big issue of in our meeting with the referee before the game.

“Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy, in particular, are very good exponents in the contact area. But in my view, it is quite illegal at times – so we spent a lot of time talking about that.

“The referee did call on a couple of occasions for Irish players to move away – but when they didn’t move away he didn’t react. I think he must have left his yellow card in the changing room.

“Steve said to one of the coaches after the game that he will be very mindful of that area next week, after seeing Ireland in that first half.”

Davies warned that referees who fail to effectively control the breakdown risk leaving frustrated players with little option but to start digging the ball free with their boots, increasing the risk of a nasty injury.

“The only other alternative is to take the law into your own hands, and we don’t want to be doing that,” said Davies. “That is why the referee has a duty of care.”