Ireland’s Indispensibles
It serves to deepen the regret that a Grand Slam is not on the agenda after that heart breaking defeat by France a fortnight earlier. The damage caused by one split-second lapse in concentration.
Is talk of a serious challenge for the World Cup bordering on absurdity? It’s not an entirely unrealistic prospect after the blitz of the holders although it is essential that four or five key men are fully fit at the right time. For now, though nobody could be blamed for revelling in a thirty-point thrashing of England that set a whole host of new records.
The high points? It’s impossible to know where to start but for me it was the sight of the Irish scrum that had been mocked in certain quarters a short few days previously, giving the opposition a thundering Céad Mile Fáilte to Croke Park.
The manner in which Marcus Horan, Rory Best and John Hayes forced Perry Freshwater, George Chuter and Phil Vickery to buckle at a scrum near their own line was paramount in the creation of the second Irish try by the outstanding David Wallace.
There were many instances of same, and Horan, the target of swingeing criticism in the English media, made a point in the most magnificent fashion.
Furthermore, Paul O’Connell was back to his rampaging best. Although fortunate to gain the man-of-the-match award with so many others queuing up for the honour, he was immense. Once this mighty man leads by example the opposition had better watch out.
As for Ronan O’Gara, he turned in yet another herculean performance. No try this time, but he contributed 21 points from eight out of eight successful shots at goal and a wondrous cross kick for Shane Horgan’s try that has already become the stuff of legend. Comparisons are odious and unfair but all things considered, O’Gara put Jonny Wilkinson in the shade on this occasion.
However, it would be wrong to believe Ireland are now the finished article. As the French defeat demonstrated, they simply cannot afford injuries to four or five key players. On that occasion, they were unable to adequately replace Brian O’Driscoll and Peter Stringer. Worse again, imagine the plight they’d be in if anything happened to O’Gara, who on his current form is not just achieving his stated desire of being regarded as rugby’s second best out-half but actually challenging New Zealand’s Dan Carter for the ultimate accolade.
Isaac Boss made a fair fist of the scrum-half job against France but lacks the crispness of pass of Stringer. It mightn’t always appear so but that is a vital ingredient of the role of a number nine, all the more so because of the quality of the Irish back line and the necessity for getting the ball wide as quickly as possible.
And if it’s vital to keep this magnificent, long-term half-back partnership intact, very much the same applies to other areas of the team, most notably the front-row.
“Our front five have taken a fair bit of stick, especially at scrum time”, observed Eddie O’Sullivan. “We’re three matches into the championship now and the scrum has been a strength of our game. Our forwards coach Niall O’Donovan has done a great job. It’s great to prove people wrong, when people say you can’t do it and then you go out and do it, there’s a great sense of satisfaction”.
No sooner had the coach uttered those words than he added: “We won’t take anything for granted. The minute you take anything for granted in this game, it will slip back on you. That’s the key. The scrum is one aspect of the Six Nations that has improved more than anything. There’s more work to be done, of course, but it’s on the right track.”
Wise words indeed and again there’s the worry that should injury intervene, then the lack of cover is all too apparent. Other props have been tried in less important games and on tour. Bryan Young of Ulster springs to mind and it was good to at last see Hayes given a breather and replaced by Simon Best after 70 minutes. But does anybody believe that Young and Best could do a job for the whole game like Horan and Hayes have been doing?
It’s good to have a surfeit of talent in any sector of your side and O’Sullivan has to be happy with his back-row options. He is elated at the form of David Wallace — of whose qualities he hasn’t always been convinced — and Denis Leamy, but he has a dilemma at six in deciding between Simon Easterby and Neil Best. That said, what coach wouldn’t be happy at having such a talented group of players at their disposal, all the more so given that he has a whole host of players like Keith Gleeson, Jamie Heaslip Alan Quinlan, Stephen Keogh, Shane Jennings and Roger Wilson in the mix.
The same applies to Geordan Murphy, sure to recover his true form sooner rather than later. These are golden day for Irish rugby as a World Cup looms. However, we’re all on our knees praying that Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer and John Hayes remain free of injury — few if any can step into the illustrious boots of this particular quartet.
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