Plenty to be getting on with

DESPITE the victory, it was impossible not to feel a sense of disappointment leaving the Aviva Stadium yesterday.

Ireland did everything asked of them against opposition that have always proved difficult to play against. Thank god we don’t have to watch them every week.

Yes, the autumn series of games has been instructive in ways, but it is hard to escape the feeling 10 months out from the World Cup that the big three from the southern hemisphere are that bit ahead of the rest. While they certainly championed the changes in law interpretation, it is also fair to say that New Zealand, Australia and South Africa are far more ruthless and clinical when it comes to exposing weaknesses and punishing opposition shortcomings.

That is why I was left with a slightly empty feeling yesterday. In the opening 40 minutes Ireland did everything right, absorbed all the early set piece pressure that we knew Argentina were going to impose on Brian O’Driscoll’s men and even turned adversity into a plus by defending a series of five-metre scrums after only six minutes.

Argentina rely on the boot and the bludgeon to register points; for Ireland to survive the early scrum assault and also successfully defend a very impressive Argentine line-out maul set the foundation for this victory. Tony Buckley did exceptionally well on the grizzled Stade Francais loose head Rodrigo Roncero, who has destroyed the reputations of many a tight head over the years.

It was very encouraging to see the Irish front row, under siege at times, rising to the challenge and eventually coming out on top in the one area that Argentina would have expected to boss. Their confidence drained as a result. From a creative point of view, however, the Pumas had little or nothing to offer.

By way of contrast in that opening half, Ireland looked likely to score every time they went beyond three phases. The Argentine defence was all over the place and, taking that into consideration, it’s a major disappointment that Ireland only produced one try over the opening 79 minutes of this contest. Had it been any of the southern hemisphere giants, they’d have opened Argentina up. Just look at what Australia did to France when they smelled defensive frailty on Saturday night in Paris.

There were plusses for Ireland, chief among them being the quality of ball carrying on display from Cian Healy, Buckley and the entire back row of David Wallace, Stephen Ferris and Jamie Heaslip. Ferris had his most explosive game since demanding to be selected on the 2009 Lions tour and his power in the contact area was up there with what we saw from the New Zealand back row last week. He now needs to produce this on a more consistent basis.

Sean Cronin was effective in a different way, running the type of sumptuous lines that any quality midfield back would be proud of. His pace offers Ireland all kinds of possibilities, but his lineout work still requires fine-tuning. Once again, Ireland had problems out of touch.

The other area highlighted by the excellence of New Zealand on this tour is the importance of getting your receipt of kick-offs right. The All Blacks have turned re-starts into an art form. Ireland’s were poor yesterday for the second week in a row.

These are the areas that need to be fine-tuned over the next few months. The question that the management must also examine is how Ireland allowed Argentina to dictate the pattern of the game for large period of the second half. To be fair, there was so many infringements at the breakdown that there was no continuity whatsoever in a dreadful second half.

Ireland failed to build on the off-loading pattern that worked so well in the opening half, and spent far too much time defending. That defensive structure and organisation was more than a match for a very poor Argentine three-quarter line that never really threatened the Irish try line.

A bit like when Italy made it the Six Nations, one can’t help the feeling that Argentina could be blown away when they join the Tri Nations tournament in less than two years. The loss of some outstanding backs since that last World Cup in Ignacio Corleto, Augustin Pichot, Juan Martin Hernendez and Manuel Contepomi has severely impacted on their effectiveness behind the scrum, and the next generation are not coming through fast enough. None of their three-quarter line yesterday can secure a starting place in their respective club sides in Leicester, Biarritz or Stade Francais. It shows.

Overall, two wins from four was the minimum expectation from this series for Ireland and there remains that inescapable sense of a golden opportunity missed against the Springboks when, tactically, Ireland played into the visitors’ hands. Declan Kidney was true to his mantra of building a squad, starting 26different players over the course of the four tests and an additional four off the bench.

Valuable international game time has been acquired by a whole range of the younger generation yet none, Cronin apart, has made a serious case for inclusion in February. Of the more established figures, Gordon D’Arcy had an excellent series, Peter Stringer has been reborn and Jonathan Sexton continues his education in managing an international test.

The biggest crime, underlined on a number of occasions yesterday, was the frequency with which Ireland kicked away possession — and badly at that. That has to be addressed along with the requirement to develop a proper counter-attacking game.

Bottom line? Plenty scope for improvement.