No point looking back in anger

IRELAND have had to absorb painful lessons over the course of the last four weeks and it remains to be seen if recent events will sharpen their World Cup appetite for battle or kill their enthusiasm for the fight.

Losing all four warm-up games was never on the agenda and not something anyone anticipated. Having finished the season as Europe’s highest ranked side (fourth), Ireland have now plummeted to eighth in the IRB rankings. In addition, of the squad selected only a week ago, David Wallace has already been lost to the cause while Tommy Bowe, Rob Kearney, Brian O’Driscoll, Sean O’Brien, Jerry Flannery, Cian Healy, Gordon D’Arcy and Jamie Heaslip are either short on game time or carrying an injury. That has to be a serious concern.

The type of intensity generated by Australia and New Zealand last weekend has been developed over the course of a long hard season. Now the challenge facing Declan Kidney and the Irish side is how to set about matching that intensity when they face the Wallabies in less than three weeks time.

When the Irish squad sit down to review the events of recent weeks they will see that a failure to capitalise on point-scoring opportunities against France and England cost them dearly. When playing against opposition of that calibre it is imperative to score when the opportunity comes.

That was evident in Bordeaux when Ronan O’Gara opted against going for the corner despite being in the ascendancy with Ireland trailing by a point. Unfortunately he missed the kick but it was the right option at the time.

This was in marked contrast to events of the last two weekends in Dublin when eminently kickable penalty opportunities were wasted in favour of quick taps or kicks to the corner. In those instances, Ireland failed to register any points. Not only that but in both games the opposition were energised even further by their defensive efforts in keeping their tryline intact.

One hopes those lessons have been absorbed.

While Ireland can afford to be more flexible in their approach in their opening game of the World Cup against USA on Sunday week, on the evidence of what Australia produced in Brisbane, Declan Kidney’s men will have to take every scoring chance against the Wallabies and ensure Australia are pinned in their own half for the duration of the contest.

Over the course of all these recent warm-up or Tri-Nations tests the fortunes of the respective teams have fluctuated from week-to-week. South Africa looked in disarray in early August but may have salvaged enough from their win over New Zealand in Port Elizabeth to get them back on track for their key opening World Cup clash against Wales.

After losing their opening game in Twickenham, Warren Gatland’s men have been galvanised by their back to back victories over England and Argentina but face a massive physical test against the Springboks.

Only a few short weeks ago the Wallabies looked down and out when they failed to match the physicality of the All Blacks, losing 30-14 in Eden Park. Robbie Deans absorbed those lessons and beefed up his pack, with the introduction of Dan Vickerman and Radike Samo. The question now is whether the Australians will be able to generate that type of manic physical commitment against opposition other than New Zealand. They tend to go one way or another as their passive loss to Samoa demonstrated. Recent Irish results will hardly have them quaking in their boots and that could well serve the Irish cause.

England’s poor showing in that defeat against Wales in Cardiff has seen a shift in Martin Johnson’s thinking with Jonny Wilkinson afforded the opportunity to pull the strings at out half over Toby Flood. The Leicester man was in pole position in the Six Nations until he lost his way in Dublin and Wilkinson has seized his chance.

Johnson has also finally recognised that Shontayne Hape is far from the finished article at inside centre while 20-year old Manu Tuilagi has transformed their midfield attack with two tries in his first two tests. How Ireland could do with some inspiration of that nature at present.

Johnson has been slow to absorb the lessons unfolding in front of him — the persistence with Steve Borthwick in the second row and captain in his first few seasons being a case in point. Since he rectified that error, England have made significant strides. No doubt he will absorb recent evidence a lot quicker. Tuilagi is here to stay and could well emerge as one of the stars of the World Cup.

Australia apart, the biggest winners in recent weeks have been the French who, despite picking two completely different sides, accounted for Ireland on successive weekends far easier than the scorelines suggest.

France’s journey since losing to Italy in Rome only six months ago has been eventful; given their facility to produce at least one exquisite performance at every World Cup, they have somehow managed to put themselves back in the mix. New Zealand will certainly view them with caution in the pool stages in Auckland.

Ireland should take heart from the French experience. Things can turn around quickly and Ireland are a far superior side to the model we have seen in action in recent weeks. All their hard work and gruelling match schedule must pay some dividend and the players should keep their heads focused on what lies ahead rather than what has gone before. With a squad crammed with Grand Slam, Heineken Cup and Magners League winners, this group know what is required to get over the line. Now is the time to start drawing on that reservoir of achievement and self-belief.