Silly mistakes have cost us another Slam

Declan Kidney’s side have produced several flashes of brilliance in their last four games but unfortunately these moments have been eclipsed by too many sequences of mediocrity.

It has been yet another frustrating championship and we are left wondering what could have been if only Ireland had eliminated these lapses in form and concentration.

There is no gap in talent between the Welsh and the Irish teams and yet Warren Gatland is odds on to lead his side to yet another Grand Slam this weekend. In stark contrast, Ireland take to the field at Twickenham bidding to restore pride and little else.

Kidney always has tended to select players for their mental capabilities as well as their physical attributes. He likes smart players and he will undoubtedly select somebody who can think their way through a game ahead of an athlete any day.

In his time in Munster there were several players who came on the scene with the reputation of being a formidable speedster or brutish ball-carrier. But Kidney would also zone in on their abilities in terms of reading a game and decision-making.

Kidney also devolves a lot of the decision-making from the management team. He likes to empower players and while Mervyn Murphy, the Irish video analyst, always thoroughly scrutinises the upcomingopposition for defensive frailties and attacking threats, the front line troops are often allowed to figure out for themselves the most suitable game plan. Kidney doesn’t want automatons on his team. He wants players who can choose to revert to a plan B if plan A goes out the window.

But in this campaign Ireland’s lack of concentration and inability to adapt in key moments have been their undoing.

If Ireland learned anything from their quarter-final defeat in the Rugby World Cup, it’s that you don’t stand back off the Welsh. George North, Jonathan Davies and Jamie Roberts are big men, who relish open space. If your defensive line hangs back, these players will punish you. But Ireland’s championship opener was doomed as a result of a lethargic line speed. There is no way that Les Kiss gave the instruction to offer up the momentum to the Welsh ball-carriers. It was the players’ lack of mental urgency that conceded the valuable ground and cost them the game, not Wayne Barnes’ ridiculous late penalty.

Since that sickening defeat, the Irish line has displayed the requisite intensity and have cut down the opposition attack before it gains a yard. Stephen Ferris, Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble have blitzed opponents before they’ve had a chance to control the incoming pass. Ireland’s defence has improved immeasurably since the Welsh loss but the lacklustre line should have been corrected early in the first half of that tie, not afterwards.

The French game could have been one of Ireland’s greatest victories. The Irish defence was a weapon that earned them seven points early on. However, lapses in concentration cost them dearly. Paul O’Connell felt as if they had lost after the game, which is understandable considering the surrender of an 11-point half-time lead. The key moments that decided the draw were all down to unforced errors. An innocuous-looking French attack resulted in a Wesley Fofana try because some Irish defenders flew out of the line in a desperate attempt at a fly-hack. When Ireland had a lineout on the French line, Rory Best misfired. In the build up to a potential drop-goal, Gordon D’Arcy fumbled.

Last Saturday, Ireland showed some of the form required to become the best team in the northern hemisphere. We have learned a few things about the Irish in this championship. Rob Kearney has been in sparkling form. The Aviva came to life whenever he touched the ball, and he lived up to the crowd’s anticipation, producing searing breaks through the middle of the Scottish line.

Stephen Ferris has been a beast in defence and has been Ireland’s leading forward but he is ably backed up by Donnacha Ryan and Peter O’Mahony. We also saw that Ireland can survive the absence of both Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell, if only just. And we’ve learned that Anthony Foley’s influence has a positive output. But the most frustrating thing is that we still haven’t learned whether this Irish team can live up to its true potential.

If Ireland had played anyway near their capabilities in this championship it would be us, not the Welsh, heading for the Grand Slam today.