Peter O’Mahony: So hard to break teams down

If ever there was a week to symbolise exactly how far Ireland’s national team has come, this is it. 

England in town. Grand Slam on the line for both sides. Ireland on a run of nine straight wins. And still the nitpickers pick. Not just outside camp, but within it, too. Peter O’Mahony was at it in their Kildare lodgings just yesterday.

Let’s be clear first, though. O’Mahony and his buddies couldn’t give a fig about the debate presently swirling around this Six Nations about excessive levels of physicality or the absence of pretty running patterns.

This is a team that trades in processes rather than points, which is why Joe Schmidt and his charges find themselves unbeaten after their opening games against Italy and France but with a check-list of items entitled ‘must-do-better’.

Oiling the attack must be right up there.

“Defences have become very good,” said the Munster captain.

“You look at teams in the Six Nations and there’s a huge amount of line speed there. It’s quite difficult to break teams down the middle now. A lot of it has become analysis-based and trying to find little glitches in what are hugely good defences. They are hugely attritional games.

"We’re staring down the barrel of another one at the weekend. There’s nothing a player can do out there. We’re doing our best. We need to brush up on a few things, our attention to detail and that kind of thing but, trust me, the physicality and attrition out there is hugely high and intense.”

No-one needs convincing of that and yet Ireland entered this Six Nations in much finer fettle than, say, last November’s test window while the list of what could be termed ‘serious’ injuries was distinctly light at yesterday’s briefing.

Jamie Heaslip remains the chief concern given the three fractured vertebrae Pascal Pape left him with two weekends ago, but the Leinster captain was included in an expanded 36-man squad named yesterday despite initial fears that his tournament was over.

Team manager Mick Kearney explained the visit to Cardiff to play Wales on March 14 is still a doable date for the number eight, but added that it was simply too early to say with any clarity what progress he is likely to make.

Still, the very fact he has been retained on-site with the Ireland squad — as opposed to the quartet of Kieran Marmion, Robbie Diack, James Cronin and Nathan White, who have been released for rehab back to their provinces — seems to be a positive.

“The Irish medics want to have him in, want to have a good look at him and to see what work they can do with him throughout the week,” said Kearney by way of explanation.

“See how he progresses. The injury itself is … diagnosed as a soft tissue injury. I’m not sure exactly what movement Jamie will be able to do during the week. We will just have to wait and see but at this moment there is no firm timing in terms of when he will be able to train and play again.”

That aside, there seems little on the injury front to concern Schmidt who added Ulster’s Roger Wilson and Munster’s Billy Holland to his squad, bringing the total number of players to 36, as he prepares for the weekend.

Tommy O’Donnell did suffer a concussion playing for Munster at the weekend, but is observing return-to-play protocols and is expected to be available for Sunday’s game when he will likely take his place on the bench.

So will Iain Henderson, who is expected to train fully this week despite suffering from a dead leg and some knee bruising, while Richardt Strauss is another who will contribute to the max in the run-up after completing his own return-to-play observation period.

All told, then, positive missives on which to start the week.

RBS 6 Nations

England V Ireland

Sunday: Aviva Stadium, 3pm

TV: Live on RTE2, BBC1