No quick fixes for Ireland but Six Nations still a 'viable competition'

The idea is that Scott Bemand and Ireland sift through this “intel”, discarding what’s not required and utilizing the nuggets that can fast-forward their journey back up rugby’s ladder

VIABLE COMPETITION: Head Coach Scott Bemand in Ireland training. Pic Credit: Morgan Treacy, Inpho.

After the massacre the search for meaning. Parse it and boil it any you want but Ireland’s 88-10 Six Nations loss to England in Twickenham last Saturday was a sobering occasion for more than just the players and coaches involved or their fans.

This was England’s largest points total in a single Championship match since they hit Scotland for 89 at the same venue way back in 2011.

And it adds weight to the argument that this competition’s goose is cooked in its present state.

Only France can stop England now from securing a sixth straight Grand Slam and the auguries aren’t great for a home win in Bordeaux this weekend.

A two-tier competition dominated by the Channel rivals looks in danger of becoming a one-horse race.

John Mitchell’s England have scored 228 points in their four games to date. Their 38 tries is almost double the amount of total points they have conceded.

The question has to be asked: is this thing still a going concern?

“Do I think it’s a viable competition? Yes, I do,” said Ireland head coach Scott Bemand yesterday.

“People and the media generally want quick fixes for things. There’s investment going in, there’s focus being put on it.

“We said after the game last weekend, that arena and that atmosphere is something that our players have to learn.

"Now we’ve got that under our belt and come through, and we’re not derailed, we’ve reviewed it, we’ve parked it, we go forward.”

It is, said Bemand, their “job” to close the gap. He would say all that, of course, but if Ireland are to claw back some of this lost ground then a man who spent almost a decade on the England coaching staff should have a few useful ideas as to how it might be done.

Bemand shared memories of his early days with England when the players were teachers and firefighters and juggling all those jobs with Six Nations camps.

There were sessions at Bath University with half-a-dozen players puttering away as best they could. And look at them now, was the part he left unsaid.

The idea is that Bemand and Ireland sift through this “intel”, discarding what’s not required and utilizing the nuggets that can fast-forward their journey back up rugby’s ladder and to a point where they are a competitive force again at the very top level.

“There’s bits and pieces that we can put in place that can, not shortcut it, but avoid going around the houses looking for the answers. If we know where the north star is, we can get there in the most direct route possible.”

Some parts of the jigsaw are already on the table, he feels. The IRFU have belatedly put some of those around the squad and there was a prediction that the maligned Celtic Challenge will mushroom in quality and importance going forward.

We’ll see.

It’s all a hard sell with Twickenham’s horror show still fresh in the mind.

“An example I used and, I apologise, from an England group, but Jonny Wilkinson’s first tour with England, they lost 79-0 to Australia. In a couple of years, he was back there winning a World Cup.

“What our journey looks like after this [remains to be seen], but we know that we can learn and it has been evidenced before that people can learn from these environments and go on to get better and better.”

Whatever about the long-term, the immediate challenge is overcoming Scotland in the Kingspan Stadium this Saturday and hoping it is enough to secure a third-place finish in the table and secure the place in next year’s World Cup that comes with it.

Co-captain Sam Monaghan has declared herself fit and in the running for a second row spot. That leaves hooker Sarah Delaney as the only member of the squad unavailable for a tie against a side that has won twice and lost just 15-5 to the French.

“They rattled France in that game. Brian Easson's been coaching them for a good while. I've had many a battle with him. Their attack coach, Matt Banahan, I played for a couple of years at Bath with him. We can see some bits in their game that we would say are known to us.

“They're well organised and they're going to keep coming. It's going to be a great game, but we're really confident in our preparation, our identity and what we're trying to do. Hopefully put a winning performance out there.”