A LOT OF the focus of the final two weeks of the Six Nations was on Brian O’Driscoll’s retirement so it was fitting that he went out in style and contributed so much to a great away win.
The bench players, I feel, made a winning impact again but in the end it came to a reversal in fortunes with the All Blacks game. We lost to the world champions as Jonathan Sexton missed a penalty and won last weekend as Jean Marc Doussain shanked his for France.
The Dimitri Szarzewski try should never have been awarded as he lost it forward. Thankfully, it did not end up costing us although there were nervy moments for that Damien Chouly TMO replay at the death. The final pass was clearly forward but there were so many replays. Perhaps referee Steve Walsh was enjoying the sight of himself too much in all those replays.
Looking ahead to the upcoming Tests and next year’s Six Nations, Ireland and England are the two best placed [northern hemisphere] countries. England, for most of the championship, were missing guys like Manu Tuilagi, Ben Foden, Billy Vunipola and Geoff Parling. Ireland, too, had some big players absent. Sean O’Brien, Stephen Ferris and a couple of Lions wingers sat out the show but are all, bar O’Brien, back in action.
The hole Ireland have to fill is the obvious one — No.13. Fergus McFadden is a decent option as he can cover a range of positions but, if you are looking for an out-and-out thirteen, then you have Robbie Henshaw, Darren Cave and Jared Payne. Payne has earned his stripes with Ulster but will have to start from scratch with Ireland. Cave is a big guy with good offloading ability and nice feet but, I feel, the heir apparent is Robbie Henshaw.
Henshaw is big, athletic, fast, has good skills and he reads the game well. From a defensive point of view, as an outside centre, you have to stick your tackles. You can’t be a pushover but the days of the big guys trucking the ball up the field are slowly winding down. You still need that strength — lads like Cave, Tuilagi and Luther Burrell have that — but you need that attacking nous; the ability to be a game-breaker.
Joe Schmidt has obviously seen something he likes in Henshaw and so has O’Driscoll. The ask, however, is a big one. “You’re stepping in for the best player in the world. No pressure bud.”
The tour to Argentina is next on the agenda and Schmidt has a decision to make about what players to take and who to rest at home. I suspect he will take a strong squad with a few fringe lads hoping to get their chance. You can look at it two ways. If you have missed out, or played a bit part, in the Six Nations you will be desperate for a chance to show what you can do. On the other hand, the established guys will not want to give that jersey up. I would expect every player to make themselves available for that Argentinean tour. We’ve seen with the Six Nations and Simon Zebo, it is a case of out of sight, out of mind.
Regardless of what team Joe goes with, the standards and attention to detail will remain incredibly high. He expects a lot of his players and you can imagine that he does not suffer fools gladly or people who are not performing the roles he wants them too.
28 players were used over the last two months but Schmidt will want to introduce several more players to his squad, whether that is on the tour or by inviting them to extended training camps. We have seen with the last three World Cups that there are a rake of injuries before and during the event. Ireland lost Felix Jones and David Wallace before the 2011 [RWC] and Jerry Flannery had to fly home during it. I would imagine that Kieran Marmion will be called up for that tour and Schmidt will want to look at other tight-heads are there are no outstanding candidates behind Mike Ross and Marty Moore.
Revisiting the Six Nations, the greatest pleasure I took from the tournament was Ireland’s ability to adapt their game-plan to win their four games. Wales, for example, had their Plan A and a Plan B that was not too different. Ireland’s ease at adapting on the pitch, to the opponent and the occasion, was the main reason they won the title. They were not just bosh merchants, they could grind it out for large parts of the game, spin it wide, kick tactically when they needed and use their set-piece to set up scores. They were fantastic and I’m sure there is more to come.
@adrianflavin played 159 times for Connacht between 2006 and 2013 and earned two Ireland Wolfhounds caps.
If this comment gets 4000 thumbs up, I’ll donate 40Euro to charity!
Fishing
I donated 40 anyway!
Something else I noticed when watching All Black game back, when Kearney intercepted and ran the length of the pitch for his try one of the big All Black forwards (maybe Hore) chased him the full length of the pitch even though he knew he couldn’t catch him
But even though he couldn’t catch him when Kearney looked he was right there and he had cut the angle off so Kearney couldn’t go place the ball down under or behind the posts
Sexton had to kick conversion from out wide and he missed , so what looked like a lost cause actually was another little detail that went towards New Zealand actually winning in the end
Ever since the Australian game, Kearney is like a man possessed. I was actually a bit intimidated looking at him at the start and during the course of the All Blacks game. Come hell or high water, he was making that break.
Twas kieran reid chasing him. Good point!
I pointed out the same thing here the day after the game. Its the small details like that which make nz so special.
The All Blacks are on another level when it comes to self-belief. They don’t always win, and they have a sketchy recored when it comes to the World Cup. But the whole ethos of being in that team is something Ireland should push for. Joe seems to be bringing some of that to the Irish team. It’s going to be interesting to see that develop over the next 12-18 months.
Agee with most of this but 2 things
1. We didn’t lose to NZ because Johnny sexton missed a kick.
2. Cave is the only 13 playing that position at the minute. So henshaw, Payne and McFadden all need to either start playing there or forget the 13 shirt.
We lost due to Johnny taking a kick knowing his hamstring was at him and not getting someone else to boot it and Conor Murray box kicking possession back to the kiwis instead of playing ball in the final moments. But neither of them are to blame. Teams win and teams lose. The entire team lost not just two players.
Did you watch the game Paul o Grady, After Murray’s box kick, we got the ball back. We gave away a penalty on our half and then they scored. If sexton had kicked that pen, we would have won. The all blacks coach even said so. But you didn’t see the match so you may not have heard that interview.
In any game you stand and fall together, so many things happen that are important and half the time they re not even seen. No one player is responsible for the win or loss.
I agree 100%. Yeah sexton missed a very gettable one but France missed an equally kickable one and we win a 6n. Swings and roundabouts.
Poor article, really tells the reader nothing.
We lost to the world champions because of an aimless kick for absolutely no reason by Conor Murray to the New Zealand back three with 2 minutes to go – instead of retaining possession.
Because the All Black’s back three are renowned for not being able to counter attack from their own 22.
I then stopped reading.
You realise we got the ball back after the murray kick right?
Not only that but we gained forty yards and good possession. Owens gave a very soft penalty against jack mcgrafh on the half way line.abs ran, madigan and kearney missed tackles and the abs won.
We lost because as a team we didn’t finish out the game when we were in front.
No single player was to blame it’s was a very very good team performance and without ever player playing as well as they did we wouldn’t have been in that position in the first place.
Hopefully next time we meet them is in the World Cup semi final and we can go one better this time.
Murray is probable the best box kicking scrum half in Northern hemisphere! The referee made a bad call with that penalty as the ruck was already formed and to call a bridging off penalty on McGrath made no sense! Missed tackles cost us that game in the end and Sextons missed pen didn’t help
Cian – you didn’t understand my point. My point was that if we had retained and controlled possession – instead of kicking it away to the all blacks like that, we would have been in the right end of the park for the last 2 minutes. Murray’s second kick that found touch in their 22 – but gave them the line out – should also not have been taken. Leading the all blacks with 2 minutes to go, there is only one tactic – up Paul O’Connell’s jumper.
The author’s opening remark about it being Jonathan Sexton’s fault was what I was replying to – this was not a stand alone comment or a go at Conor Murray’s ‘kicking game’