IRELAND’S LINE-OUT HAS been highlighted as one of the areas where they let themselves down last season, and it’s hard to argue with that belief.
While the numbers weren’t as poor as one might have expected in terms of completion rate, it was clear to see that the set piece was not running smoothly for Ireland. New forwards coach John Plumtree is the man in charge of bringing about improvements in this aspect of Ireland’s play.
The Kiwi has been focusing on stripping the line-out right down to its most basic level and nailing those aspects. There will be no major shift in system or calling, but rather a focus on individuals performing more competently within that structure.
In last season’s Six Nations, Ireland were successful with 83% of their own throws, some way off Italy’s 92% but better than Scotland and France. The opposition competed 48% of the time on Ireland’s throw and the fact that only Wales were faced with a greater percentage of challenges demonstrates that the other nations felt Ireland were ripe for picking off.
On the opposition throw, Ireland managed to steal 15% of possession and had a high rate of competing for steals at the line-out. Scotland led the field in this area, managing to rob 21% of their opponents’ throws. The figures are certainly not as poor as might have been expected of Ireland.
Looking back to the 2012 Six Nations, Ireland were easily the worst line-out team in the competition, winning just 78% of their own throws and pilfering 14% of the opposition ball. In a numerical sense, last season was actually an improvement for Ireland but clearly our aspirations are higher than that.
Joe Schmidt’s preferred playing style is reliant on clean first phase possession, so any repeats would be unacceptable. Plumtree is hopeful that his demand for concentration on the basics will bring about visible improvements.
Rory Best's throwing will be crucial at the line-out. ©INPHO/Billy Stickland.
"I did have a look at some of those line-outs and quite often it's not about the line-outs, its about an individual in the line-out. Whether it's a poor lift, a poor jump or a poor throw that the lineout breaks down, so just trying to go back to the basics really and making sure everyone performs their role accurately in the lineout, so the lineout has a great opportunity to be successful.
"That is one of the keys. You forget at this level that you can forget about those basics. We have spent a lot of time talking about those basics and practising them.
"They have already their line-outs up their sleeves and they have already have a lot of experience, these guys. So they know what they want to do but it is making sure that every action becomes a habit and not a poor lift or a poor jump. That has probably been our main focus."
In terms of Plumtree's specific work with the forwards, the New Zealander does admit that he would have liked a little more time to work on certain aspects of their play. Generally too, Ireland have been restricted in the amount of training they have done over the last two weeks but Plumtree is happy overall.
I think we have maximised our time really nicely. We have been focused on also giving the players some some downtime, some rest time to build that energy because obviously they have come from pretty hectic provincial schedules. We are trying to find that balance.
"You would always want more time. You always feel like you need more time and always like to do a bit more. That has been one of the things we have been concerned about, but saying that this week has been really good because the intensity of the sessions have gone up.
"Trainings have been pretty physical. I think the players really enjoyed it. They have been pretty competitive. So, they get a bit of a break [today] and regroup Thursday to wrap it all up."
That final training session is likely to include a few more line-outs for Rory Best and co. but all at the most basic levels.
