If you're a “glass half empty” type person, you're likely to be pretty pissed off at Ireland's second World Cup warmup defeat in a row.
If you're a “glass half full” type person, you're likely to be raving over things like the fact we were able to claw our way back to within a point of the French, as well as things like the meteoric rise from Munster Academy to full Test rugby of Conor Murray.
But if, like me, you're a “stop debating how much is in the bloody glass and just drink it” type person, you're likely to be looking back over this performance in Bordeaux and working out what it tells us about Ireland's chances of reaching at very least the World Cup semifinals.
True, last week, the Murrayfield result annoyed me. But now, although you could say we have three matches left to prepare, given two of them are being played in three days, it really can be said that we have but 160 minutes left of gametime before the chosen 30 get on that plane.
Before I go on, I'll remind you where I'm coming from. What I want most from this World Cup is to see Ireland reach the final four. Of course, I want us to win it thereafter, but I'm talking about the mindset of the squad going into the tournament. Merely getting out of the pool isn't enough for me.
So to have that mindset, we need to approach the Australia match like we feel we can win it. And to do that, we need to be harsh in our criticism.
Now – when he announced his team for Bordeaux, Declan Kidney spoke of “trying combinations”. So since that was the thought that went into the selection & no doubt the tactics, I'll analyse some combinations I reckon failed and should be confined to the bin.
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ROG & a passing game. This isn't an anti-ROG statement. He played well. Slotted most of his kicks. Did some lovely punts into the corner. And since for some reason the French TV director kept choosing his tackling efforts to show in super high-def slo-mo, even his defence wasn't too shabby either. BUT – when we eventually started to win possession on Saturday night, it was clear that he was trying to run a Sexton-style offence. And by jaysus, was he putting some zip into those passes! Yet the moves were getting us nowhere. Not because there's anything wrong with him. It's just not his game. When he was forced to kick in the early stages, and when he chose to in the latter ones, we had positive results. So let's not get him doing things that go against his DNA!
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Leo & DOC in second row. They were wearing 4 & 5 but they played at 6s and 7s. And I don't just mean in the lineouts. They're not in synch with each other and one thing I feel we learned is that they're a bad pairing. So even if Hooky was talking nonsense saying Leo shouldn't travel, maybe it could be argued that whoever Kidney chooses between these to start with POC down under should be out of the matchday 22 altogether.
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Irish forwards & lineouts. Sadly, this isn't a combination that can be ditched. It needs to be sorted PRONTO. I'll leave it to bloggers more qualified than I when it comes to the technical points, but I do know enough about it to say that a lineout is a machine with cogs that need to run smoothly just as much as a scrum is, and ours is failing at every stage – the call, the throw, the lift, the jump. Three first half losses in a row on our throw to each of our three jumpers proves the need for a trip back to the drawing board.
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Mushy & the Irish front row. Like I said before, it's a time for some harsh calls. Our scrum was fine, Buckley came on, our scrum was not fine. Sure, he was on his less favoured side, but assuming Healy & Ross are our starting props, we can only pick one more in the matchday 22, so we need the replacement to cover both sides, Mushy clearly can't do that, so he should start against Connacht on Thursday then be allowed return to Sale for pre-season training.
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Luke Fitzgerald & starting. This needs to be said in my opinion. As things stand right now, Luke should not start for Ireland against Australia. And although he wasn't exactly a liability, he WAS outplayed by Andrew Trimble against both Scotland and France and thus should be dropped down the pecking order.
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Anyone but Darce/BOD & the Irish centre pairing. I really don't want to bash Paddy Wallace again, because he did do some good things in Bordeaux. Sadly they were always in broken play, and you can't pick an inside centre based on what he does in broken play. Plus the lone French try was a result of a near-identical play that led to Ansbro's try last week – Paddy evaded the blocker this time but couldn't stop the offload to Ireland-killer Vincent Clerc (didn't help that he had Leo Cullen inside him to be fair!). If Darcy needs to be rested until the trip to NZ then someone else needs to be tried at 12 and that someone should be Fergus McFadden. As for Keith Earls, he'd need more time at 13 if he is to be seriously considered to play there in green, and that's time we don't have. After Saturday I wouldn't have minded seeing Trimble tried there, but it's probably too late for that too. At the start of Leinster's Heineken Cup campaign, I noted that their progress heavily relied on Richardt Strauss' fitness. I fear Ireland's World Cup fate may be similarly tied to its captain's.
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Hugh Cahill & the commentary box. May as well end my list with tongue in cheek! But you have to assume that RTE are sizing up their squad for the plane to New Zealand as well. So when Eoin Reddan feeds the ball into the first scrum of the night, and moments later as Irish players then start using the possession the commentator says “Ireland win it against the head”, you have to assume he's damaged his chances. Then again...our national broadcaster is hardly blessed with a wealth of talent at this position.
So there you see some poor combinations I noticed on the night. But of course, it wasn't all bad.
I thought Rob Kearney had a great outing, and provided his niggling injury can heal I reckon we'll be just fine at fullback. And also Felix Jones showed some great innovation in his stead. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod for 15 next Saturday.
As for Conor Murray, well if we're to get a serious look at him, he must start the next match at the Aviva, not Donnybrook. He never had the chance to show what he could do at Test level on Saturday, but he certainly did nothing wrong.
One point I'd like to make about the result. I know it doesn't matter, but although Paul O'Connell steadied the ship perfectly for the pack when he came on, I believe he was wrong to opt for the kick that ROG missed. Not because it was missed, of course – he had been perfect up to then. But momentum was swinging our way and it was an extremely rare opportunity for some possession in their red zone. Kicking allowed the French regroup and from the 22 dropout, they were able to keep us pinned back enough to bring victory home and keep the wolves from their coach's door for the time being.
But you could see from the faces of the French players at full time that they were happy to have beaten Ireland. That's because we are a quality side. And I have every confidence we will show that quality before the World Cup kicks off, starting with victory next Saturday. I called it when the final whistle blew in Bordeaux, and I'm sticking to it now. Hopefully there will be plenty impressive combinations for us to enjoy as well. JLP
