The
reason every Irish fan remembers the Georgia match from the 2007
campaign is that they came within a whisker of beating us.
So
it should follow that since we put nine tries past the Russians, the
match should be very quickly forgotten. This of course, makes things
very difficult for a blogger trying to do a writeup of the match for
posterity!
Sure,
I could go through each of the five-pointers one by one and that would fill
out the post nicely. But I reckon I should let the professional
journos handle that one. Instead I'd like to go fishing for what
Ireland can actually take from this game going into the business end
of this tournament.
Because
although I believe that there were several mistakes around the pitch
from Ireland, that's for the coaches to sort out during the week. We
have what could well be essentially a knockout fixture in Dunedin
next week, and all we should be interested in now is how we go
forward with that.
So
as far as this match is concerned, let me make it clear that we won
comfortably and with that in itself I am extremely happy.
Now
if it's individual ratings of players you want from me, you'll see them over on The Rugby Blog.
But
one thing I will say here is that it was heartening to see such
determined displays from the majority of players who wouldn't be
expecting to feature in any more of Declan Kidney's starting lineups
like Paddy Wallace, Fergus McFadden, Andrew Trimble and particularly
Isaac Boss. Tony Buckley, on the other hand, not so mush - and
that's not a typo.
One
thing I believe we did learn in this match is that Ronan O'Gara
should probably start against Italy.
***I'll
give Leinster fans a second or two to go off and tweet me asking if
I've lost the leave of my senses...All done? Thanks. ***
Now
– by that, I don't mean that ROG has “won” a “battle”
between our two out-halves as the media, nay even the man himself,
would like to portray it.
O'Gara
had acres of space against Russia, and used it to nigh-on perfection.
No doubt Sergio Parisse & co won't be so forthcoming, but I
believe the aggression Nick Mallett's men will have to bring to the
table will come at a cost for them, and when it comes to kicking
penalties from the tee, not even the truest blue Leinster fan can
deny the cold hard stats from this World Cup.
He may have hit the post with one conversion (he told Brendan Fanning : “I missed one after I fell in love with myself when kicking one from the touchline so I can’t do that again.”), but the two from the corners were hit so effortlessly that the manufacturers of the ball should be offering him a sponsorship deal by way of thanks for taking the heat off them!
He may have hit the post with one conversion (he told Brendan Fanning : “I missed one after I fell in love with myself when kicking one from the touchline so I can’t do that again.”), but the two from the corners were hit so effortlessly that the manufacturers of the ball should be offering him a sponsorship deal by way of thanks for taking the heat off them!
So
to repeat an analogy I've used before, we need to treat our number
10s like different types of tyres on a Formula 1 racing car and use
the right ones for the right conditions. This, for me anyway, means
O'Gara should start next weekend.
However...should
we win, even if he's even more of a “man of the match” than he
was in Rotorua, I'm not so sure he'd be the way to go if, as seems
likely, our quarterfinal is against Wales.
Yes,
I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but what I'm trying to convey is
the massive task of ego-massaging that lies ahead for Declan Kidney
and his coaching staff this week. He has to find a way of making his
choices for the Italy match while letting others know their impact on
our campaign is far from over.
Now...if
he does go with O'Gara (by
no means certain which is the beauty of his NOT naming one as his
out-and-out first choice before the competition as it keeps the
opposition guessing),
who should be his scrum-half?
Again,
a tricky call. But again, one most coaches would die for. I know
there's many who think Boss should be there and I agree he should be
in the mix, but I really don't think Kidney has him on his radar for
the big matches.
Which
leaves the choice between Reddan and Murray, and if we're judging our
outhalves on performance over the past few games, then so should we
with our number 9s and that means it should very much be Reddan.
As for the
make up of the remaining thirteen players, I think they pretty much
pick themselves. Again, I know there are many who feel Trimble and
McFadden should be there ahead of Keith Earls, but you have to assume
any chances of that happening when the Munster man helped himself to
two well finished tries against the Bears.
All of which
makes for a starting matchday 22 against Italy as one identical to
that which lined out against the Wallabies, except for, as I
mentioned, numbers 10 & 21 swapping jerseys. Of course there's
an injury or two wait for confirmation on (most of all Gordon
D'Arcy's in which case perhaps the outhalf problem may resolve
itself) but that is how'd I'd go if all were well.
Despite all
the times I have scratched my head over Kidney's choices like
allowing both our first-choice props take the field in a match we
were always likely to win, I see no valid reason to have any less
faith in this team than I did before kickoff in Eden Park last week.
Because
although in mathematical terms it will be a knockout fixture, as much
as we may enjoy being the underdog, we won't be against Italy, and
that's something the squad will have to deal with.
As I have
said since before the end of last season, our sights should be on the
semifinals, and no disrespect to the Azzuri, but if you can't beat
them, you'll never reach a World Cup final four. Unless the ball is
round, of course. JLP
