There's a lot of serious topics being discussed around the watercooler these days here in Ireland, and a convincing win like this one was definitely needed to bring us all together again in agreement on something positive.
So for this reason I choose to do a writeup in two parts...first my appraisal of the match itself taken in isolation, and second, how the display fits in to my overall perception of the Declan Kidney coaching ticket heading into 2013.
PART ONE – GILROY OF THE ROVERS
Cast your mind back to February 5, 2011. Having finished the previous Autumn series with a convincing win over Argentina, we kicked off our Six Nations campaign with a visit to Rome. Making his debut for the men in green on the wing was Fergus McFadden.
We played pretty well without the ball that day, but when we had it we were all kinds of awful, and in the end we needed a trademark last-gasp drop goal from ROG to secure the spoils.
Much criticism of both Declan Kidney and the team ensued, but McFadden was spared any of this, partly because there were other easy targets like the unsuccessful experiment of playing Fitzgerald at full-back, but also because we seemed to approach the game with the mindset that a player earning his first-cap, particularly one out on the wing, should be used sparingly and chances for him to display his skill-set were few and far between.
I mentioned last week that McFadden would consider himself unlucky not to start against Argentina, as he was in good form and helped himself to two tries against Fiji. Still, there was a lot of pressure on Kidney to not only blood more youngsters in the senior team but also give that match in Thomond some relevance, so I really didn't have that many complaints when I saw Craig Gilroy's man-of-the-match display down there had earned him the start.
But the question remained...great and all as it was to see the Ulsterman get his maiden cap, would he be included in Ireland's plans or would will he be expected to keep his head down and savour the experience much as Fergus had done?
We got our answer with our first attacking scrum. Not only was he involved in the set play, he was its centrepiece and all the way up to his dream try that opened the scoring on a magnificent day for Ireland, his out-half was looking for him at every turn.
There was a lot in our play that day that I was happy to see, but this was top of the list. Declan Kidney's approach will always be remembered as being conservative, but it was clear that he had allowed both Les Kiss and Jonathan Sexton more than enough free reign to mix things up from the get-go and as a result our back line came to life in such a way that even if the Argentinians had a more settled lineup and been less battle-weary I'm not so sure they would have stayed with us.
Just one thing about young Gilroy...can we please stop comparing him to Shane Williams and let his test career develop on its own? Have a feeling that’s too much to ask. But he’s a fine finisher with an eye for the line and hopefully he can look forward to a career at the highest level every bit as successful as the Welsh wizard.
One short paragraph for our starting centres...both have taken a lot of flak of late and given the focus of the offence was utilising our speedy and powerful back three, this meant Darcy and Earls had an afternoon of tackling, offloads and dummy runs to look forward to and both did their job extremely well.
And not to be outdone, the forwards were both pulling and pushing their weight to tremendous effect. Richardt Strauss' try came off a very rare occasion when an attacking Irish lineout, either test or provincial, used the space in the tramlines to gain ground. The rest of the time we were more conventional and Ryan and O'Mahony for the most part were securing the ball with ease.
In the loose, everyone was doing their bit with more good showings from the likes of Chris Henry and Mike McCarthy. And in the scrum, things were mostly steady as they went.
Overall, you'd really want to be a curmudgeon beyond George Hook proportions (presuming one exists) to find fault with the way the starting XV performed on the day. Sexton would surely have been man-of-the-match had his kicking not failed him on more than one occasion, but although Tommy Bowe would have a decent case I had no objections to Ryan getting the honour if for nothing else than his self-berating for one lineout error with the match won. I absolutely love to see that much dedication to excellence in any level of sport.
I have read a lot of analysis of the final quarter when the Pumas slipped a couple of tries past us, but you won't see any from me. This game was dead and buried so I'll spare the blushes of any one who came off the bench and did something like (purely hypothetically of course) made a hames of a straightforward 22 drop-out. At least the bench all got involved, even McFadden, albeit for six minutes right at the end.
So a great result to end November for Ireland, a place in Pot 2 of the RWC2015 draw has been secured, there was plenty on the pitch to give us optimism, and as it would seem, no fresh injury worries for the provinces as they prepare to resume their Heineken Cup campaigns.
Now having offered as much positivity as I can without going overboard, the question must be asked...how should we now feel about our Six Nations campaign in 2013?
PART TWO – THE KIDNEY CONTEXT
Cast your mind back to another 2011 clash with the Italians, this time on October 2.
Do you remember how we felt going into that game? Much like this clash with Argentina, it was virtually a cup final, one with even more serious World Cup consequences in that defeat would have actually sent us out of the tournament.
Again, much like this clash with Argentina, the opposition for whatever reason failed to really show up on the day and a comfortable winning margin ensued, allowing a feel-good factor to sweep the nation for the week that followed...I don't think we have ever been more confident about an Ireland match than we were before we faced the Welsh in Wellington.
I don't need to remind you what happened, nor will you want me to. But for me it has to come into play when reflecting on Saturday's victory. We have been very good at getting one-off victories under Declan Kidney...but with the exception of the 2009 Six Nations, his side have found it extremely difficult to put a string of impressive performances (never mind results) together.
So take all the positivity you want from the Argentina match on its own, there's still more than enough precedent for us to hold back our expectations for our next encounter, fittingly also against Wales, and for the campaign to follow.
I do think we should afford Kidney and co some leeway when it comes to his selections, however. And it certainly wouldn't be the first time I've said THAT on this blog!
True, his “excuse” up to now for not giving the Craig Gilroys of this world a chance more often has been the need for ranking points to get us the highest finish for the RWC2015 draw, and that is now no longer a factor.
But we also must remember a small thing called the Lions Tour of Australia next summer, and when O'Driscoll, O'Connell, Kearney, Ferris, Best & O'Brien come back into the reckoning, it would be tough to deny them the opportunity to play themselves back into contention.
Which means when you add the fact that Heaslip (whom I doubt will retain the captaincy but definitely must be applauded overall for his November role after a shaky start), Healy, Bowe, D'Arcy, Earls, Ryan, O'Mahony & Murray are unlikely to be excluded, things don't bode well for the likes of Chris Henry, Mike McCarthy and Simon Zebo, all of whom excelled this month. I’m pretty sure young Gilroy’s position is safe enough for the time being though, should he remain fit of course.
So to summarize...I'm delighted with the win and the display, I'm wary of our ability to continue it next February but in general I'm hoping we as Ireland fans can come to grips with the fact that like it or not, Declan Kidney is still our coach for the time being and once our provincial squabbles from the next couple of months subside, we can come together again and get behind the boys. JLP
