SNOOZE-TON
Normally I would find much comedy to be had watching American commentators going to work on a rugby match…and when NBC’s duo said things like “Irish captain Peter O’Mannohy” or referred to the “Rabo Pro Direct” I was tempted to make this entire write up about it as there was precious little else of interest to report.
But however little grounding these guys had in the sport, even THEY could tell early on just how bad the referee Francisco Pestrana was – the match never had a hope of providing entertainment with this guy holding the whistle.
I try to give officials the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the odd missed forward pass or knockon, but for me it’s at breakdowns and scrums where they come in to their own – and if they are allowed to ref the “elite” nations, the IRB should expect nothing but pure consistency, and sadly it was greatly lacking in Houston.
Whatever choice of words they settle on to call a scrum bind, their purpose is not to make it a game of “Simon says” in that you’re trying to catch out the front rows…the purpose is to allow them to get a clean hit so we get on with the frickin game. Pestrana seemed to take it on himself to re-introduce the “pause” without actually saying the word, thus virtually inviting the props to infringe.
This was one of the main reasons Ireland didn’t manage a try from this match, but it most certainly wasn’t the only one…we were masters of our own downfall in other areas. First and foremost of these was the lineout, and as Joe Schmidt takes the reins this HAS to be towards the top of his list for sorting.
Again the US commentators were quick on the uptake : “Why not just throw it to the tall guy?” Richardt Strauss was off with many of his darts but I feel our problem goes deeper than that…we are trying too hard to complicate things, and in key attacking situations we opt for a set play that practically involves the forwards performing Riverdance before the ball is thrown in. Why NOT just throw it to the tall guy?
So this, together with knockons, occasionally good US defence but more often than not outright cheating by the home side without the ball, meant that Ireland’s efforts as an attacking force were stifled for the entire 80 minutes and the 5-pointers were simply not there to found.
Still though, there were a good few positives. Stuart Olding played an awesome 12…never mind the dilemma he will now pose Joe Schmidt when Luke Marshall gets back into contention, I’m sure Mark Anscombe will be scratching his head as well. He and Darren Cave were at the heart of a typically resolute Irish defence who guaranteed the Eagles were never going to threaten our line.
Ian Madigan did what he could to get the offence going but as I said, when space was created by him it was usually thwarted somehow. His placekicking return was solid, only missing one right at the end, and overall should be pleased with his first outing at 10. Given that he played a full 80 I can only assume Paddy Jackson will do likewise against Canada.
On the negative side for Ireland, it wasn’t the best debut for Robbie Henshaw but he has a bucket-load of time on his side and you can be sure he won’t stray off of Schmidt’s radar.
As for Simon Zebo, well you can be sure his Lions call-up wasn’t based on this performance, but he’s exactly the sort of player who can do well on the highest stage so here’s hoping he makes the most of this opportunity.
The biggest disappointment for me was Devin Toner. Missed some key tackles, lost the ball when taking it into contact much as he did in the Pro12 final, in general creating many question marks for himself over whether he belongs at this level. His lineout & restart catching is indeed a handy string to the bow, but you need more from your number 5 at the test grade.
Of course mentioning Toner leads me to the game’s biggest SNAFU, as in USA captain Todd Clever’s tackle. To be fair on the ref, it wasn’t his fault his earpiece wasn’t working to communicate with the TMO, but if you want a definitive example of a tip-tackle, Clever did it. It was never going to injure the player, but it certainly ticked all the boxes in terms of lifting above the horizontal. And what’s more, it happened right in front of the ref. I know he was actually binned, but it wasn’t for that, rather a high tackle afterwards.
Not that Ireland were able to capitalize on the extra man of course, but there were plenty of cases in the first half when the yellow could have been shown as the American back row, all of whom have played at the highest club level, seemed to engage in a free-for-all at the breakdown.
When he was on the pitch, Clever at least tried to live up to his name when it came to dealing with the ref, even if he wasn’t for listening. Peter O’Mannohy, on the other hand, while good in general play around the pitch, needs to be more assertive if he is to retain the armband – it’s quite likely he will assume the provincial mantle from Howlett so he has plenty of time to work on it.
So a tour win for Ireland, but definitely not an ideal example to help grow the game in the US. I have a feeling the Samu Manoa hit on POM will be the only “highlight” to endure from this contest, even if it doesn’t count for me as the Irish skipper successfully retained possession.
The lads now move on to Toronto…a win & improved lineouts would do for me. Well that and a different man in the middle of course. JLP
