Sexton drop goal drama was all down to hard work: Mac
FOR MANY, Ireland’s 41-phase drive to set up the winning drop goal for Johnny Sexton last Saturday called to mind the All Blacks’ win at the Aviva in 2013.
Little did they know there was a direct correlation between the two.
Mike McCarthy was on the field as the world champions worked their way through 12 phases to set up Ryan Crotty’s try in the corner at the end of a long period of ball in play in which possession changed hands.
McCarthy revealed that Joe Schmidt identified the period as something Ireland needed to work on, developing a four-minute, 30-second power-drill to improve their capacity to cope in a tight finish.
“I got 20 minutes against the All Blacks in 2013 when they scored in injury time,” McCarthy
(right) said.
“Joe worked out that they kept the ball for four to four and a half minutes. So a big thing which since Ireland have done on a Monday or a Tuesday is this segment of four to four and a half minutes where you actually work harder than you do in the game.
“So, it’s multi-phase, keeping the ball, running into bags, setting up rucks in different areas of the pitch.
“You’re really blowing harder than you would in a game and I think you’re seeing dividends of that drill they use and key learnings from that All Blacks game.
“It’s just incredible in those conditions to keep the ball, everything... Joe is big on ball placement, the clearers arriving early and doing their job, strong ball carries — everyone was on the same page, everyone was believing.
“I read CJ Stander say that after seven phases of the 41, he was blowing but then he went into autopilot and you just get through your work, you believe you can do it and, fair play, they did do it.”
McCarthy retired at the end of last season, so he got a front-row seat for the emergence of James Ryan and he is not surprised at the young lock’s capacity to hit the ground running at international level.
“I remember being injured in the gym and James Ryan was injured with a hamstring injury and he had a big frame, 6ft 8ins, but he needed to bulk up a bit,” he recalled.
“Speaking to Greg Feek last week, he’s put on like 5kgs in the last year and he looks really big.
“He asks questions, he’s always looking to improve and he led the U-20s to second place, so he’s got those leadership qualities. People are talking about is he the next Paul O’Connell, and you can see he’s got the leadership there as well.
“I played in that game against France two years ago and I think I had two ball carries.
“He’s doing maybe 17 ball carries, so that’s the difference between a modern-day second-row and an old second-row.
“He has a bright future,” he added.
Ireland face Italy at the Aviva on Saturday.
ISTILL have no clear recollection of leaving the Centre Hospitalier de Bretagne Sud other than the fact that I struggled with the sunshine in my eyes as soon as I left the hospital. I also asked for the music to be turned off in the car — it wasn’t what Plastic Bertrand was singing, it was just that the noise aggravated my still-delicate disposition.
Two days in hospital with a serious concussion — even the walk to the car presented problems. The medical care had been excellent. The neurologist was fairly direct: “Take the whole summer off.”
Jimmy Davidson comes to my room at the hotel a few hours later and informs me that I would be playing a few days later against the French Barbarians in La Rochelle. I had just played in two non-cap Test matches against France and this would be my fourth straight match in two weeks.
I had been selected, the team would be announced in the morning and I would train with the team in the morning. There was nothing wrong with me and I should just get out and play — shrug these things off. I wasn’t in a position to argue and when Davidson left the room he was convinced that I would be playing that Saturday.
When I informed the medical team, they were aghast and could not believe what was happening. A quick and forceful meeting with the Ireland coach and my name was immediately withdrawn. This madness — well, it was Davidson’s test of character for me!
I always had implicit faith and trust in all of the medical staff at the highest level in my time at international level.
The people charged with health have a huge responsibility to you and the duty of care to any player goes far beyond an altruistic and vocational interest. Your life is in their hands. For something as serious as concussion, you draw the line at the first warning sign. I had to have trust that the medics would do the right thing here.
Last Saturday was an ignominious day in the affairs of SCOTLAND winger Sean Maitland admits Sunday’s NatWest 6 Nations clash with France is a “must-win” game for both sides.
The Dark Blues’ hopes of clinching a first championship title since 1999 suffered a blow in the form of an humiliating 34-7 defeat to Wales, while France lost out to a last-minute drop-goal in their opener against Ireland.
The nature of Scotland’s defeat has seen all optimism from outside the camp extinguished after they conceded four tries, and a the game of rugby union. There can be no blurred lines when it comes to the safety of players, nor can there be any circumvention of concussion protocols or abuse of process.
Anybody who commits an action which taints the integrity of the protocols — there must be serious consequences. The role that medical people play in our game is sacrosanct — any corruption, dilution or unwarranted interference cannot be permitted.
A while ago I wrote a piece for the Sunday Independent outlining a situation where a player that I knew had been concussed six days previously and was passed fit to play on the following Saturday. The wigs were all over the place. further loss would all but end their chances of making history after such a promising start to life under Gregor Townsend.
Maitland, who is expected to replace the injured Byron McGuigan, is aware they need a result against a France side who may well be low on confidence themselves.
He said: “They were very unlucky. If you take a spanking or lose like that, I’m not sure how you’d like to lose — those boys looked like they were hurting after the game.
“They’re in a similar situation to us, both picked up losses first
“You cannot make an accusation against this club side’s medical team alleging that they knew he was still suffering from concussion but allowed him to play anyway.”
It happens! It happens now all the time in professional sport and if we the Press call it, we risk significant damages for calling the doctor’s reputation into disrepute. That player played in the match and had a truly dreadful afternoon. He was not right.
This season during a play-off game in the NFL, Cam Newton, the Carolina Panthers quarterback, got smashed with a head shot and was down on the ground for a few minutes. As he went off the pitch, he fell over and had to be assisted to up and we can’t afford to lose a second game.”
He added: “We know this is a really important game. The good thing for us is we’re playing at home, our form over the last two years has been really good playing at home. It’s a must-win game.”
McGuigan’s injury means Maitland is poised to step in to reclaim his spot, but he has welcomes the competition in the squad.
“It’s a shame what happened to Byron with his hamstring, but there’s still a lot more competition with Lee Jones who played really well against the All Blacks. You need that to drive yourself.” the touchline. The NFL has an independent doctor (a neurologist) at every game. Newton, however, did not meet with the independent doctor, he instead met with the team doctor and sure enough was back out on the pitch to complete the game.
In my view, this was an abuse of process which put the quarterback’s safety at risk. Last Saturday we had an abuse of