Farrell can’t afford a defeat in the Eternal City
Win will be quickly forgotten, but defeat would be an indignity
SHOULD things go markedly awry for Ireland in Rome this afternoon, no amount of citing Italy’s improvements would take the heat off a coaching ticket that has already taken its fair share of criticism over the past 12 months.
With today’s game representing a potential 30th straight loss in the competition for the Azzurri, and taking into consideration the 91 points they’ve already shipped in two games, it may sound somewhat trite to suggest that Franco Smith’s squad are getting better.
And yet, during the brief periods of cohesion in the first two rounds, they’ve looked a young side with potential.
Ireland boss Andy Farrell said: “Italy are playing pretty well. For anyone who knows anything about the game, or analysing their games, they’re moving in the right direction.
“I can see the progress that Franco is making, I can see that they’re headed in the right direction.
“It’s a newish group and they’re almost starting again, but you can already see the fruits of that.
“They’re strong, they’re going in the right direction and they’re going to get better.”
Farrell is certainly not wrong. With their young half-back pairing of Paolo Garbisi and Stephen Varney, a combined age of only 39, leading the attack, the continued emergence of recently qualified Benetton wing Monty Ioane providing a threat and a reminder that two of their very best players, Matteo Minozzi and Jake Polledri, are presently absent it all contributes to the notion that while recent defeats have been emphatic, the gap between themselves and those who would benefit from promotion and relegation in this competition is growing, not shrinking.
As well it should be, of course, given the regular slate of competitive fixtures denied the likes of Georgia and Russia.
Still, however, Farrell knows all too well that none of this will carry much weight should his side return to Ireland with their third defeat in as many games, a result that would see them plummet to ninth place in the world rankings.
To lose would be considered an indignity while a first win of the campaign, regardless of its style or margin of victory, will come with the caveat that it was against a side whose search for a positive result in this competition stretches all the way back to 2015.
When such an idea was put to the head coach this week, he gave it little consideration.
“I suppose from the outside there’s always going to be that but like I keep on saying internally, all that matters for us is to be making sure that we realise we put in a performance that we’re proud of,” added Farrell.
“Again, (it’s about) respecting the game, respecting the Italians, going over there with the right attitude, the right fight and the right want to play the game as it should be and having a clinical edge to back that up.”
More so than anything else, that will be the key.
A repeat of the stat sheet against France, when Ireland had their way in terms of possession and territory but rarely looked like scoring, will only lead to further accusation that this is a team developing into an increasingly toothless beast.
While the heyday of Joe Schmidt’s Ireland was built around precision and long stretches of keeping the ball in their control, in that blunt endgame against Les Bleus two weeks ago it looked as if this version of the team could have kept the ball all evening and long into the night without making the necessary breakthrough.
That such lack of penetration has been evident despite a notable improvement in the side’s attacking ruck work and set-piece platform has laid plenty of the blame at the door of Mike Catt, the man brought in to provide the attacking blueprint when Schmidt was replaced as head coach by the more defensively-minded Farrell.
Despite early claims that the side would adopt a less prescribed and more intuitive game plan, the results, like Ireland themselves, have been trending sideways at best.
Catt didn’t appear strained by the recent attention when facing the media earlier this week.
Indeed, to his mind, the statistics that show no team in this year’s competition has spent more time in possession yet no side has scored fewer tries is the product of not taking opportunities that most watching on would admit to not having witnessed.
“We probably could have scored two or three extra tries against Wales with 14 men with the opportunities we created,” he measuredly opined.
“Against France as well. It’s about making sure that at this level, players understand that you have to nail what you create.”
When examining just how the side will go about that today, a less than robust Italian defence should surely help.
For the players, better communication has been cited as key.
James Ryan said: “I’d say the one thing on that would be that we have probably been a bit quiet recently on the pitch.
“We want to find that vocal energy and that communication this week, because we know the effect that it has.”
But while a win won’t necessarily say much about where this team is headed, it’s safe to assume a defeat would speak volumes.