Johnson was right in 2003 – now Best needs to set tone
Johnson took a stand and England blitzed Ireland 42-6
MICHAEL D HIGGINS is a likeable chap. ‘Twinkly’ is the adjective often applied (reflecting his diminutive stature, affable demeanour and fondness for a quip) but he backs it up with deep intellect, a gift for public speaking and social conscience.
Those qualities combined make him pretty ideal for the role of Irish President where sport features regularly among Michael D’s diary duties. He will attend the club hurling final between Ballyea and Cuala this afternoon, Ireland Women’s Grand Slam showdown with England in Donnybrook tonight and, of course, the Ireland-England Six Nations clash in Lansdowne Road tomorrow.
Higgins is part of the elongated prematch ritual that takes place before home games. You know the drill. The two teams line up and the band plays the Presidential salute (the first few bars of Amhrán na bhFiann) which will, without fail, see sections of the crowd stand up hurriedly in the mistaken belief the anthems proper have started.
Not so fast... Higgins must first work his way down the line with a word for each player, official and mascot before slowly resuming his seat, pausing to salute a crowd already impatient for the real action to begin. Next, we will have the English anthem, then Amhrán na bhFiann (the full version) and then the necessary but irritating Ireland’s Call addendum.
All told, these pre-match shenanigans take around 13 minutes and, for pumped-up visiting players used to a ‘two anthems and off we go’ procedure, Ireland’s stretched out preamble is a source of deep frustration.
Michael D is as relevant to the England players as whomever is driving the several Darts that will trundle by the stadium as these ceremonies take place.
To them, he is just some fella delaying kick-off and Mary McAleese was equally as irrelevant to England when she met Martin Johnson and his team in similar, highly controversial, circumstances 14 years ago.
England arrived in Lansdowne Road that day in 2003 in search of a Grand Slam they had been denied in successive seasons by Wales (1999), Scotland (2000), Ireland (2001) and France (2002) and their captain was in no mood to be dicked around.
As Clive Woodward pointed out in these pages yesterday, there was nothing deliberate involved — Johnson did not care where his team lined up, adopting the standard practice of taking his team to the side they had warmed up on and, when asked to move by some IRFU jobsworth because England were standing where Ireland like to situate themselves, he had a decision to make.
Did he roll over and allow his men to be discommoded by Ireland before the first whistle sounded or did he lay down an early marker of stubborn defiance, stay put, and set the tone for the day?
Johnson took a stand and England blitzed Ireland 42-6 to claim the Grand Slam that set them on the path to World Cup glory later that year.
It was the type of call that made Johnson one of the finest captains this game has seen — the sort of leadership players instinctively follow and respond to.
And so to tomorrow, and Ireland’s latest bid to scupper an England Grand Slam in Dublin.
It has been a tough week — seven days of exhaustive, and frequently cranky, analysis of ‘where it has all gone wrong’ for Ireland following their defeat in Wales.
The recurring themes have been a defence that leaked three tries, following on from the three leaked in Scotland, and an attack in the dock for consistently failing to convert opportunities in the opposition 22.
But there is another theme largely ignored in all the handwringing — namely, that the Welsh were extremely good last Friday night and played with an intensity from the off that was incredibly difficult to counter.
That factor was ignored in the build-up also. There was talk of Ireland getting a four-try bonus point to enhance their chances of gaining the title the following week, as well as reams of coverage of Welsh deficiencies exposed by Scotland in their previous outing. What was largely overlooked was a quality team who, having under-performed going into the Ireland game, were under immense pressure from a country where rugby is the national sport, playing at home in a stadium with a proven reputation as the most fevered in the game.
IRELAND were not lacking in desire or application but simply could not match the ferocity and defiance of the hosts. It is that core aspect of the game which tends to get lost in the modern media obsession with micro-analysis of tactics, structure and execution — or lack thereof. In-depth preparation and planning are essential but have to be driven by a base level of intensity and belligerence to properly thrive.
It is why Johnson was so inspirational as a captain and why Rory Best now needs to be.
It has been a tough week for Ireland’s captain. He went into the Six Nations as a frontrunner for the Lions captaincy but Ireland’s poor results and his own struggles with form have seen him fall down the pecking order to the point where he is now in a battle just to make the touring squad.
Inevitably, the hooker has been caught up in the blame game surrounding Ireland’s lineout troubles and there are concerns here again tomorrow.
Iain Henderson is nowhere near the dropped Devin Toner in terms of lineout proficiency and Best, still denied a third, quality Peter O’Mahony-esque option to aim at, must navigate past a lethal English lineout where Maro Itoje looms as poacher supreme.
All told, tomorrow is a careerdefining occasion for Best, who has already been the source of a media debate this week as to whether this should be the 34year-old’s last game as captain to allow Ireland properly build towards World Cup 2019.
Best is an admirable character, up front in all he does and an individual who aspires to the highest standards of professionalism. Now he needs to get nasty. The ‘nice guy’ has to bring out the dog both he, and the team, have been lacking.
Thirty two years ago, Ciaran Fitzgerald, Best’s predecessor as hooker and captain, famously asked his players ‘Where’s your f ***** g pride?’ to inspire Ireland to Triple Crown-claiming victory over the English.
Fourteen years ago, Johnson’s ‘we shall not be moved’ stance proved equally decisive.
Tomorrow, Best needs to tap into a similar mentality of aggressive defiance and present himself as the first and primary point of resistance.
England are coming to Ireland’s patch, oozing self-belief and arrogance with their embattled hosts viewed as something to be squashed on the road to further glory and greatness.
But, regardless of the rough lead-in, this is a good Ireland team, one that beat the All Blacks to deny them their slice of history a little over three months ago.
That should fuel their drive to do the same to an extremely powerful England — something Ireland are more than capable of — and the captain sets the tone.
We need to see the dark, defiant side of Rory Best tomorrow, adhering to Johnson’s creed from all those years ago — don’t give an inch.