CONOR GOING WITH FLOW DOWN UNDER
Genia warns Wallabies not to ‘disrespect’ Irish
AUSTRALIA scrum-half Will Genia has warned his teammates they will pay a heavy price if they fall into the trap of ‘disrespecting’ Ireland ahead of the first Test in Brisbane this Saturday. Earlier this week, Wallaby full-back Israel Folau caused controversy by admitting he did ‘not know a whole lot’ about Joe Schmidt’s Grand Slam champions, who have arrived in Australia on the back of a 12-game winning streak which has propelled them to second in the world rankings — two spots ahead of the Australians. And Genia yesterday claimed that history shows Ireland deserve total respect, having been part of the Wallabies side sensationally beaten in the 2011 World Cup pool stages in Auckland. ‘When I look back there we probably underestimated them going into that game, which is pretty disrespectful,’ Genia said. ‘They taught us a lesson which was good. ‘To be fair, I was probably just ignorant back then,’ Genia said. ‘People just know more [nowadays]. Whether it’s social media or people take more of an interest, they know the Johnny Sextons, they know the Conor Murrays, all the big players they have and the impacts they’ve had. ‘There’s no chance of us underestimating them. ‘You can’t underestimate them at all because they’re No2 in the world but just the level of rugby, the style of rugby… it’s all about attrition to them,’ added Genia.
WHEN Ireland last played the Wallabies in Australia there was a curious aspect to their team selection.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney opted to pick two openside flankers in his backrow — Leinster’s Shane Jennings, Munster’s Niall Ronan — along with Ulster’s Chris Henry at No8, a player who went on to spent the majority of his career in the No7 jersey.
The Wallabies had David Pocock in their No7 shirt, rated alongside New Zealand’s Richie McCaw as the finest openside in the game, and Ireland’s plan was to stack the decks to negate his influence at the breakdown.
It didn’t work. The Irish trio had their moments but, even with three specialists up against him, Pocock was still the dominant presence at ruck time and his turnovers, added to slices of magic from man of the match out-half Quade Cooper, propelled the home side to a 22-15 victory in Brisbane.
Ireland are likely to have four survivors from that defeat when they run out in Brisbane again this weekend (Rob Kearney, Johnny Sexton, Cian Healy and Sean Cronin) but none in the backrow while Pocock is set to be the sole Aussie link to that match.
However, just as was the case eight years ago, coming up with a plan to curb the impact of the now 30-year-old Pocock will form a key part of the strategy of Joe Schmidt and his Ireland management team this week.
Particularly as this time it will be the Aussies stacking the backrow decks with the likelihood of Michael Hooper lining out alongside Pocock when Michael Cheika names his team later this week.
It is an established partnership, favoured by Cheika, and one that proved inspirational when Australia got to the World Cup final in 2015 only to be undone by the All Blacks’ all-round brilliance.
Indeed, the Wallabies have a long history of playing two opensides in their backrow going back to the mid-2000s when George Smith and Phil Waugh regularly lined out together.
On Saturday, Hooper is expected to get the No7 jersey with Pocock at No8 but both will carry the same brief — disrupt Ireland at the breakdown to prevent the visitors dominating possession for long stretches, as they did on their way to the Grand Slam in the spring.
It is an especially important challenge for an Australian side that looks underpowered in the tight five, with a front-row injury crisis and unsettled second row appearing to give Ireland a pronounced advantage in this area.
However, with Pocock and Hooper in tow, the home side look to have more weaponry for the breakdown battle and Schmidt must plan accordingly. Dan Leavy has been a revelation at openside and his regular Grand Slam backrow colleagues Peter O’Mahony and CJ Stander both also make their presence felt at ruck time.
However, against the PocockHooper combination, they could do with extra support and, against the backdrop of Schmidt needing to assess his World Cup options with only 15 months left until Japan 2019, there is a strong case for taking a look at second row Tadhg Beirne.
Being thrust onto the international stage for the first time against Australia in Brisbane would cap a stunning rise for the Munster-bound Kildare man — but one he has fully earned.
After being let go by Leinster, Beirne’s performances for Scarlets have been remarkable and the area where he has excelled most is the area where Ireland need most help against the Wallabies.
Beirne made 39 turnovers in the Pro14 last season — a league record — and even when unable to secure the ball, he makes it his business to discomfit the opposition as much as possible as they attempt to obtain quick ruck possession.
The general expectation is that Beirne will ease his way into international rugby by winning his first cap off the bench.
However, Ireland need to find out whether he can step up to this level should something befall their firstchoice second-row trio of James Ryan, Iain Henderson and Devin Toner so testing Beirne from the off would make a great deal of sense – particularly with the backrow in need of assistance against Hooper and Pocock.
Eight years ago, the Ireland tactic of overloading on breakdown specialists did not pay off but this is a stronger Ireland team and a weaker Wallabies one.
It’s the perfect time to look at options for bigger challenges down the road, and Tadhg Beirne is top of the queue.