GRIP THAT’S SO STRONG
Ireland lead arms race as rivals worry about being left behind
IRELAND’S Six Nations squad announcement provides an instructive backdrop to a weekend where the rude health of the provinces will hopefully be demonstrated by all four securing European knockout places.
What better time to analyse Irish rugby’s extraordinary wealth of playing resources?
Joe Schmidt got the ball rolling with his announcement on Wednesday when he name-checked a whopping 30 players who did not make the cut. This was a break from the norm.
These days, Ireland do not hold press conferences when a squad is released, instead we have become accustomed to drive-by emails that reveal little, or nothing, about the decision-making process.
However, Wednesday’s missive, while still not coming close to providing the detail extractable from questioning, offered much more than usual, backing up the customary observation of ‘tight calls across almost every position’ by referencing the individuals involved in those calls.
It may not have fully explained why, for example, Ross Byrne has slipped back behind Connacht’s Jack Carty in the out-half pecking order, but it was still revealing to read the names that are occupying Schmidt’s broader thinking.
Intelligent, too. The Ireland coach name-checked Tom Farrell in a similar fashion before Christmas and that nod of approval served as a spur for a series of standout displays that have now propelled the Connacht centre into the Six Nations mix.
Likewise, the 30 excluded players mentioned on Wednesday may be similarly inspired (in Byrne’s case to prove the selectors wrong) and that can aid the four provinces facing into crucial European ties this weekend.
By selecting the likes of Carty and his fellow uncapped Connacht teammates Farrell and scrum-half Caolin Blade, Schmidt has demonstrated that the Ireland door is still ajar for players to force their way into the reckoning for the World Cup in Japan, now just nine months and nine Tests away.
It means those who did not make the cut have plenty of reasons to impress national management this weekend.
There is a seam of quality now running through the provinces where Ireland’s success at the top level has lifted the entire operation, the frontline internationals raising the standards of colleagues around them.
That was acknowledged by Schmidt this week when going through his reserve options and it is possible to take those 30 names, combine them with 16 other inform provincial additions, and select two full match-day squads of impressive quality (see panel, far right).
There is precious little difference between these two scratch selections and, based on performances this season, players could easily swap between the sides with little dilution in overall effectiveness.
Scrum-half is the only position where you are left scrabbling for names, injuries to Kieran Marmion and Luke McGrath reducing the list of candidates.
Even then, the progress of Dave Shanahan with Ulster means another No9 in the mix to go with breakthrough talent Blade.
It is a bewildering array of talent that bears comparison with the depth available to any other rugby nation (including New Zealand) and is certainly at a level unprecedented in Irish rugby.
This did not happen by accident. Schmidt and IRFU elite performance director David Nucifora have often referenced the harsh lesson learned from the 2015 World Cup, when Ireland’s lack of reserve potency was ruthlessly exposed by Argentina in the quarter-final.
From that point to this, the overriding focus has been on maximising the exposure of Irishqualified talent to widen the net for Schmidt.
After years of Irish rugby shooting itself in the foot by allowing overseas signings to block essential pathways to the Ireland team, imports are now carefully managed so as not to damage the national interest.
It is why Ruan Pienaar was sent on his way from Ulster, allowing John Cooney to graduate to the top level, and why we can no longer have the situation where Ian Madigan was asked to start at 10 during the last World Cup despite being kept out of that position by Kiwi Jimmy Gopperth during Matt O’Connor’s ill-fated stint with Leinster.
Then there is the equally constructive policy of only considering players within the Irish system to allow greater player management control. It is not that long since we were subjected to consistent wailing about Simon Zebo not being considered for Ireland once he left Munster for Racing 92 - but you do not hear too much of it now with Jacob Stockdale ripping it up in Zebo’s old No11 jersey.
Another key development has been the Nucifora-driven initiaMunster tive of encouraging players to move between provinces to ensure game time in their Ireland positions - raising doubts about negative effects on provincial identity and culture.
However, those doubts have yet to properly materialise and the success of Joey Carbery’s move to and Jordi Murphy’s switch to Ulster is clear for all to see — not least among Ireland’s rivals with The Guardian in England running a piece this week headlined: ‘Concentration of Irish talent leaves England trailing.’
It also provides a stark contrast with the situation that exists with the national soccer team, currently consumed by the pursuit of Declan Rice as they find themselves mired in a results recession due to the lack of quality talent coming through.
Of course, Irish soccer does not have the benefit of access to topend domestic competitions but their production-line policies have emerged as a serious problem — just as Irish rugby’s were not that long ago.
Those policies have been successfully addressed to the point where the national team is now overflowing with options. As he prepares to head back to New Zealand after the World Cup, that will be Joe Schmidt’s lasting legacy beyond his haul of trophies.
It took a while to get here, but this week has shown how far Irish rugby has come in a relatively short period and, if it keeps to this winning formula, how far it can go.
Scrum-half is the only spot you scrabble for names It provides a stark contrast to the national soccer team