IRELAND READY TO TAME BULLISH SCOTS
STORM ERIK provides a fitting backdrop to today’s Murrayfield showdown in the wake of Ireland being blown away by England last Saturday.
The word on the ground in Carton House is that Ireland’s players have been buffeted all week by the gales of raw review and recrimination.
They were beaten up by the English, they know it, and they are not going to let it happen again. That bodes well for today’s clash with Scotland, when it is safe to expect a ferocious response from Joe Schmidt’s men.
The Scots are a dangerous side, packed with strike runners out wide and are extremely well coached by Gregor Townsend, but they are nowhere near as physical as England.
As a result, the expected Erikinfused wind and rain should aid Ireland’s cause — a day made for the midfield directness of Chris Farrell and Bundee Aki as well as the power running of Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan and Sean O’Brien up front.
There is no better half-back pairing in world rugby than Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton when it comes to exploiting bad weather and they are too good not to raise their performance levels from last week.
The scrum is another area where Ireland can twist the knife in the absence of Scottish fulcrum WP Nel, while much of the week’s preparation will have been spent on ensuring they win the ground battle so comprehensively lost against England.
And, after a week of being lashed by the trademark, ‘no prisoners’ bluntness of Andy Farrell, expect Ireland to exert enormous defensive pressure on their opponents — a tactic that can bear rich dividends in throwing the likes of Finn Russell and Huw Jones off their all-court game.
There are concerns. Jerome Garces had a shocker last week and his countryman Romain Poite is equally inconsistent with the whistle — but Ireland know the French referee well and will have factored him into their contingency planning.
A bigger worry is the line-out. Losing Devin Toner always invites nerves and Quinn Roux being charged with overseeing Ireland’s aerial supply adds to the jitter factor.
The South African is not a lineout expert and the harsh reality is the jury has been out on all aspects of his game since he came to Ireland in 2012.
While the second row’s background makes him an easy target, he still stands out as a glaring weakness in an otherwise strong Ireland selection and the hope is that his presence does prove too damaging.
Equally, Ireland’s estimable captain Rory Best needs a big game to quieten rising doubts about his 36 years beginning to compromise his effectiveness.
However, there is comfort in the potency of the Ireland bench, which could prove the decisive factor, and Schmidt’s willingness to spring his reserve arsenal (regardless of how much time has elapsed) is critical. If Best is struggling, Ireland have Sean Cronin in the form of his career, so get him on. If Roux is exposed, Ultan Dillane’s special brand of all-action energy needs to be unleashed as soon as possible. Similarly, Sean O’Brien is still working his way back to full battlespeed after extensive injury issues so letting the Tullow man go full pelt for 50 minutes before bringing in the excellent Josh van der Flier would be a smart approach. The remaining reserves — Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, John Cooney, Joey Carbery and Jordan Larmour - can all up the ante to see Ireland home.
But, aside from the minutiae of what promises to be an intriguing encounter, the key issue today is attitude — when Ireland underwrite their modern tactical focus with traditional fire they are irresistible, as we saw last year.
Scottish hubris plays into this narrative and there has been an element of the Scots losing the run of themselves on the back of scoring five tries against a Ryvitalike Italian defence.
‘The visit of Ireland is the next course of a Six Nations banquet for Scotland,’ was one Scottish paper’s take. Not so fast, lads. Ireland are ready to bring the fury they lacked last week and, with intelligent use of their bench, it can propel them to a comprehensive victory — today is the day the bullied become the bullies.
Storm’s a brewing.