TONER AGONY
Second-row will not return after ankle surgery
IRELAND have been dealt a major Six Nations injury blow with Devin Toner ruled out of the rest of the championship having undergone ankle surgery.
Toner rolled his ankle in last Saturday’s 32-20 defeat by England in Dublin and was ruled out of today’s clash with Scotland earlier this week, with James Ryan and Quinn Roux
SCOTLAND have a habit of making life very difficult for Ireland sides. They were a nightmare in the 90s, the best Ireland could manage against their Celtic cousins during that decade was a grim 6-6 draw at Lansdowne Road in 1994. It was even worse at Murrayfield.
A 36-6 victory there in 2003 lifted an 18-year hex. Ireland have fared much better against the Scots in this millennium, winning 15 of their 18 meetings in the Six Nations. Two of those most recent defeats should serve as a warning for Joe Schmidt this afternoon, however.
Ireland’s final game at Croke Park in 2010 was upstaged by an unfancied Scottish outfit. An Ireland squad featuring Rob Kearney, Keith Earls, Johnny Sexton, Cian Healy and Rory Best were lured into a fast and loose game and the visitors revelled in the chaos.
Then there was that infamous 27-22 defeat in Edinburgh two years ago. Ireland were caught on the hop and found themselves 215 down after 29 minutes. Ireland were late to the ground that day in an incident that became known as ‘Busgate’.
That ill-fated commute still rankles with Schmidt, the Kiwi alluding to it twice in the lead-up to this must-win clash. Ireland were late to everything that day. Scotland — spearheaded by the outstanding Stuart Hogg — were quicker and sharper across the board.
Ireland were exposed out wide and out-thought at the set piece. It all sounds a bit familiar, doesn’t it? Some of the lessons of that defeat have not been learned, clearly. Two years on from that Murrayfield massacre, Schmidt’s men were slow out of the blocks again on the opening weekend of the championship.
England went for an old-school over-the-top lineout to get Manu Tuilagi into the game in the opening seconds at Lansdowne Road last weekend. For all their strengths, this Ireland squad consistently fail to cope with the unexpected.
It was the same story during that Murrayfield defeat in 2017. Scotland’s third try that day arrived from the simplest of lineout moves. The Irish pack were still getting up to speed and no one spotted midfielder Alex Dunbar taking up a spot in a nine-man lineout.
Seconds later, Dunbar was diving over for the easiest of scores and Rory Best and his fellow forwards were looking around perplexed. They will need to be on high alert for similar tricks today.
‘Crafty, isn’t it?’ Cian Healy observed earlier this week.
‘It’s a good lineout. That’s the sort of thing they’ve been doing and they’ve another one with the forward getting it too. They’re creative, there’s no doubt about it, and they have the players who have the ability to finish off that sort of stuff.’
Both camps have looked to play it down this week but that looming Pool A clash at the World Cup in Japan has cast a shadow over this fixture.
Ireland and Scotland lock horns in Yokohama on September 22 in a pool game that will effectively decide the group winners.
The loser will more than likely face the All Blacks in the quarterfinal, while the victor is set to face the Springboks in the last eight, very much the lesser of two evils.
Ireland are in must-win territory but they can also land an early psychological blow ahead of the World Cup with victory at Scotland HQ today, and some of Schmidt’s selections look very much like considerations for Japan.
He has lost some key personnel this week, but they should be immeasurably better this afternoon. An emotional reaction is expected from the visitors and the addition of Chris Farrell, Jack Conan and Sean O’Brien to the starting line-up should inject some much-needed power.
Expect far more gain-line dominance from Ireland. Rob Kearney’s recall at full-back should ensure a more controlled backfield after Robbie Henshaw’s inexperience was exposed by England.
Despite the loss of CJ Stander, Devin Toner, Henshaw and Garry Ringrose to injury, this is a stronglooking Ireland starting line-up loaded with impact from the bench.
The one worry lies in the second row, with Quinn Roux getting his first Six Nations start. It was Schmidt who first brought the giant South African lock to these shores while Leinster boss in 2012.
Roux has upped his game for Connacht this term. Yet there is still a nagging doubt that he lacks the requisite physicality and athleticism to make an impact at this level.
There is also the added pressure of calling the lineouts today. That is some promotion for a lock that wasn’t even included in Schmidt’s initial Six Nations squad. Still, this a chance for Schmidt to find out if the likes of Roux have the goods.
Ireland will be severely tested by Scotland. Gregor Townsend has moulded this side into a hightempo, attacking outfit, a throwback to Scottish sides that would terrorise Ireland in the 90s.
Whereas Ireland play a suffocating, possession-based game, Scotland are a heads-up in-stinctive side orchestrated by the talented, occasionally flaky, out-half Finn Russell.
There are attacking threats out wide with Hogg, Huw Jones and Sean Maitland. The big question is how much ball they will get.
The hosts are without some key forwards with tighthead WP Nel, open-side Hamish Watson and their inspirational captain John Barclay all out.
Their bench also looks callow compared to the stellar names littered amongst Ireland’s reserves. That could very well prove the difference in the final quarter. Storm Erik is also expected to pummel Edinburgh with wind and rain of biblical proportions.
It has trench warfare written all over, so Ireland can’t afford to get stuck in first gear.