TIME TO EXORCISE DEMONS
As Andy Farrell and his squad get set for a massive year, mental strength holds the key to a big 2023
IT was rebranded in 2016 due to a multi-million pound deal with a building society but, for a generation of Irish rugby supporters, the home of Welsh rugby will forever be known as the Millennium Stadium; the scene of many great days.
Yet it is also a venue which elicits mixed emotions in so many Ireland players. Take Paul O’Connell, for example. When the national team’s forwards coach set foot on the stadium turf yesterday afternoon, the memories would have come flooding back. Some good. Some not so good.
This was the place where Munster secured their Heineken Cup trophies in 2006 and ’08. Here, Ireland secured a first Grand Slam since 1948 when they defeated Wales on their home patch in 2009. O’Connell was in the thick of it on all three occasions.
He was taken off this field on a stretcher in 2015 when Ireland suffered mass casualties in a costly World Cup pool victory against France. Johnny Sexton was another member of the walking wounded that day. He and O’Connell sat together seven days later as Ireland’s campaign was ravaged by the Pumas in Cardiff.
This was also the place where Sexton spearheaded a second-half fightback against Northampton as Leinster secured a second Heineken Cup title. But the Ireland captain has endured plenty of
The hosts are going to come out fighting this afternoon
rough times too. He was on duty for the last four visits here in the Six Nations. On all four occasions, the visitors left empty-handed.
For all of the Welsh woes, on and off the pitch, recently, they have not lost a championship game against Ireland here since 2013.
There is chaos in the boardroom, with allegations of sexism and misogyny. Their senior team arrive at this tournament on the back of winning just three of their 12 games. After home losses against Italy and Georgia, the writing was on the wall for Wayne Pivac.
The former Auckland policeman was handed his P45 as an SOS went out for Warren Gatland.
Back for his second stint as Wales boss, the Kiwi has placed his faith in a crew of grizzled veterans. The roof will be closed in a sell-out arena. Ireland are the top-ranked team in the world.
Under Gatland, there was usually a siege mentality. Suffice to say, the hosts are going to come out fighting this afternoon.
And that’s the challenge facing Andy Farrell and his squad. This team has proven over the past 18 months that they’re a quality side. They have the set-piece, attacking game, defensive solidity and leadership to make a statement in 2023, in this tournament and in France down the track.
Of course, there are nagging issues. A lack of depth at prop and out-half for one. How Finlay Bealham fares as Tadhg Furlong’s replacement will be instructive. An over-reliance on their captain, both tactically and emotionally, is another red flag. Perhaps Ross Byrne or Jack Crowley might ease those concerns in the coming months as well?
There are things to fine tune and tweak. There will be plenty of debate about targeting a first Six Nations since 2018 and being mindful of a World Cup later in the year.
For Farrell, the biggest obstacle is Ireland themselves. There was a telling line from the head coach when he spoke to the media at the squad’s training base in Portugal on Thursday.
‘How we mentally handle the occasions is going to be key,’ he stated.
Irish teams have not always coped well with the pressure of expectation in the past. The psychological implosions throughout that harrowing 2019 campaign is a well-worn tale. Joe Schmidt’s side conquered all before them in 2018, only to run aground as the World Cup approached.
‘Performance anxiety’ was a headline finding from the subsequent report into Ireland’s latest World Cup failure.
It wasn’t the first time an Ireland team has struggled to deal with the pressure. Consider previous campaigns, going all the way back to the 2007 debacle, and you can pinpoint moments in key matches when the playing group lost their way and the same doubts began to creep in.
There have always been mitigating factors: injuries, selection and so forth. There has always been a similar theme of mental fragility, however.
Farrell has met this issue head on. It was refreshing to hear his attitude to the stadium roof this week. It was always a bit of a media circus on Schmidt’s watch.
There needs to be consensus between both camps on whether the Principality will be open to the elements or shut tight. If both coaches can’t reach an agreement, it stays open.
Schmidt, for all his strengths, was obsessed with detail. In 2019, he dug his heels in ahead of an illfated Six Nations visit to Cardiff.
Ireland were duly washed away in a deluge as Gatland’s side cruised to Grand Slam glory. Farrell has had a ‘bring it on’ attitude to every challenge and inconvenience. If anything, he wants to put this group under pressure, to feel the extra mental strain.
He deliberately brought a smaller playing squad to New Zealand in the summer because he knew it would be stretched across a gruelling five-game schedule. It worked out well in the end.
It’s good stress-testing for a World Cup. Today will be another test of the pressure gauge. If Ireland can exorcise a decade-old demon at this venue, it will tick another major psychological box ahead of the World Cup.
Farrell reckons that is Ireland’s best shot of making a big impression this year. Apart from Furlong and Robbie Henshaw, he has a full deck for this opening-round assignment. It’s a quality crew that has done great things in recent times.
The concern is what lays beneath. At age 31, Bealham gets a maiden Six Nations start. This will be his 28th appearance in the green jersey, but undoubtedly the biggest test. His second-half showing against the Springboks in November – after Furlong had pulled up with an ankle injury – inspired confidence. This is another step up for the Connacht prop.
It’s certainly a short-term blow for Ireland’s title chances. It’s a great outcome in a World Cup context, however. The scope to expose fringe players to the top level is becoming narrower now. Farrell effectively has five Test matches left before the World Cup takes centre stage.
He’s not going to rock the selection boat at the 11th hour. So, injuries are going to open doors.
Wales, with almost 1200 caps spread throughout their ageing matchday squad, will be pumped for this one. They enjoy nothing better than putting some manners on a group of players who lord it over them at club level.
Whatever about squad depth and tactics, Ireland won’t achieve anything in 2023 if their heads aren’t right. It’s all in the mind now. Leaving the Millennium Stadium with some fond memories today would be a good start.