Searching for answers
Defeat has shone a spotlight on areas of concern for Ireland
THE atmosphere around Gatwick Airport on Sunday afternoon was suitably sedate.
A legion of Ireland supporters had struck off on Friday morning flights to London and you could senses giddiness around Dublin Airport. There was an expectation that Andy Farrell’s side were going to make a big statement in Twickenham.
But the mood among the travelling support had changed dramatically 48 hours later. England had served up a big reality check to a team which had been widely tipped to storm through this championship unchallenged.
And the fans who had made the journey across the Irish Sea looked visibly shaken on the way home.
It will be interesting to see what the atmosphere will be like at Lansdowne Road on Saturday evening. A losing bonus point is all Farrell’s side need to secure back-to-back titles. It might not be the Grand Slam but winning the championship is still a serious achievement.
Will it be enough to rouse a dozy Aviva Stadium into life? Time will tell. They say you learn more from your losses than victories. Ireland learned a huge amount from last weekend’s defeat, that’s for sure.
For one thing, as we saw in the Gatwick departure lounge, it has certainly dampened down the recent hysteria around this squad.
The class of 2024, despite what you have heard, are not the best team in the world at the moment. Nor are they greatest team to ever feature in the Six Nations. They remain a brilliant team. But the hyperbole around Farrell and Co had reached farcical levels of late.
A resurgent England ruthlessly exposed some weaknesses in a seemingly bullet-proof Irish side. Some uncomfortable truths resurfaced and some worries for the future, too.
Whatever about Saturday’s title decider against the Scots, Farrell has a lot to ponder in the months ahead…
WAS THE IRELAND SECOND ROW OVERHYPED OR WAS THIS JUST A BLIP?
Joe McCarthy will have learned plenty from his experience at Twickenham.
Hailed as the new enforcer of the Irish pack, the 22-year-old made a storming start on his maiden start against the French in Marseille.
England were waiting for him. The likes of Maro Itoje, George Martin and Ollie Chessum were keen to put some manners on the giant Leinster lock. McCarthy is in the Irish team to lay down a marker and put himself about. In truth, he didn’t have the impact he would have wanted against this gnarly English pack. He didn’t make any inroads with ball in hand or land a big shot on an opposition player in white. If anything, he was too keen at times, shooting off the line and making a costly read in the build-up to George Furbank’s second-half try.
McCarthy is going to be central to the Leinster and Ireland cause, going forward. There is no doubt about that. He is far from the finished article, however. And if James Ryan wasn’t ruled out of the rest of the championship with a bicep injury, there would be a strong argument for a promotion ahead of his Leinster teammate this week.
Iain Henderson’s form isn’t compelling enough to force a change so McCarthy is likely to get another shot against the Scots. He and Tadhg Beirne are fully deserving of their starting spots but, long term, this second row combination perhaps lacks a bit of height when it comes to the lineout. Another area which needs a bit of work, clearly.
Munster’s Tom Ahern will come into this selection equation at some stage.
WHAT’S THE NEXT MOVE WITH THE IRELAND CAPTAINCY?
For the record, Peter O’Mahony has been a brilliant servant for club and country. Whenever the Corkman decides to call it a day, he will be rightly lauded as one of the finest players ever to come through the ranks at his home province. His record at Test level will stand up to the sternest scrutiny. Opponents from rival nations across the globe — some with gritted teeth — will hail his warrior-like qualities and relentless competitiveness on the field.
But O’Mahony is on the final laps of a stellar career. And he looked off the pace on Saturday. England’s backrow of Chessum, Sam Underhill and Ben Earl packed serious punch. O’Mahony just couldn’t get into the game.
The Munster flanker has never been a player who racks up big stats in games. His key strengths, as have been flagged here many times, are more nuanced. O’Mahony’s leadership, lineout ability and selfless workrate are highly valued by Farrell. Joe Schmidt felt the way same way.
The problem is that O’Mahony is playing in one of the most competitive areas in the Irish team. Ryan Baird and Jack Conan are both in rich veins of form. There are more ambitious young backrows arriving on the scene with every passing season.
How long can O’Mahony hold on? He is likely to finish this week on top of the winners’ podium with the Six Nations title in his hands. It would be a fitting finale for a brilliant leader.
Deep down, Farrell knows that he needs more dynamism in the backrow, especially with a twoTest tour of South Africa on the summer schedule. It would seem like the perfect time to give Caelan Doris the captaincy and make a clean break with the past. Which brings us to another veteran at scrum-half…
IS IT TIME TO SHAKE THINGS UP AT NO9?
Conor Murray’s decision to kick away possession in the dying stages of the Twickenham defeat has been debated furiously in recent days.
People are missing the wider
point, however. As we’ve stated many times in these pages in the past, the Munster scrumhalf is not the player he was. Murray at his peak was arguably the best scrum-half on the planet. Few would have argued with such a statement, especially during the 2016 and 2017 seasons when he terrorised the All Blacks, in Soldier Field and then on a Lions tour.
Murray’s powers have been on the wane for quite some time. Jamison Gibson-Park has surged ahead as Ireland’s firstchoice since 2021. Craig Casey has become Munster’s frontline scrum-half in recent seasons, too. Murray has been playing a back-up, closing role for both club and country. He can’t provide the same running threat or high-tempo passing game as Gibson-Park or Casey. He has been kept on board to provide a sense of control late in games. But uncharacteristic errors are beginning to creep into Murray’s game on that front as well.
O’Mahony and Murray’s contract negotiations grabbed plenty of headlines in recent months. There was outrage that the pair were not being offered IRFU contract extensions. The writing has been on the wall for quite some time. Their best days are behind them and Twickenham provided a stern reality check.
CAN WE GET RID OF THE 6-2 SPLIT?
Everyone seems to be jumping on the 6-2 bench spilt on the back of South Africa’s World Cup successes. It backfired badly against England, mind you. What’s good for the Boks might not work for Ireland, however. Being so short of backs cover means you can’t make any tactical changes out wide and that really doesn’t suit this Irish team.
WILL THERE BE ANY MENTAL SCARS FROM THE TWICKENHAM LOSS?
Time will tell whether this defeat caused any lasting damage. Farrell is unlikely to make any wholesale changes in the wake of last Saturday’s loss in London. The same crew, fitness permitting, are set to get a shot at redemption against the Scots. A resounding performance in Dublin will infuse this squad with a bit of much-needed confidence.
Because the next challenge ahead will be positively daunting. The Springboks can’t wait for the looming tour. Rassie Erasmus has assembled a new backroom team, featuring Tony Brown and Jerry Flannery, and the hosts are looking forward to setting a few things straight in July.
The back-to-back world champions have been hearing a lot about Ireland’s supposed status as the best team on the planet in recent times. We get the distinct feeling that this summer series will be a bit feisty.
One thing is certain, if this Irish squad suffer the same setpiece, defensive and kicking malfunctions in Durban and Pretoria, it will be a long fortnight on the highveldt.
This week will be all about Scotland and securing the title. It’s the same short-term thinking which has got Ireland into trouble in the past. The same mindset among the fans, too. No one saw the England performance coming, apparently. And that’s the big problem at the moment.