END OF THE ‘WORLD’
THIS time last week Irish fans were harbouring thoughts and dreams of two World Cups - the soccer version next summer in Russia and our bid to host the rugby showpiece in 2023.
The week began with great excitement and anticipation in the run up to the Danish match on Tuesday night with the rugby announcement due the following day.
The odds were against us landing both prizes but that didn’t stop us dreaming big.
It was a three way race with France and South Africa to land the rugby and a straight shoot-out with the Danes in the soccer.
The omens for successfully landing the oval ball gig were dented the previous week following World Rugby’s technical review which favoured the South African bid, but we were in pole position in the soccer after our 0-0 first leg draw in Copenhagen.
Surely we would get at least one out of the two if not both? But alas as the week unfolded we ended up with nothing.
The atmosphere was electric in Dublin
4 on Tuesday night before kick-off with ‘Amhran na bhFiann’ getting probably its best rendition since the new stadium was opened in 2010.
There was real passion and expectancy in the air and Martin O Neill’s men delivered in the opening minutes.
Derry’s Shane
Duffy put us in the driving seat as he bravely headed home past Kasper Schmeichel following a mix-up in the Danish box.
We had one foot on the plane to Russia but nobody was packing their bags just yet. Early goals and Ireland don’t mix too well and everyone knew it - including the Danes!
During that hectic opening quarter we had two further opportunities to extend our lead but Daryl Murphy and James McClean were both narrowly off target.
Over 1,200 years ago the Vikings attacked Ireland with devastating effect. They laid bare our defences and took off with our treasures.
Christian Eriksen and Co took up where their ancestors left off and cruelly exposed our deficiencies and frailties.
Martin O Neill’s side was built around a solid defensive structure with a midfield formation designed to protect rather than attack. We were never set up as a striking unit with the majority of our goals coming on the break or from set pieces. But the atmosphere and the occasion got the better of us.
We found ourselves on the front foot with go forward ball and we got carried away. We were not comfortable in these unusual surroundings and naively left ourselves exposed.
The Danes took full advantage of some unforced errors and the game was up. Surprisingly the Irish management team went for broke at the beginning of the second half introducing Wes Hoolahan and Aidan McGeady.
This ‘all-in’ gamble backfired spectacularly with Denmark and Christian Eriksen in particular cutting us to shreds in the second half. The previously rocking stadium emptied out like a school for the summer holidays.
Huge swards of empty seats were visible at the end as Nicklas Bendtner’s 89th minute penalty drove the final nail in the coffin for the Boys in Green.
The dream was over and the summer of 2018 will be all the worse for it. It’ll be extremely difficult to get excited and worked up about Gareth Southgate’s England XI.
And then to add insult to injury Ireland received just eight votes from a possible 33 as France beat off the challenge of South Africa to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Dick Spring and his bid team thought they had secured the votes of the Welsh and Scottish federations prior to the meeting but our Celtic neighbours deserted us and jumped ship at the last minute.
Their votes would have eliminated the South African bid and the Irish delegation were confident that they had sufficient support from New Zealand and Australia to beat off the French in the second round.
This will leave a very sour taste in mouth for some time to come and had some commentators drawing parallels to 1972 when Wales and Scotland, citing the ‘Troubles’, refused to travel to Dublin for Five Nations games after Ireland had won its opening two matches away to England and France.
By contrast England travelled to Dublin a year later at the height of the Troubles.
England supported our 2013 bid along with North America, Canada and USA.
A miserable week was completed with defeat to the Australians in the International Rules Series in Perth. Joe Kernan’s side were much improved from their display in Adelaide the previous week but the superior fitness and conditioning of the Australians told in the third and fourth quarters as they ran 53-50 winners.
I enjoyed the second test much more than the first and there are possibly some things that Gaelic football can learn from the hybrid game, namely limiting the handpass, two referees, use of technology and rolling substitutes.
The high-fielding and long range point taking were a joy to watch. Perhaps it has a future after all.