A timely dollop of reason for the brown sauce mob
MUCH more like it, and much needed, and now can everyone, please, for the love of Jim Staples, calm the hell down?
Some of the hysteria that greeted Ireland’s opening Six Nations loss was off the charts but, as noted last week, getting an English stuffing did not suddenly turn Ireland into turkeys on a slow roast to Japan and neither should this victory over Scotland send IRFU serfs scurrying for the Silvo.
We are a ways off trophy polish yet. The Six Nations title is a long shot, but that’s okay in a World Cup year and our Far East aspirations are still a work in progress – one that demands a perspective abandoned spectacularly in the build up to this Murrayfield clash.
One of the major downsides to Irish rugby’s explosion in popularity has been the cacophony of white noise with it. Between mainstream media and its degenerate social cousin, everyone has an opinion these days. Lads who did not know if the ball was stuffed or pumped 10 years ago are now excreting knee-jerk dogmatism like a wonky bottle of HP Brown Sauce.
After last week’s England humbling, the flip-flopping hit Woodstock levels and the same soap-boxers who were telling us the ‘best is yet to come’ a few weeks ago in 2018 review pieces, were suddenly writing about Ireland ‘peaking too soon’ and being a team in irreversible decline.
It is little wonder Ireland coach Joe Schmidt harbours the same regard for outside advice as he would bubble gum on his shoe – impossible to ignore, unpleasant to pick off and never to be chewed.
There will be more of it this week and Matt Williams got the ball rolling in the Virgin Media One studios when hauling out the old ‘watching paint dry’ dismissal of Ireland’s attack.
In terms of flashy thrills, it wasn’t Dan Dare stuff against the Scots – or even Danny La Rue – but it was ultimately effective and the move that sent Jacob Stockdale streaking clear for his try was a thing of beauty.
Things seem far simpler from a swivel chair in Ballymount than in the freezing wind and rain of a packed Murrayfield with Gregor Townsend’s men bearing down on you full of Braveheart brio.
Those conditions contributed to a high error count on both sides but Ireland’s underlying attitude was impressive – they were the superior team and carried themselves accordingly.
Psychologically, this is hugely significant ahead of their pool meeting in Yokohama when the carrot of avoiding an All Blacks quarter-final will be the prize.
Their crucial pool game at the last World Cup was against France and, just as with Scotland now, Ireland had won their previous two meetings. They knew they had the measure of the French and played that way when it mattered.
In World Cup terms, this victory, while far from complete, has Ireland moving in the right direction once again. The injury issues besetting the squad are challenging but they are allowing Schmidt to address certain Japan-centric questions and yesterday provided some key answers.
Rob Kearney re-established his status as first-choice 15, again, and the Italy and, possibly, France games offer the chance to land definitively on who will understudy him this autumn.
Joey Carbery took another major step forward yesterday – showing massive strength of character to come on for World Player of the Year Johnny Sexton, overcome a horror start and then steer Ireland to victory with a combination of pragmatism and pure magic.
Likewise, Jack Conan and Chris Farrell did their prospects of getting a boarding pass for Tokyo no harm – particularly Conan, who looked totally at ease and whose extra variety should put CJ Stander under pressure.
Quinn Roux merits praise for the lineout functioning on his watch and his power in the scrum but there was a lot of faffing about, in the first-half especially. Ultan Dillane looks a far better option while Devin Toner, Iain Henderson and Tadhg Beirne are injured.
That is a selection poser for the Italy and France games when Ireland should also assess the backup to hooker Rory Best, who captained well and drove the set-piece excellence but, at 36, is understandably not as effective in all-round terms as he used to be.
So, a bit of breathing space for Ireland, then – and hopefully balance for everyone else – before we tackle the second-half of this tournament.
Jim Staples was famously taken out of it by Finlay Calder in Murrayfield at the 1991 World Cup and it, ultimately, cost Ireland a semifinal place.
This Murrayfield experience was far healthier in terms of reaching the last four – so let’s turn the volume down and put the hysteria on hold for the bigger tests to come.