GOING DOWN IN HISTORY
Eric Miller has been on the receiving end of an English backlash, and says Ireland must heed warning signs if they want to avoid…
IRELAND will travel to London next weekend in confident mood ahead of that eagerlyanticipated Six Nations meeting with England at Twickenham, but Andy Farrell’s squad should heed a warning from history. Back in 2002, an Ireland squad headed for England HQ in buoyant form after a big win over Wales in Dublin. Eddie O’Sullivan was in his first campaign in charge, having succeeded Warren Gatland as head coach. Sound familiar?
England were a dominant force and their team sheet was a cast of household names: Vickery, Johnson, Hill, Back, Wilkinson, Greenwood, Robinson.
Clive Woodward’s stellar squad were stockpiling Six Nations trophies, but a Grand Slam was proving elusive. They had been denied on the final day of the championship against Wales (in 1999) and Scotland the following year. The foot and mouth outbreak of 2001 meant they arrived in Dublin in October of that year to face Ireland in a rearranged Six Nations fixture.
Shorn of some key figures like Martin Johnson and perhaps a little complacent, England, who had Mike Catt in midfield that afternoon, were subjected to a good oldfashioned ambush at Lansdowne Road – Keith Wood scoring the decisive try in a 20-14 win.
They were in vengeful mood when Ireland arrived on their home turf the following February.
Many Ireland teams have endured harrowing afternoons in south-west London throughout history and this encounter was high up in the trauma rankings.
Written on a whiteboard in the English dressing room was ‘Don’t forget Dublin’ and Woodward’s squad duly eviscerated the visitors.
Eric Miller was one of 13 players retained for that trip to Twickenham. An ageing pack containing the likes of Peter Clohessy and Mick Galwey was simply no match for a juggernaut England. It finished 45-11 in a defeat that would leave lasting scars.
‘It wasn’t a good day,’ Miller recalled.
‘They were at the peak of their powers then in terms of key lads like Martin Johnson. They were building towards the World Cup the year after and they were strong. We were still sort of building at that stage but that wasn’t a good day. Not one my fonder memories.
‘They were in a good point in their cycle. They were quite strong all round. We were in sort of a transition, I think.
‘The October game was a great memory back at Lansdowne Road.
‘They were a very mobile and quick side. We were sort of... we had some young backs coming through but probably ageing a bit up front and we just couldn’t keep up with them.
‘The front five there was a big difference, I thought, on the day. They got a foothold in the game and I remember chasing shadows a little bit.’
Ireland were supposed to be past those dark days in Twickenham, with Joe Schmidt’s class of 2018 sealing a Grand Slam there.
But the bad old days returned last August when England stuck 57 points on them in a pre-World Cup warm-up fixture. An ominous omen ahead of that ill-fated tournament.
They return to the scene of the crime on Sunday with a new head coach in Andy Farrell and a squad seemingly rejuvenated after the grim events of Japan. But Miller, who won 48 caps for Ireland and represented Leicester, Ulster and Leinster during his playing career, sounded a warning ahead of next week’s trip.
‘I’ve heard that there has been quite a bit of player empowerment, not that there wasn’t under Joe Schmidt but in terms of owning problems and solving problems,’ said Miller.
‘I think they have a set-up in Abbotstown where they do their video analysis on the side of the pitch, they look at something and then they go and fix it. I think that’s very empowering. I think that’s a great tool.
‘I think it’s early days with Andy Farrell. I hope he evolves our game more. We went wide a few times against Wales and I think they brought a bit more risk into things.
‘At the same time, I think our runners around the fringes are very static. I think teams are lining us up and we’re not generating enough quick ball.
‘I don’t mind Conor Murray box-kicking but I still feel there’s a bit of the old and there’s some good signs, but if we’re going to kick the ball then we need to have a purpose.
‘Guys have to be chasing it properly and you’ve got to try and get it back otherwise you’re just gifting teams possession because they did that in the last few games when they didn’t need to.
‘We could have maybe held on to the ball a bit more and backed ourselves.
‘I’d have the view that he’s going to evolve a little bit more and that we’ll try a few more offloads, if it’s on and try to get forwards on the front foot instead of the static carry from a standing start. That’s something I’ve noticed with our forwards compared to other teams.
‘We need to generate a bit faster ball closer in by just the timing of running on to the ball.’
A recall for Caelan Doris may solve that problem. The Leinster
‘IT’S EARLY DAYS WITH FARRELL, I HOPE HE EVOLVES OUR GAME’
No8 shares many of the same characteristics that defined Miller, a skillful, attack-minded backrower in his playing days.
Doris’ Test debut lasted just four minutes against Scotland after he copped an early head injury, but Farrell may be tempted to bring the 21-year-old back into the fold to punch some holes in the English defence.
Peter O’Mahony has responded to his benching in the first round with some excellent performances but Ireland will need more to counter the twin threats of the ‘Kamikaze Kids’ Sam Underhill and Tom Curry in England’s backrow. Don’t be surprised to see Doris on the team sheet next week.
‘He’s fairly dynamic,’ said Miller. ‘It was a shame against Scotland. Like myself, he went off on his first cap. I lasted about 27 minutes (against Italy in 1997) more than him though.
‘He was very unlucky after four minutes to be coming off but that’s the nature of the game now. I liked his selection. He’s dynamic and good over the ball.
‘That dynamism... Peter O’Mahony brings other skills to the table but I definitely think the way Farrell is going by leaving him out initially, he might be looking to go towards a faster game.
‘Pete carried well in the last game but he needs to probably do more, like Stander does, to really solidify his place there. I think it’s a very open position at the moment.
‘Stander is so good in defence he’s invaluable at the moment but himself and James Ryan are being targeted. Ireland just can’t rely on Tadhg Furlong, they’re going to have to have one or two more carriers in the backrow. Van der Flier does it occasionally but we definitely need an out-and-out carrier. ‘Stander and Ryan are marked men now, there are almost two men on them every time they get the ball and that relates to my point about the standing-start runners, we need to have more subtlety.’