Slick Ireland give the Boks pause for thought ahead of seismic showdown

EVEN in that supermarket TV advert with the talking cartoon carrot, Paul O’Connell oozes intensity. The Munster and Ireland captain struggles to dial it down at the best of times. You could imagine the director giving O’Connell some notes before the cameras began rolling: ‘Paul, I know it’s a CGI vegetable, but can you act like a super-intense coach who demands the highest standards?’

You could imagine the reply from O’Connell. He only knows one way. It’s a big reason why he was such a loyal disciple of Joe Schmidt. The more detail, the better. Sightings of O’Connell doing late-night shifts in the video analysis room in Irish camps were commonplace. Here was an obsessive.

Coaching was always a natural route. O’Connell took the scenic route to this gig, but he has thrived on Andy Farrell’s watch since he was drafted on the coaching team in 2021. His impact was immediate. He tightened up a misfiring lineout and brought clarity to a lot of other elements which had gotten too loose; the breakdown for one.

O’Connell would have been irked by some recent set-piece malfunctions, however. The lineout hadn’t been the slick and reliable conduit for possession in recent times.

There were sloppy moments against England and Samoa during the warm-up series and it spilled over into last weekend’s procession against Romania. You can only imagine the forensic level of work which O’Connell has put into solving this problem of late. Make no mistake, no stone would have been left unturned. Plenty of graveyard shifts in the video room, again.

Last night was much better on that front. Ireland’s forwards coach would have been heartened by a well-oiled machine out of touch. The first five lineouts hit their targets and the trend continued throughout what would become an utterly dominant performance.

The way in which the Irish pack mauled the outstanding Caelan Doris over the line for Ireland’s second try of the evening drew a big roar from O’Connell in the coaches’ box. Precision engineering on the training paddock coming to fruition on game day.

Ireland’s lineout maul has come in for some criticism as well of late. Another big box ticked in O’Connell’s brief.

Some of this team’s best play

comes from their lineout. It’s their launchpad for many of their wellorchestrated raids.

No doubt, the South African brains trust were keeping an eye on what was transpiring in Nantes. Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber would have been watching on, notebooks in hand and looking for chinks in the Irish armour.

That Pool B meeting in Paris is drawing ever closer. No guessing where Erasmus and Co are going to attack Andy Farrell’s side. They know if they can disrupt Ireland’s steady stream of lineout possession, it has major knock-on effects for the rest of their game.

Another big week for O’Connell beckons. If he can mastermind another tactical masterclass against the Springboks, then Ireland really are in business at this World Cup.

The Springboks pack — even

without the brilliant Malcolm

Marx - will be a totally different proposition, but this was encouraging nonetheless. In terms of physicality, defensive line speed and sheer power, the Springboks will be another step up. This was a nice warm-up for that seismic meeting at Stade de France in seven days’ time, however.

Farrell and his fellow coaches had already turned their attention to the world champions by halftime. Sexton’s record-breaking try had secured the bonus-point as Ireland cruised into a 31-13 win at the break.

That was the Ireland captain’s last action on the pitch. Sexton didn’t return to the action when the second-half resumed. Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong were also told to take a breather. A quartet of frontliners withdrawn from the action. Bigger tests ahead.

James Ryan and Garry Ringrose were called ashore with 30 minutes of the contest remaining as well. It’s all about the Boks now.

Erasmus and Co would have been impressed by what they saw last night. Once they began to move through the phases, they overwhelmed their opponents with the sheer pace and variety of their multi-layered attack.

The whole bench had been cleared long before the hour mark. Something of a calculated risk from Farrell (right).

When James Lowe powered his way over the line thanks to a wellexecuted lineout move - just before the water break,

you could sense the relief in the Irish ranks. That score killed off any notions of a Tongan revival. When Bundee Aki scythed his way through Ireland’s sixth try of the night, the crowd were in party mode. Once again, it was a clean lineout which laid the platform for the in-form Connacht centre to blast through a tiring Tongan defence. And some big contributions from the bench rounded off a satisfying pool win. All 23 will be vital next weekend. The ‘Bomb Squad’ will need defusing as well.

All roads lead to Saint Denis now. Shutting down Ireland at source will be South Africa’s prime directive.