Irish teams tame Europe as real tests loom
WEhave just had two belting rounds in the European Champions Cup. Close contests, high-quality contests, four countries in genuine competition — not just England, France and Ireland, but Wales too.
Of the four, who would you choose to be? Irish. Without a doubt. And it hasn’t just been a strong two weeks for the Irish, it has been a titanic two months. The national side were unbeaten in the autumn internationals, this past fortnight, they have been unbeaten in Europe.
In the Champions and Challenge Cups this season, the four Irish provinces have played 16, won 14. In contests against English sides this past fortnight, they are 6-0 up. The crowing in some quarters of the media is therefore not surprising. As one Irish columnist wrote: ‘‘It’s telling that only one English team is in a qualifying position for the quarterfinals. They’ll be Brexiting big time in January.’’
Let there be no doubt: Irish rugby is in blooming good health and the good news is not just on the field. When wing Simon Zebo announced that he was leaving Munster to maximise his earning power overseas, the fear that more would follow was considerable. Forwards Peter O’Mahony and C J Stander were the next big issues. There was less talk, but even more foreign interest in prop Tadhg Furlong, one of the two most valuable players in the country with halfback Conor Murray. Last week, though, O’Mahony, Stander and Furlong re-signed.
Not that it was required, but O’Mahony gave a timely, man-ofthe-match reminder of his value at Welford Road. Nobody in Europe had ever beaten Leicester twice in a back-to-back double. Well, Munster have just broken that duck.
Many wondered whether the news of Zebo and the mid-season departure of Rassie Erasmus, the Munster director of rugby who is to take up the post of South Africa director of rugby, would herald a kind of club crisis. The opposite appears to have taken place. Johann van Graan has come in, and instead of mourning what has passed, we have a honeymoon period.
In this weekend of Ireland uber alles, two elements were striking. One was the sheer scale of home-grown product. Ireland are criticised (fairly, in my opinion) for their pipeline of overseas ‘‘project players’’, but here is the other side to the story.
In Leinster’s squad of 23 against Exeter Chiefs nine days ago, 18 had come through their academy. Of Leinster’s 45-man senior squad, 37 have come through their academy or the pathway. Leinster’s production line is so strong that their players are spilling into the other provinces— seven are in the Ulster squad, five are with Munster and 13 with Connacht. The conclusion in The Irish Times at the weekend was that ‘‘Leinster are akin to Ajax in their 1980’s pomp’’.
Some of the reason for this is the sheer strength of schools’ rugby. Wellington College is one of the most elite rugby schools in England yet, when they played St Michael’s College, Dublin, 10 days ago, they were beaten 72-0.
The other striking aspect of the Irish weekend was the character and resilience of their three Champions Cup teams. The English all came fast out of the blocks and then faded. Munster were 10-3 down to Leicester Tigers after 20 minutes, Leinster were 17-3 down to Exeter just before halftime, Ulster were only one point ahead of Harlequins after 30min, but won the game by 28.
In all three cases, the English uprising was quelled. The Irish teams dug in, put out the fire and slowly eased ahead.
Six Nations international test success and European club success are closely related.
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Ireland have good reason to be cheerful about 2018. TIMES