Organised chaos v organisation
Spontaneity and flair against discipline and ferocity. It’s hard to imagine two teams with more contrasting styles of play than the All Blacks and Ireland, as Marc Hinton reports.
In a classic clash of polar opposites, the All Blacks reckon they have a fair idea what’s coming from Joe Schmidt’s Ireland in today’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal.
All that remains to be seen is whether they are good enough to deal with it and extend their World Cup knockout win streak to seven matches in their quest for a historic third straight global crown in Japan.
No matchup in the looming four quarterfinals screams clash of styles quite like the All Blacks v Ireland at Tokyo Stadium tonight.
On the one hand you have the methodical, deliberate and easypaced game of the Irish who will come at the New Zealanders in well organised, disciplined waves, look to slow the ball down whenever they can and use the kicking games of Conor Murray and Jonny Sexton to attack via the aerial route.
On the other you have the All Blacks who thrive off quick ruck ball, will look to strike with lightning counter-attacks off turnover or errant kicks and will use width at every opportunity. When it’s on to shift through the hands, they’ll do so in a heartbeat.
One team oozes flair and spontaneity, and thrives in a brand of rugby many call ‘‘organised chaos’’, while the other has carved an impressive record as a disciplined defensive unit, with physical, ferocious forwards, a solid set piece and backs who will run hard and straight when they’re given premium field position.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen made it clear in the leadup he is not expecting too many surprises from the Irish, for all Joe Schmidt’s tactical acumen and reputation for having a trick or two up his sleeve. And, to be fair, Ireland also go into this huge clash with eyes wide open about what’s coming their way.
When the stakes are as high as
they are now in Japan, when, as Hansen puts it, you either turn left or right at the end of 80 minutes, teams tend to revert to the style they’re most comfortable with. If you’re going to go down, you want to at least do it being true to yourself.
Adding to the intriguing matchup is the fact that both
coaching groups know each other well. Hansen caught up with Ireland defensive guru Andy Farrell in the leadup this week for a natter. Schmidt and his scrum coach, former All Black Greg Feek, both spoke of convivial gettogethers after matches against their Kiwi rivals. These guys enjoy each other’s company, even if all
bets are off once the whistle blows.
‘‘They’re tenacious,’’ said Hansen of what makes Ireland such a tough opponent. ‘‘They play a pretty structured game and they’re good at what they know they’re good at. They don’t wander too much off the script.
‘‘They’re not a team that give you a lot of opportunities through
mistakes. They’re good at keeping the ball and when they kick it, they kick it to put pressure on you, rather than give you a free shot.’’
Schmidt, in the Ireland camp, also had a pretty good idea what was coming his team’s way, nominating transition as the one aspect of their game they had to get right against the All Blacks.
‘‘If you turn the ball over to them they’re ferociously dangerous,’’ he said. ‘‘Their speed to transition from defence to attack is something everybody fears about the All Blacks. They are so quick to make the most of it, have athletes with skills and speed, and an innate sense of this attack mentality.
‘‘They are almost wired for it. They’re going to do it very quickly and trying to keep up with the speed they do it is very difficult. That expansive skill they’ve got makes them incredibly dangerous.
‘‘They’ve got great set plays, they’re strong at the set piece, and all those other elements, but if I was going to pick something out, their transition attack is what most teams worry most about them.’’
Forewarned is forearmed. With those two victories in their last three matchups (their only two in over 100 years of playing each other), Schmidt is well aware of one other aspect of this clash.
‘‘We’re certainly not going to sneak up on them any more,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re not going to surprise them. They are well aware of how we play and what they are going to do to combat that.’’
There is one other contrast worth noting. Ireland have never won a knockout game at a World Cup. Not a one. They have never made it past the quarterfinals. The All Blacks, of course, are on a sixgame winning streak, unbeaten at squeaky bum time since their shock quarterfinal defeat in 2007.
And this is where Hansen’s pressure factor comes in. The All Blacks coach sees it as one of his team’s key advantages. They live the spotlight, the expectation, the high stakes every day of their lives. They walk towards it, as their motto. Others? Ah, not so much.
‘‘One team is probably feeling it’s their turn to win one, but it doesn’t guarantee it,’’ said Hansen. ‘‘With that comes pressure. Both teams are in the same situation – come the final whistle one will go right, one will go left. We all understand that.’’