Lineout poser after omission of Toner
Ireland begin their World Cup campaign against Scotland on Sunday with their fair share of questions to answer, chief among them how their lineout will fare without its chief operator for the last four years.
Coach Joe Schmidt surprised many when he could not find room in his 31-man squad for Devin Toner, favouring the greater versatility offered by Tadhg Beirne and scrummaging power of the relatively untested Jean Kleyn when it came down to his final second row squad choices.
At 2.1m tall, it is obvious what Ireland sacrifice without Toner but perhaps more crucially than his ability to win the ball and preoccupy opposing jumpers is the fact that the experienced Leinster man has called Ireland’s lineouts since Paul O’Connell retired after the last World Cup.
“The caller is huge,” former Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman, who threw to Toner when the lock was starting out at Leinster, said. “Every hooker has a favourite throw, they’ve a throw they like to put in early to settle them, they’ve a throw they like to go to if they’ve lost a couple.
“Most important for a hooker is that your caller will stay calm and work things out.
“Everyone thinks that James Ryan can do a good job.”
Ireland’s lineout options could also depend on how Schmidt opts to match up.
With Ireland bullied at times in a disappointing Six Nations, he may feel Kleyn’s brawn is needed against bigger packs.
Not the most agile of jumpers, that would put even more responsibility on Ryan’s shoulders.
Jackman says the lineout is particularly key to Ireland’s prospects as it is the platform Schmidt has used most effectively to build the kind of pinpoint attacking plays that landed a Grand Slam in 2018 and two victories over World champions New Zealand in their last three meetings.
“Our lineout maul hasn’t looked like a real weapon recently either so if you’re a defensive coach and think we can stop them if they catch it, then you get more focus up in the air,” Jackman said.
“Whereas if Ireland went to the World Cup with a devastating maul, teams would have to decide how much priority they wanted to put into the aerial battles.
“I think Scotland for sure will have a crack off us and if we faced South Africa in a quarterfinal, they would back themselves to be able to stop it so I think we’re going to face serious pressure at lineout time.”
While Toner’s omission has stoked some debate back in Ireland, it is also fair to ask how much the 33-year-old would have featured given Schmidt’s clear identification of a role for Kleyn and the likely first choice and most dynamic pairing of Ryan and Ulster’s Iain Henderson.