Ireland’s biggest stars are now their greatest problem
Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray are fading forces but remain undroppable, reports Tom Cary
There was a noticeably different atmosphere in the Ireland camp in Portugal this week, certainly compared with three months ago; less intense, less pressurised, less paranoid.
Partly, of course, that had to do with the fact that the last time the Ireland players were together they were under the most intense pressure, up against (then) back-to-back world champions New Zealand in a World Cup quarter-final in Yokohama. But also it had to do with the fact that Andy Farrell is clearly making a conscious effort to move on from the Joe Schmidt era.
Everywhere you looked were examples of the new approach; the vision access part of training – the bit the journalists are allowed to watch – featured plenty of laughter as Farrell, Simon Easterby and new coaches Mike Catt and John Fogarty put Ireland’s players through their paces; Catt using an Aussie Rules football to sharpen his players’ handling skills.
Arriving early for his press conference later in the afternoon, Farrell did not turn on his heels as Schmidt would have done, he sat down and chatted with reporters for 10 minutes as he waited for the stragglers to arrive, talking golf and karaoke.
The players, too, highlighted the more relaxed vibe in their media sessions. “They’ve really tried to shake everything up and it feels completely different,” was one observation from Jacob Stockdale. “To be honest, it’s been really enjoyable coming back in.”
It remains to be seen how long the honeymoon period lasts, or how successful that approach will prove to be. Farrell can be tough too. There is one area, though, which the Englishman has clearly not moved on from. In naming Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton as his half-back pairing for Ireland’s Six Nations opener against Scotland in Dublin today, Farrell resisted calls to rip up Ireland’s most established partnership.
Sexton, of course, was a shoo-in after being named captain for this Six Nations campaign. There is an argument for saying that had Joey Carbery been playing well for Munster all winter, Farrell might just have made a clean break and built a team around the New Zealand-born No 10.
But he has not. Carbery is out for the season with a wrist injury. Sexton was, therefore, the first name on Farrell’s team sheet. Billy Burns and Ross Byrne have been in good form for their respective provinces but the Test arena is another step again. Never mind that he is 34 and has hardly played any rugby himself this winter, Sexton is now undroppable.
Scrum-half was another matter. Murray has been Ireland’s firstchoice in this position since the 2011 World Cup but is under more scrutiny and pressure than ever. He is not – so the theory goes – the same player he was two or three years ago, back when he was terrorising the All Blacks for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions.
A serious neck injury meant a long spell out of the game, then a concussion or two delayed his return. He looked a yard off the pace in Japan, never quite comfortable. There were many in the Emerald Isle hoping to see John Cooney handed the keys to No 9 after some eye-catching performances for Ulster this season. Or Luke Mcgrath for that matter.
Instead of weaning Ireland off their star duo at the start of a new four-year cycle, though, Farrell has doubled down. You can understand why. Murray and Sexton have played a record 56 Tests together in green. They know the Ireland play book back to front and inside out. They command authority and respect from team-mates and opposition alike.
As Farrell and Catt try to implement a new attacking game plan – whatever that looks like – they are going to need the likes of Murray and Sexton on board. Certainly Sexton.
Jamie Heaslip reckons it makes complete sense to give the Leinster player the captaincy for this campaign, as the de facto leader in the team anyway. “At national level, he’s pretty much been the captain for the last two years, in my book,” Heaslip said this week. “Any team that I’ve been on with Johnny, even if he’s not captain, he’ll still let his point of view be known.
“I think it’s a really good evolution step for him as a player. I think he’s at that right age and stage of experience in the game and life experience to be the main man, be the captain, be the leader.”
Not everyone is so sure. “It’s a question which is very warranted,” observed former Scotland captain Gavin Hastings when asked whether Sexton’s was an appointment of convenience.
“You can’t say it’s an appointment for the future can you? But if it helps to get an extra couple of per cent out of him then Farrell knows him better than I do. But he hasn’t played an awful lot of rugby so there’s going to be pressure on him as well.”
Farrell insists he has – and will continue to – pick on form. “We’ve got to do what’s right for the team to be at our best on Saturday, and we’ll see how we go after that,” he said of his selection, adding that Murray had been “in great form” in training.
It remains to be seen whether, if the unthinkable happens and Ireland lose at home to Scotland this weekend, the former rugby league Man of Steel will wield the axe. For the moment, he is happy to go back to the future with Ireland’s record-breaking duo.