Irish dogs of war must soldier on to rescue season

SUDDENLY Soldiers Field seems a long time ago and a million miles away. The slayers of New Zealand and indeed Australia a few weeks later in Dublin are stumbling their way through this Six Nations in a manner unbecoming of such a talented side.

Defeat against Scotland was, according to some, simply down to a sloppy start which frankly was an insult to the Scots. Italy were blown away but France made the Irish huff and puff and on Friday night in Cardiff the score line was about right. You can argue all you like about Rory Best’s disallowed try with 11 minutes to go but in truth Ireland, for all their possession and time spent in opposition territory, rarely looked like scoring a try. Perhaps they used up their allocation against the hapless Italians in Rome.

The irony with Best’s ‘try’ was that the Irish skipper was about to flop over anyway when Henshaw, in a burst of misplaced enthusiasm, charged in to join the maul ahead of the ball carrier. The Leinster centre was distraught but his carelessness and imprecision typified Ireland on the night. He wasn’t alone.

There was a growing, tangible, sense of panic in the Ireland camp as the game progressed and for me it set in good and proper from the moment Conor Murray started carrying his left arm on the half hour after picking up a stinger while tackling.

It looked ominous as he struggled on, wincing every time he tried to pass or tackle, and you could instantly sense the concern of Ireland fans. Murray is their team’s lynchpin, milking every last ounce of advantage from his pack, keeping the opposition backrow honest and hoisting those inch perfect bombs.

With Murray’s departure Jonny Sexton - sporting a black eye himself after his early collision with Jonathan Davies - possibly tried a bit too much. He was central to everything for Ireland and nobody could have worked harder to galvanise the team but sometimes you can confuse movement with action.

Everything came through Sexton, save for when he was in the bin for ten minutes, which meant Wales’s defensive task was simplified.

Wales, who were right up for a battle anyway and tackled magnificently, lined him up very well, reading his drag backs and missed passes and while after the first couple of loops they also stamped on Sexton’s trademark manoeuvre.

Nor did they blink when he took the ball as flat as the law permit. The Welsh line stood firm and never faltered. Sexton’s cross field kicks did unsettle Wales a little but not so much as to prise the defence open. The team that scored five tries against the All Blacks departed Cardiff tryless.

It cried out for a second playmaking, kicking option at 12 and although Henshaw is many things, he is not that. There is a school of thought going forward that perhaps Ireland should try Sexton in the “Farrell” role at 12 with Paddy Jackson at ten.

For some reason, possibly just excellent first up tackling from Wales, those dogs of war CJ Stander

(below) and Sean O’Brien were also unable to cause their usual carnage and the result was that all of Ireland’s big playmaker were neutered.

So what now? Well don’t go thinking this will make it any easier for England. Ireland’s season is right on the line now, another defeat and a fourth or fifth place finish really wouldn’t be acceptable for this group considering their Autumn form and the season their Provinces are enjoying in Europe.

Questions would be asked as to the direction of Irish rugby and if any real progress has been made and that’s a vicious cycle to extract yourself from. It reminds me very much of 2011 when Ireland were two from four going into the final weekend and the knives were being sharpened only for Brian O’Driscoll’s team to produce a supercharged performance, particularly in the first half, to defeat England 24-8.

That was a seminal moment for Martin Johnson’s England who up until that moment had been on a steady upward trend and were confidently looking to complete a Grand Slam. In fact they were never quite the same afterwards, it dented their confidence badly and they were underperforming in New Zealand even before their off their field activities soured the atmosphere.

The tickets have long been sold at the Aviva and Ireland never need motivating against England so Ireland will be full on and desperate to rediscover the spirit of Chicago.

There are also Lions places at stake. CJ Stander is perhaps no longer inked in as a starter, Sean O’Brien has yet to fully make his case, Peter O’Mahony had been denied a proper run by injury, Henshaw needs to show a bit more, we haven’t seen enough of Simon Zebo in attack, Tadh Furlong doesn’t look like the force of nature he was in the Autumn. Plenty to play for.