Very rude awakening for Ireland
IT WAS mixed luck for Wexford players as the Six Nations Championship took centre stage over the weekend.
Saturday was a day when Ireland were given a timely reminder of where they really stand as they were torn apart by England in a 32-20 defeat.
They were very much on the back foot from the opening minutes of the game when the visitors laid down a marker with an early opening try.
It was a harsh lesson for Ireland, whose dreams of back-to-back Grand Slams were well and truly shattered in a high-octane physical encounter, where the imposing power of the English proved too much for an Irish side that simply hadn’t the strength to match their opponents in open play.
More importantly, they struggled at the breakdowns which had been Ireland’s strong point, as during the 80 minutes they did not have even one single turnover.
Tactics played a huge part in this English victory. They curtailed the threat of Keith Earls by continually lofting high kicks, bringing him into the rucks.
And with no chaser for Conor Murray’s box kicks, with the scrum-half struggling with his own game, England were able to set up their scores.
With Josh Van Der Flier being continually tied into the rucks on the tackle, Ireland’s clean-out specialist was on the bottom instead of on the top, another successful tactic deployed by the English, who also expose Robbie Henshaw’s lack of big match experience of playing full-back.
The Irish held their own in the scrums, but still had to withstand tremendous pressure, but Tadhg Furlong came up against a man possessed in Mako Vunipola, who was also so prominent in the loose.
Furlong still managed to get in the big tackles, coupled with some driving play, but for the first time he was knocked back on a couple of occasions as he tried to make ground.
Irish flaws were brutally exposed by a highly-motivated English side.
Now Joe Schmidt faces a different type of challenge as he prepares sore bodies for Saturday’s outing against Scotland in Murrayfield.
In better news, Brian Deeny won his first Irish cap when coming on as a replacement in the Under-20s’ tremendous 35-27 victory over England in their international in Independent Park in Cork on Friday evening.
This was a thrilling game of rugby played out between two excellent sides, with Deeny getting his chance to play a role in the historic victory, as he was introduced to the pack for the closing minutes.
The former St. Peter’s College student and Wexford Minor footballer has made huge progress since moving to the Leinster set-up from Wexford Wanderers where he began his career.