Joe’s in bonus territory
Win or lose, it’s all going to plan for Schmidt
O’Mahony’s presence lifts the team around him
WHOEVER wins in Sydney next weekend, this tour has been a huge success for Joe Schmidt and his Ireland players.
Saturday’s victory over the Wallabies in Melbourne — Ireland’s first for 39 years in Australia — justifies Schmidt’s decision not to rest his frontline players for this trip.
Winning the series decider would be fantastic but it is not the be-all and endall. It never was.
Ultimately, this summer expedition was about taking significant steps towards next year’s World Cup in Japan — in terms of personnel and psychological development — and things are very much going to plan for Schmidt.
The 18-9 first Test defeat in Brisbane was disappointing but hugely informative for the Ireland coach, who took the opportunity to look at some fringe players.
Last Saturday, with his main men back in tow, Ireland took down a full-strength, highly skilled Wallabies outfit that went into the match on a high.
Victory in Brisbane was a shot of adrenaline for a sport that struggles for acclamation in Australia and there an undeniable sense on Saturday that the Wallabies had got ahead of themselves a little bit.
There was an overt air of self-satisfaction after beating Ireland, an attitude of ‘so, you blokes are supposed to be second in the world, eh?’ that verged on crowing.
In Melbourne, Schmidt’s team demonstrated exactly why they are rated second only to the All Blacks in the world game with a ruthlessly clinical display driven by the team’s inspirational spine — Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan, Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, Johnny Sexton and Garry Ringrose.
Once they stay fit, those six players are nailed on starters for the World Cup and when they are on their game, Ireland are a match for any side, including New Zealand.
Furlong was supposed to be banjaxed with tiredness, and he had every reason to be after nearly two years of almost ceaseless toil, but the big Wexford tighthead produced one of his finest performances — big scrum presence, big hits, big carries and a big reach for the decisive try. Ryan’s excellence is a given at this stage, the second-row and future Ireland captain has become an essential component of this team and does not turn 22 until next month. Meanwhile, the O’Mahony doubters will retreat beneath the covers after the stand-in captain’s inspirational showing in Melbourne.
There is a myopic tendency in the modern game to base player assessment predominantly on their stats — poring over the numbers for tackles, carries and metres made instead of assessing a player’s overall contribution by actually watching the game.
O’Mahony (left) frequently bears the brunt of such short-sightedness because his figures do not leap off the screen.
But the evidence is irrefutable that, regardless of stats, O’Mahony’s presence lifts the team around him and, after a superb display in Brisbane that he did not get sufficient credit for, the Corkman was truly immense in Melbourne — typified by his three momentum-shifting turnovers as he outshone his opposite number David Pocock, who had ruled the ground battle the week before .
The half-back pairing of Murray and Sexton slipped seamlessly back into their Grand Slam routine, both oozing assurance throughout while Ringrose showed, yet again, why he has to be in the No13 jersey, irrespective of who plays inside him.
Like his iconic predecessor in that shirt, some players just have a touch of class about everything they do and, whether it was his interventions in defence, footwork in attack, passing or sublime lines of running (that were not rewarded as they should have been), Ringrose was pure class.
Elsewhere, it is worth noting that Devin Toner has not lost in an Ireland jersey since March 2017.
The giant Meath man is another, like O’Mahony, who consistently has his worth questioned.
He is clearly not the most athletic, nor intimidating, second row on the international circuit but he is a player who gets the most out of his sizeable frame and there is something comforting from an Irish perspective seeing Toner run out, beyond the guarantee of excellent lineout possession.
There is a reason Schmidt keeps going back to him — not least the fact he has a 75 per cent win record with Toner in his team.
Schmidt’s big call for this Test was the dumping of Sean Cronin with Niall Scannell selected at hooker, and the Corkman justified the faith shown in him.
He was a meaty presence in the scrum and close-quarter exchanges as the Ireland forwards established the dominance they lacked in Brisbane.
In fact, being substituted after 49 minutes did not seem fitting reward for an accomplished allround display. There was one lineout throw that was a couple of inches too low and an ambitious wayward offload after an excellent surge but Scannell thrust his name right into the World Cup frame.
And, into the mix for next week — as did Tadhg Beirne, who did not look out of place when making his debut off the bench.
Whoever Schmidt goes with for Sydney, it is essential they play with the same ferocity they showed in Melbourne, which was several levels up on the week before.
That, married with Schmidt’s superb tactical planning, and Sexton’s implementation, made Ireland too much for the Aussies
to handle in Melbourne. Their coach, Michael Cheika, will demand an improvement while Ireland have the mental challenge of fighting off the fatigue factor this week with the beach towels calling.
Perhaps that factor will prompt Schmidt to mix it up again selection-wise to get more World Cup answers, and the Kiwi hinted he might be thinking that way with his post-game observations.
‘We definitely want to win this series, but we probably have only 10 games between this tour and the World Cup. The thing we want to believe about our squad is that there is less and less between players, so selection is a contest every time.’
It will be another fascinating selection with injuries and general wear and tear possibly influencing Schmidt in certain positions. But, with this victory in the locker, he can do as he pleases — the plan of assessing World Cup options while achieving a seminal victory away to a tier-one nation has already been achieved and nobody is going to hammer Schmidt if he fails to seal the series win in Sydney.
Ireland are in bonus territory.