KEEP IT SIMPLE SIMON
Onus is on Easterby to sort lineout after unacceptable failure
THE story goes that, at the height of the space race in the 1960s, NASA spent millions of dollars on a pen that astronauts would be able to use in space. What did the Russians do?
They used a pencil.
NASA claims this is an urban myth (one that got legs after being cited in an episode of The West Wing), but it has not prevented the space pen from being used regularly at business seminars to illustrate the value of pared-down efficiency in problem solving beneath one core concept: keep it simple.
In the lineout, simplicity is king. Every aspect of the setpiece is weighted in favour of the team throwing in and, when the operation is boiled down to its basics, securing possession should be straightforward to the point of being taken for granted.
Especially since lifting was legalised in the mid-1990s. Prior to that, it was something of a lottery when the ball was lobbed in, but once jumper-aid was allowed to compensate for lack of height or athletic ability, there were no real excuses for lost possession.
Indeed, it is remarkable that it took so long for rugby to figure out that, rather than devising a set of calls of space-pen complexity to be shouted out before delivery, it was far simpler to have a private huddle and then deliver the instruction directly to the hooker. No more learning off myriad permutations or trying to code-break the opposition, just a simple ‘off the top at four, please’ request to the thrower and away we go.
Ireland’s lineout malfunctioned badly at the weekend, ball was turned over unnecessarily (four lost throws) or won scrappily and, while it was not the sole reason for England’s comfortable 18-7 victory, it was certainly a significant contributory factor — one malfunction led directly to Jonny May’s wonder try.
Beating this England side in Twickenham is a monumental challenge with everything working perfectly; it is nigh on impossible when something as intrinsic and basic as the lineout fails to function properly.
As is often correctly stated, blame cannot be placed entirely into the hands of the hooker and, on Saturday, whereas the delivery of Ronan Kelleher was inconsistent, there were also issues with the calling, timing and lifting that added to the general malaise.
Equally, the opposition have to be factored in (last weekend it was chiefly the supreme athleticism of England’s Maro Itoje) but for a full-time, professional organisation operating at the top level there are really no excuses for such a key set-piece to break down the way it did on Saturday.
Ultimately, the responsibility falls solely on Simon Easterby, the man entrusted with overseeing lineout supply — and this is an area of considerable expertise for the Ireland forwards coach.
Easterby was a supreme lineout operator in his playing days on the blindside flank for Ireland. Like Alan Quinlan around the same time and Peter O’Mahony now, Easterby was a quality backrow jumping option in a way that others like Denis Leamy and Stephen Ferris were not — or indeed CJ Stander is not now. On that basis, the lineout issues were a surprise in Twickenham. Even allowing for the fact that including the unathletic scrummaging heft of Quinn Roux compromised options out of touch, England were similarly challenged with an undersized backrow and Joe Launchbury (not renowned for his elevation impact) in the second row next to Itoje.
Having James Ryan, O’Mahony and Caelan Doris should have been enough to secure the quality of aerial possession required and, when it wobbled, there should have been a back-up plan in place for Easterby’s on-field lieutenants to fall back on.
Even though the 6ft11in untouchable presence of Devin Toner is no longer there, it is not hard to secure lineout possession if the ‘banker ball’ option has been drilled in — when the hooker is poised ready to throw, if the
“Confusion too often held sway at Twickenham”
other seven walk in and spring into action as soon as they hit the line, it is practically impossible not to win the ball at two, or four.
Yet, too often, hesitancy and confusion held sway in Twickenham, with questionable calls and Itoje and his cohorts afforded too much time to enact their obstruction manoeuvres.
Under previous forwards coaches like Niall O’Donovan, Gert Smal and John Plumtree, the lineout became a slick operation, a steady stream of ball that offered assurance in attack and defence.
If Ireland are to progress under Farrell, that certainty needs to be re-established — regardless of who is playing, or who they are playing against.
Kelleher is a highly talented rugby player who could potentially nail down the No2 jersey for the next decade, he needs backing to ensure the lineout issue does not become an asterisk next to his name.
A properly organised, contingencyready lineout operation is essential, and Easterby needs to ensure it is in place — starting on Sunday against Georgia. With the bar set pretty low after last weekend — ‘keep it simple’ is a good place to start.