UNDER SIEGE
Scotland’s successful coaching rejig throws spotlight on Farrell and his backroom team
ONE OF the starkest facts already discernible in Stephen Kenny’s short time as Irish soccer manager is the lack of depth in his squad.
This is not news, but it is a reality that has been made newly emphatic in Kenny’s few matches in charge. For the team to have any hope of achieving his grand ambitions, he needs all his good players available, all of the time.
That is fanciful in a normal season, but in a time when games are crammed in to fit schedules distorted by shutdowns, it is a treacherous foundation on which to build a plan.
Depth was, for a long time, one of the strengths of Irish rugby. This was despite the very limited number of players available to an Irish head coach compared to his French or English rivals.
Ireland, for a time, consistently beat these two superpowers, or at least ran them close.
The extent to which Ireland’s reservoirs of quality competitors, players able to compete against virtually any opposition in the
“It’s been a very worrying month for Andy Farrell”
world, has diminished has been made obvious over the past two years, from the decline of 2019 onwards.
That has resulted in uncertainty and a consequent f all- off in performance.
Those determined to put a positive spin on recent weeks for Andy Farrell point to the number of new caps he has awarded, but this has merely exposed the reduction in quality.
And the manner in which the scrum creaked against Georgia last Sunday means there is now no area of the team that isn’t a cause for concern.
Andrew Porter has filled in manfully, sometimes impressively, for Tadhg Furlong, but the latter is a Lion, and the best in the world in his position when fit.
In that regard, his long absence with back and then calf injuries has been a big handicap for Farrell, but with Leinster indicating in mid-November that he had suffered a setback in his recovery, Furlong will not provide a solution in the short-term at least.
Finlay Bealham’s discomfort against the Georgians was also illustrative of the renewed importance of Cian Healy. His latecareer flourish has been a great credit to the player himself, and the unavailability of Dave Kilcoyne is another complication.
But as with the soccer team and Stephen Kenny’s plans, coaches have to be able to cope with headaches caused by injuries.
It was no surprise that Georgia were accomplished in the scrum at Aviva Stadium; it’s what they do. But that Ireland endured the difficulties they did against what was still a second-tier opponent was embarrassing.
It was one more area of the team breaking down in what has been a deeply worrying month for Farrell. He certainly should be concerned. John Fogarty succeeded the vaunted Greg Feek as scrum coach upon Farrell assuming control. Previous to that, he had spent four years in charge of Leinster’s scrum, which provided an outstanding platform for the success under Leo Cullen.
Fogarty’s relationship with Healy and Furlong clearly had benefits for the national team, while his knowledge of other Leinster talents like Ronan Kelleher was an asset, too.
Scrutiny of the Irish coaching team as the side misfires has been mainly concentrated on Farrell and Mike Catt, but after last weekend Fogarty and Simon Easterby must also come under attention.
Fogarty’s efforts at repairing Ireland’s scrum will come under quick examination tomorrow.
Scotland are not the first side one would associate with offering posers in this part of the game, but this is a side that, unlike Ireland, has been rejuvenated since suffering at the World Cup. THE appointment of f ormer France prop Peter de Villiers as scrum coach is a big reason. Up to a year ago, remarkably, there was no coach dedicated to this part of their game on Gregor Townsend’s staff.
The addition of de Villiers was announced just after Christmas last year, along with that of Steve Tandy as defence coach. Their appointments were a direct reaction to the World Cup disaster, when Scotland failed to get out of their pool after losses to both Ireland and Japan.
They were hammered by Irel and 27- 3, before their game against Japan ended in defeat by seven points when progress required a win.
It was only the second time the Scots failed to get out of their pool at a World Cup, but on-field failure was exacerbated by their conduct off it when the potential cancellation of their match against Japan was mooted, and their threat of legal action drew widespread criticism.
Townsend was seen as Scotland’s saviour when promoted from Glasgow, but ambitious rugby that cut up the Pro 14 didn’t provide consistent progress at Test level.
Their problems culminated not in defeat to Japan but in the beating Ireland doled out in the first match of the tournament last October.
This was the last great hurrah of Joe Schmidt’s Ireland, a team precisely drilled in set-pieces and vigilant in defence showing opponents how big games are really won.
The danger is that the lesson will be imparted again in Dublin tomorrow, but with Ireland the ones receiving painful instruction this time.
Tandy’s impact is more obvious, with Scotland conceding the fewest tries of any side in the Six Nations. But de Villiers has brought an immediate improvement to their scrum, widely praised over recent weeks.
He describes himself as a hard taskmaster, but it’s working.
Their win over Italy three weeks ago was their fifth successive victory, only the second time in the professional era a Scottish side has done that. The run ended with defeat to France two weeks ago, but that does little to challenge the view that this is a team transformed.
They will also come to Dublin with a week’s more rest than Ireland.
This will be a significant challenge, and every aspect of the Irish game will feel the strain.