Adding potent counter-attack threat holds key to Irish evolution

IRELAND have never really been known as a strong counter-attacking team, but as they continue to evolve their game-plan, a shift in mindset could provide the spark that has often been lacking. For all that Rob Kearney was a classy operator when he was in situ at full-back, running turnover ball wasn’t a hallmark of his game and, as such, Ireland played to his strengths.

With the changing of the guard now completed, Ireland must adapt accordingly to get the most out of their new-look back-three.

Andy Farrell’s side were much more fluid and coherent in attack during the recent win over Italy, yet they will be disappointed that they left several tries behind them, as they ended up reverting to the old direct approach of running through the opposition rather than around them.

That’s what made the bullish mood in the post-match press conference all the more surprising, as the Ireland camp were seemingly annoyed they weren’t given more credit for beating a poor Italian team.

Ireland will, however, take confidence from what was an ideal therapy session in Rome, as they head into a much tougher challenge against Scotland this weekend.

The six tries against the hapless Italians took Ireland’s tally for the tournament to eight, although that doesn’t mean their problems have been suddenly fixed.

Mike Catt’s attack has come in for plenty of scrutiny in recent weeks and while it has flattered to deceive at times, if the facile win over Italy proves to be a turning point, then everyone will be happy.

Catt put pressure on the players and they largely delivered at the Stadio Olimpico. Backing it up in Murrayfield on Sunday is vital.

Ireland have scored 33 tries in Farrell’s 12 games in charge, but it’s worth pointing out that 13 of them were in the two hammerings of Italy.

Digging a little deeper, the cold hard facts tell another story in that Ireland’s counter-attacking is also still very much a work in progress.

Two of their seven tries in last October’s win over the Azzurri were scored on turnover ball, which highlighted just how dangerous they are when they get it right.

So much of it is about mindset and with Farrell and Catt putting a huge emphasis on the players’ ability to make decisions based on what they see in front of them, the system also has to allow for that creative spark, particularly when the safer option is deemed to kick.

Too often recently, it has looked like Ireland were under instructions to kick the ball in their own half rather than having a cut and posing the defence different kinds of questions.

Mike Haley’s sensational solo try in Munster’s win over Connacht on Friday was a perfect example of creating something out of nothing on turnover ball.

Compare that to Ireland’s restrictive approach when Billy Burns kicked away possession early on during the defeat to France after a stolen lineout. Communication becomes key in that regard but given how quickly Burns (left) made the decision to kick, it was difficult not to believe that it was an approach that had been spoken about beforehand. That Burns example was not the only one, as we have highlighted in the accompanying images.

Johnny Sexton used a similar approach at times against Wales, which admittedly was under different circumstances with Ireland were down to 14 men for most of the game.

There is no doubt they cut loose in the first half in Rome, yet there were some instances of players opting to kick rather than counter-attacking the space in front of them.

James Lowe was guilty of doing so on a couple of occasions, again as we have analysed (above), as the winger used his hammer of a left boot.

It has been an interesting introduction to international rugby for Lowe and although he has had his issues defensively, there is a nagging sense that Ireland are not getting the best out of the Leinster man in attack.

Since making his debut late

last year, a lot of the conversation around Lowe has been centred on the distance he is able to get in his kicks, but that appears to be missing the point of why he was brought into the team in the first place.

Lowe is a strong attacker and given his Kiwi blood, he was brought up on the art and joy of the counter-attack.

For all that kicking can result in big territorial gains, picking and choosing your moments is key. Too often, Lowe has been too quick to resort to the boot rather than using his power to run the ball back. Again, it begs the question: does the system allow him to do so?

Hugo Keenan has taken over at full-back from Kearney and while he has many of the same characteristics

in his level of assuredness in the back-field, he has many more strings to his bow. The line Keenan took to score from Garry Ringrose’s offload in Rome was a timely reminder that he has the ability to run from deep and cause havoc in the opposition defence.

So much has been made of Ireland’s lack of offloads, but their bluntness on the counter-attack must also be addressed.

This weekend, Ireland will face arguably the best counter-attacking full-back in the game, as Stuart Hogg is sure to pose problems on turnover ball.

Much of the game-plan will be based around limiting the Scotland full-back’s chances of doing so, but that will be easier said than done.

Like Lowe, Hogg possesses a cannon of a boot, but he varies his game well because Gregor Townsend’s system allows him the freedom to run the ball back if he sees that it’s on.

No one is expecting Ireland to suddenly start playing with carefree abandon a la the Harlem Globetrotters, yet there is no doubt that they can get much more out of their back-three, particularly on turnover ball.

The performance against Italy was far from flawless, but it was certainly a step in the right direction. There is, however, still a way to go and as Ireland look to evolve, allowing the licence for a counter-attacking threat should be high on the list of priorities.