No Slam – but Ireland still need grand finale
Response required as Farrell’s men look to clinch title
At the end of a week of fallout, recriminations and discussions over whether this Irish team can be considered great or not, Andy Farrell’s men get a chance to have their own say.
That a statement win over Scotland and a second successive Six Nations title might not quell the doubts over this team’s elite status is something they have no control over. They’ve raised the expectation levels to a point where anything less than a win is deemed disappointing.
The thing is, behind the scenes they’re annoyed at themselves for their performance at Twickenham.
Andy Farrell said they weren’t themselves, Peter O’Mahony mentioned that they stood off England when they came out of the blocks all power, pace and attitude.
Back at home and facing up to a team they haven’t much time for, the need to perform with aggression and intent, controlling the game from minute one, is the bottom line for Ireland.
Scotland are at a low ebb after defeat to Italy and will no doubt be looking for a response, but they’ve struggled to match Ireland physically in recent years.
Gregor Townsend will have studied England’s plan from last week and seen elements he can borrow, but he can’t count on Farrell’s men being off the pace again.
So, the starting point is being switched on in key areas.
LEARN FROM THE PAST
Ireland have a game-plan they believe in and a proven track record of winning, so they know that when they get it right emotionally they’re a match for anyone.
Even when England got on top of them last weekend, they put themselves in a winning position twice, thanks to their slick attack, and that’s some consolation.
After underperforming in the face of English pressure at Twickenham, there’s no excuse not to step things up this weekend.
Dan Sheehan, Joe McCarthy, Peter O’Mahony and Caelan Doris all had quiet games – if they can go up a couple of levels it will make life hard for the Scots.
Last year, they put in a nervy performance with the title and Grand Slam on the line against England and O’Mahony said it’s something they’re focused on avoiding this time.
“It was something that we went on a fair bit. We weren’t very happy with that performance. I think performances like that – the All Blacks game, the game last weekend – stand to us,” the captain said.
“Going back to even the France games a few years ago where we had the opportunity to win the championship and didn’t turn up. I think that particular game stood to us a long time after that, that experience.
“You need to be able to use them and bank them, the stress, the pressure of the whole occasion, and using all those examples to fill your toolbag of how to negate them and how to be better in those performances certainly.”
CONTROL THE TERRITORY
Ireland and Scotland are the two most effective teams in the opposition ’22 in this year’s tournament, with Ireland getting a return of 3.2 points per entry and Scotland earning two points per entry, so it’s imperative for both to play in the right areas of the field.
Even though they boast the best defence in their own ’22 in the tournament and were excellent in that regard last weekend, Ireland would prefer to keep the Scots at arm’s length.
Farrell and his players have spoken about improving their discipline, which has slipped at this tournament, while they compounded errors in uncharacteristic style in London.
If they don’t give Scotland handy penalties to get their lineout going, then the Scots will look to control territory through their kicking game and that’s been a real strength of Finn Russell’s.
However, if he’s not getting on top in that area, the Scottish co-captain could get desperate and go chasing.
Although they are the best team in the tournament at converting line-breaks into points, Ireland are targeting a vastly improved and more aggressive defensive performance.
“It wasn’t where we wanted to be, certainly,” O’Mahony said yesterday.
“I thought the intensity that the English brought, we stood off a little bit and it is going to be massively important tomorrow that we get our defensive performance right on point.
“Because when Scotland are allowed to play they are probably one of the best attacking teams in the world and certainly we are aware of that and we are aware that from last week it is a big step up.
“With regard to their attacking game, their width and depth, we (the back-row) probably come into the game a bit more defensively as a result of holding the width a bit more on that side of things but, you know, for us it’s important we get stuck in tomorrow as a back-row and as the guys coming off the bench.
“It’s an influential position regardless of what team you play and we’re very focussed on our performance tomorrow.”
WIN THE BALL BACK
Statistically, Ireland’s lineout is level with England’s as the best in the tournament on 92.5pc but the perception exists that they are under pressure out of touch.
Given 15 of Ireland’s 16 tries in this Six Nations came from their lineout, it’s understandable that teams are going after them and England put plenty of pressure on and forced two losses on Sheehan’s throw.
Scotland have turned over 14pc of their opposition ball out of touch in this Six Nations and will hope to cut off Jamison Gibson-Park’s supply.
Having run a near perfect lineout in rounds one and two, Ireland will be keen to get back to that level and get their maul moving forward.
They need to get pressure on Scotland’s ball too, while they’ll identify the scrum as an area where they can go after their visitors.
The Scottish scrum has given up five penalties across the tournament and, after not getting reward for their pack dominance in London, Ireland will look to scrummage aggressively.
If Ireland can get good set-piece ball and retain their possession at the ruck, then they have the attacking quality to score the points they need.
One bad day doesn’t make them a bad team and a response to last week’s disappointment will be enough to secure them the title.
RÚAIDHRÍ O’CONNOR
Things could get fast and loose at the Aviva Stadium where both sides are chasing silverware and recovering from damaging defeats. Gregor Townsend would have pored over England’s approach and will back Finn Russell to find the space Ireland are leaving, but it’s unlikely Andy Farrell’s men will allow an opponent dictate the game to them two weeks in a row. If they perform, they’ve more weapons.
Ireland 31 Scotland 20 CIAN TRACEY
Scotland can cause problems, but with a Six Nations title on the line in front of a sold-out home crowd, expect a big response from Ireland, who have a clear advantage up front and on the bench.
Ireland 28 Scotland 15 LUKE FITZGERALD
This is still a great Irish team despite last week, and they can and will be a lot better against Scotland. Ireland to have too much for them and should win comfortably in a bounce-back performance, with the bench given enough time this week to impact the game properly.
Ireland 28 Scotland 16 TONY WARD
Let’s call a spade a spade. Individually and as a collective the best team in this competition, arguably our best group ever, let themselves, management and the nation down. Another tough task lies ahead but they owe us. And they know it.
Ireland 24 Scotland 15 MICHAEL SADLIER
Though shaken by Twickenham, Andy Farrell clearly reckons Ireland can respond with an unchanged starting side and the return to the 5-3 bench split. With Scotland looking damaged, backto-back Six Nations titles surely await the home team.
Ireland 29 Scotland 15 BRENDAN FANNING
Having had bad luck with injuries on the 6-2 split in Twickenham last weekend Ireland are better tooled up to cope with more of the same. Problem is Healy and Murray are not designed for early departures from the bench anymore.
Ireland 27 Scotland 13 DAVID KELLY
We will stay steadfast to logic despite sport’s wonderfully unscripted drama shredding last week’s formbook; Scotland dipped more appreciably than the Irish last week and perform poorly in Dublin.
Ireland 30 Scotland 20 WILL SLATTERY
The prospect of another Six Nations title being lifted on home soil should ensure a swift Irish recovery, with Scotland’s power deficit giving Andy Farrell’s men a distinct edge
Ireland 29 Scotland 17 SINÉAD KISSANE
This prediction lark has become a dangerous game after last weekend’s result. But Ireland should live up to expectations this weekend and finish this championship like they started it in Marseille; on top in nearly all areas.
Ireland 29 Scotland 17
The biggest week of the Irish rugby calendar began in Cork on Tuesday, stopped off in Galway before returning to Leeside, and then made its way to Dublin, ahead of Monday’s finish in Belfast.
While the majority of the focus has been on this evening’s Six Nations title decider at the Aviva Stadium, it’s worth taking stock of the bigger picture, and examining how events elsewhere are helping to future-proof the success of the game in this country.
Whether it was PBC edging their neighbours CBC in a thrilling 64-point Munster Schools final at Musgrave Park, or Sligo Grammar School storming to a third straight Connacht Schools Cup at the Sportsground, it had already been a busy week before the Ireland U-20s took centre stage in the quest to retain their Six Nations title in Cork last night.
Last year, we had the unique scenario where Ireland and their U-20s counterparts won two Grand Slams in the space of 24 hours. Although both sides were agonisingly close to putting themselves in a position to repeat the historic feat, having the chance to win two championships is not to be sniffed at.
Tomorrow afternoon, it will be the turn of Blackrock and St Michael’s in the Leinster Senior Cup decider at the RDS, before Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Ballymena Academy meet at Ravenhill on Monday.
Household
With many future stars on show, as well as the household names, St Patrick’s weekend showcases the best of Irish rugby.
“Even if you throw in the interest in Cheltenham, I always find there’s nearly too much high-quality sport in Paddy’s week,” says Peter Smyth, the IRFU’s head of elite player development.
“It’s four days of top-level rugby. You’re hoping it will work out, but it’s absolutely brilliant, firstly because all the teams are competing at such a high level. It’s a great reflection of everything that happens in the system because people playing in a Senior Cup final will probably watch the 20s and the senior team.”
Thatwasthecasethisweekend 10 years ago for Smyth and his Blackrock team, which included five future senior internationals, as they watched Ireland clinch the Six Nations in Paris, before beating Clongowes in an epic final a couple of days later.
“Looking back on it,” Smyth recalls. “How many of the Caelans (Doris) or other guys watched the Irish game and played the Senior Cup final two days later? Ten years on they are the ones playing for the Six Nations title. It’s a real sliding-doors moment.”
Four of Blackrock’s five Ireland internationals from that successful 2014 team are part of Andy Farrell’s current set-up, with Hugo Keenan and Caelan Doris in today’s starting XV to face Scotland, while Jeremy Loughman and Nick Timoney are involved in the wider squad.
Few would have predicted that Joey Carbery would be the odd one out, but the Munster outhalf is not in the picture ahead of his departure for Bordeaux.
That ’Rock team would have had another future Ireland international had Smyth gotten his wish for Oli Jager to stay in the school for an extra year, but after taking the long route home via New Zealand, the Munster prop earned his first cap against Wales last month.
Then there was the strong Noel McNamara-coached Clongowes team. Ireland back-row Will Connors was a key man, but Smyth takes just as much pride in what the other players went on to achieve away from the bright lights of the Test arena.
“People will look at the headlines and go, ‘Well, five internationals came out of ’Rock and one from Clongowes’, but that was actually a really good Clongowes team,” Smyth says.
“Loads of them went on to play rugby at a really high level, same with our team. That’s the great thing about this, and that’s just as important in a way.
“With the best will in the world, you get to a Senior Cup final, you win or lose, but it is a moment in time. There is so much more experience and enjoyment that you get out of the game afterwards.”
Schools back-rows don’t come much stronger than Doris, Connacht’s Conor Oliver and Timoney, and their battle with Connors is still fresh in the memory for Smyth, who believes the standard of rugby in the country continues to go from strength to strength.
“Caelan was 15 when he won a cup medal, he was still in transition year. Conor and Nick, you knew they were special players, but it’s still very hard to look 10 years forward and see all that they have achieved in the interim.
“Each group I was involved with at Blackrock, you meet up with them and whether they won or lost, you still have great memories no matter what.
“But I suppose a lot of this group have gone on and achieved so much in rugby, of course there is probably a little bit more focus on them. You take huge pride in all of them.
“I’m in a WhatsApp group with the 1999 Blackrock Senior Cup-winning team, they’re meeting up after the Scottish match (tonight).
“I was 21 years old at the time helping out, so that will tell you how far the relationships go back. The 2013 lads got together last year, so no doubt the 2014 lads have something in the offing too.
“I took a quick scan down through the Senior Cup final scorelines over the last few years, there is no doubt there are more points being scored than ever.
“I remember the days when schools matches were one-score games, they were incredibly tight. It was a different form of rugby. Looking at the skill levels, fitness levels, the ambition, the amount of scores in games, it’s great.
“Ultimately, that’s what people want to see, isn’t it? They want to see attack, defence, jeopardy, skills, offloads – all the schools rugby I am watching throughout the four provinces at the moment, I am seeing buckets of that.
“That’s brilliant because I think by common consensus, that’s the way the Irish team plays, and that’s how Irish rugby in general is played, be that in the provinces, the schools, the clubs.”
Smyth’s role with the IRFU involves ensuring that Ireland’s systems are closely aligned from the bottom up, in order to maximise the potential coming through the various pathways.
“That’s why he feels St Patrick’s week is so important in terms of highlighting the array of talent, while also inspiring the next generation.
“Obviously it’s very important to have alignment and systems and all that, but we all grew up and looked at national and provincial teams and wanted to be like certain players,” Smyth says.
“I’m sure coaches take bits off the provincial coaches or vice versa, so there is a concertina effect up and down Irish rugby.
“You look at the foundations that say, Joe (Schmidt) laid – when I was coaching schoolboys in Blackrock, we were talking about the battle of the breakdown, the importance of the ruck and all those things.
“And now when I talk to clubs and schools, I hear a lot about multi-phase and cohesion. So, of course there is the system and pathway, but I think a lot of these things happen by osmosis, formal connections, informal connections.
Inviting
“I know the provinces do a huge amount in terms of inviting the schools, clubs and coaches in and working with plays.
“I really think that when I look at Irish rugby, it’s not just one thing, there are multiple things happening in multiple different ways on a continual basis that gives us the output of great schools finals, great AIL matches, great provincial matches, great international matches.
“The national team lead the way and that bleeds all the way down.
“I’m on the under-11s circuit at the moment with Mary’s, and some of the language that some of the coaches use is very similar to what you hear the senior coaches use. And it’s all around the basics, it’s brilliant.”
Farrell’s men will rightly grab most of the headlines should they win back-to-back Six Nations titles today, but between the high quality on show from the U-20s and the schools finals, Irish rugby is in a strong place.
“It’s four days of top level rugby. You’re hoping it willworkout.” Peter Smyth