BEST STEP BACK SOON , RORY
Time for the captain to do the right thing with the World Cup looming
WE need to talk about the captaincy.
Rory Best was winning his 112th cap yesterday and will be remembered as one of the finest hookers and captains to have worn the green jersey.
However, watching the Ulster man struggle so badly against Argentina on a Lansdowne Road pitch where he has contributed to some of the finest moments in Irish rugby history, one was left with a profound sense of sadness.
The Ulster man has been an inspirational figure for Ireland since his debut 13 years ago – in the way he plays, the way he leads and the way he fronts up in tough situations.
While other players put on the ‘surly show’ in the wake of Ireland’s 2011 World Cup exit, Best fronted up and did so again after the harrowing 60-0 hammering by the All Blacks in Hamilton while others were dashing for the airport and the beach.
Yesterday was another tough situation but, at 36, Best’s resolve and sense of duty may be writing cheques his body can no longer cash.
Last week, his Ulster teammate Chris Henry became the latest to be forced out of rugby through injury – it is a steady stream these days. Meanwhile the level of attrition and the toll exacte on players continues to increase.
Best will be 37 at the World Cup next year, can he realistically be expected to put his body through this level of punishment at this stage of his life?
This has been flagged for a while. Brian O’Driscoll played on until the year before the 2015 World Cup even though it was known he would not be playing at that tournament.
It was a situation that would never have happened in New Zealand – ‘if you are going to be gone for the next World Cup, step aside, mate’ – and left Ireland with little over a year to sort out a midfield without their greatest player.
O’Driscoll was 35 when he retired, the same age as Best when he was named captain for the 2017 November internationals.
That would have been the optimum time to make the change – you want your skipper having at least a two-year run into the World Cup – but Ireland kept faith and were rewarded with another excellent season from the veteran as they marched to the Grand Slam.
The issue was addressed on the summer tour when Johnny Sexton and Peter O’Mahony both captained the team in Australia and, without poring over the entrails of one of Best’s poorest days in the Ireland office, there is definitely a case now for making the call.
That would allow time for O’Mahony, or Sexton, to bed in as captain and for another hooker – Niall Scannell is the best like-forlike – to become established before Japan 2019.
The captain was not alone in his struggles on what was a strange evening against the Pumas.
The fans were all jazzed up for the Saturday night show – they clapped the President, jigged along to the catchy Argentinian anthems, belted out both Irish anthems (louder for the second) and then settled back to watch Jordan Larmour and Co bedazzle them with footwork and flamboyant tries.
They hadn’t factored in Argentina.
Rugby’s popularity attracts a social crowd who want to be entertained and you got the impression they knew little and cared less about Mario Ledesma’s men.
They were here to watch Ireland rip them apart – sure didn’t we score a hatful of tries in Chicago last weekend?
This was an entirely different challenge to that gentle assignment against Italy’s mixed veg and as Larmour flapped under Puma pressure seven days on from his threetry wizardry – he may been in the Land of Oz muttering ‘we’re not in Illinois any more, Toto’.
Indeed, there was a great deal of muttering going on as an air of disquiet fell around Lansdowne Road for much of the first half.
Argentina are not at Ireland’s level and are wrecked after an exhausting season – but they are a serious rugby team and they came to win.
So, while there is no doubt a repeat of the decidedly lacklustre showing in the first half could see Ireland ripped asunder by the All Blacks next weekend, there is no need to pull any panic levers.
The squad may have been at pains to stress they were not looking beyond their Argentina assignment in the build-up but, subliminally, they looked like men who had their minds on the top two in the world showdown with the Kiwis next weekend.
There are selection issues to address before that. Injuries to Robbie Henshaw, before kick off, and Sean O’Brien and Kieran Marmion during the match potentially queer the pitch for Joe Schmidt this week.
But the Ireland coach has power- ful options to call out of the bull pen.
Iain Henderson is a hugely talented player who has yet to consistently convince in the six years since his debut – cutting a stark contrast with James Ryan’s dependable excellence alongside him in the engine room.
Henderson was in charge of the lineouts yesterday and the Pumas had Ireland’s air supply in serious bother – there is a strong case now for Devin Toner or Tadhg Beirne to start next to Ryan against New Zealand.
Toner would be more dependable against the daunting New Zealand lineout, Beirne more explosive and destructive around the park.
Likewise Jack Conan at number eight. The Argentina back row were excellent for much of the game and Ireland’s trio were on the back foot until Dan Leavy arrived to add impetus and Peter O’Mahony got going.
Conan is the form option now ahead of CJ Stander, who is nowhere near as dominant as he was a few years ago, and the Leinster man could inject some spark into the backrow.
Big calls to make, none more so than at hooker and with the captaincy. At last Friday’s prematch press conference, Best acknowledged that he would be prepared to have the difficult conversation with Schmidt if he felt that his time was up and the strong indications yesterday are that it may well be. That is a tough decision to make but Schmidt has never shirked tough decisions in the past – and nor has Rory Best.
You want your skipper having at least a two-year run to a World Cup