Street-smart Ireland top of the world
IRELAND have done the international game a great service by bringing New Zealand back to the ranks of mere mortals this Autumn. It whets the appetite not only for the 2019 World Cup less than a year from now, but also more immediately for the Six Nations.
Having beaten New Zealand in two of their last three encounters – not to mention providing a hardcore of the Lions side that drew the 2017 series – the Irish will go into the World Cup knowing they have what it takes to end their run as world champions.
It means also that Ireland have a target on their backs as far as all the other Six Nations sides with lofty ambitions are concerned – because if England, Wales, France and| Scotland can conquer the side that beat New Zealand then their own World Cup hopes take wing.
The All Blacks now have a vulnerability about them that was not evident in the Rugby Championship despite their loss in Wellington to South Africa. Ireland’s 16-9 victory in Dublin was altogether more comprehensive, not least because Joe Schmidt and Andy Farrell’s astute tactical plan showed that the All Black counter-attacking game which has been honed to such a keen edge over the last six years, can be blunted.
Becoming the first Home Union side since 1995 to prevent New Zealand from scoring a try was far more valuable on the psychological scales to Ireland than staying top of the World Rugby rankings was to the world champions.
As Steve Hansen acknowledged before the Dublin showdown, whoever won the encounter was entitled to claim they are the best team in the world, and for the moment that mantle has passed to the side transformed by his fellow Kiwi, Schmidt.
It is no secret that Schmidt is New Zealand’s latest favourite son, and that he has been earmarked already to take over from Hansen after the World Cup. He says that he will make an announcement regarding his future this week – but the idea of a Kiwi coach passing up the chance of the top job with the All Blacks is hard to believe.
The other consideration is that if Ireland’s previous World Cup history is any yardstick, then Schmidt might not be the odds-on favourite after the tournament in Japan that he is now. The Irish have yet to make the semi-finals of the World Cup as it nears its ninth edition.
However, the signs of relentless Irish progress under Schmidt’s guidance are everywhere – and it is why they claim seven of the places in the starting line-up of my World team of the Autumn series, and have two more on the bench.
Two matches that resonate with me as markers of their progress came last season, highlighting the newfound Irish capability to carve out victory even when they had a bad day.
The first was in the opening round of the Six Nations when Johnny Sexton’s dramatic late drop-goal saw France overhauled at the end of a 41phase move. The second was when Leinster – who form the bedrock of this Irish side – beat Racing in the European Cup final, finding a way to win ugly despite being on guard duty for most of the match. The common denominators are an aggressive, suffocating press defence, the most accurate tactical kicking game and chase in Test rugby, and an unrivalled ability to control and keep the ball in contact while continuously making ground.
Ireland are also roads ahead when it comes to being street-smart. Central contracts with carefully positioned rest periods for Schmidt’s squad give them a head start on England and France when it comes to preparation and peaking at the right time, and the way the fixtures fell for them this autumn was also advantageous. Italy and Argentina allowed them to build gradually for the climax against the All Blacks, while their final fixture against the USA allows them to limber down.
What has also been built on Schmidt’s watch is a squad with genuine depth, although the one position where the Irish could be exposed is at fly-half if Sexton is injured.
Wales have also been busy building depth. Having laid the decadelong Australian hoodoo to rest – and struck a timely blow to their World Cup pool adversaries – Warren Gatland put out a second string side against Tonga which won handsomely, suggesting that he will have blooded his back-up men in most positions by the World Cup.
By comparison, England’s autumn has been the most exacting of the lot, with the Southern Hemisphere big three attempting to storm Twickenham. South Africa were repelled by the skin of Eddie Jones’ teeth, and while New Zealand came away with a narrow win they could not claim to have stormed the ramparts.
In fact, the All Blacks looked to have had some of the sting taken from them in Dublin as a consequence of their exertions in securing a one-point win in south west London.
It is Dublin where eyes will be