LUKE MCGRATH WAS in the Aviva Stadium stands on Saturday evening watching Kieran Marmion with a touch of both envy and relief.
“I don’t know if I’d fancy it too much, going up for a box-kick” the Leinster and Ireland scrum-half joked of the need for Marmion to play on the wing for 40 minutes against a bang in-form Australia.
When we speak about modern rugby, the phrase ‘know your role’ and ‘attention to detail’ pops up in almost every conversation with a player, and nowhere more so than in a Joe Schmidt squad.
However, and Schmidt has certainly pointed at this constraint, time simply does not permit coaches to cover every eventuality with their players on the training field. Even for something that seems to be occurring with increasing regularity, like the repurposing of half-backs to cover injured outside backs.
Marmion may not have been asked to play on the wing since Cardiff U16s, but he was needed to do so in the closing minutes against New Zealand a week earlier – and Peter O’Mahony must have been glad he did. Experiences like that can’t compare to coaching contingency plans. Players just have to adapt, show their game knowledge and, above all, communicate:
“When you go on,” says McGrath, who has been forced into the situation with Leinster “you have to keep talking to people, people who have played there – like, Joey (Carbery) was talking to Zebo – you have to keep that communication going throughout the game.
“You’re unsure of things, but I thought all the lads handled themselves very well. It was an incredible win in the end.”
When you’re on the bench you have to be able to know roles for all positions and I thought they did that really well.”
It’s put to McGrath, who made his international debut as a replacement for Marmion this month, that a scrum-half forced out wide may end up having to think in reverse: rather than picking out space and vulnerability with a box-kick, for example, they would have to present a picture of strength to the opposition.
“It’s one of those things, you think it’s easier than it is until you try it. You just have to be adaptable. But I don’t know if I’d fancy it too much, going up for a box kick. But you just have to do it in the end.
“I’ve only played on the wing a couple of times when I was younger, but Kieran did a great job on the wing. All the back-line did a great job and showed great character to take the win.”
As for Carbery, the move to fullback was more of a steep step-up in class than an all new position to learn on the fly. The Athy man has played the position at club level, but the manner in which he performed against the World Cup finalists merited plenty of praise, and his provincial coach – a distinguished international fullback in his own right – struggled to find fault.
“He’s great. He’s been phenomenal,” said Girvan Dempsey.
“What a rise for him this year, he’s come through from Clontarf and has been with us in pre-season. Just to see how he’s grown in confidence, he was not fazed one bit by any of the times he was thrown in, be it in Chicago or anywhere through the November series.
“I just wish I had the feet or the footballing ability he has 10 years ago.”
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