IRELAND HEAD COACH JOE Schmidt today unveiled his starting line-up for the opening match of the defence of the Six Nations. Here’s the team and here’s some of our immediate thoughts on it.
1. Part cavalier, part conservative
There are some surprise calls in Schmidt’s first team of 2016, yet for the most part they are changes enforced by injury. The presence of CJ Stander and Simon Zebo in the back row and back three are extremely welcome ‘x-factors’ to a team which has at times lacked a spark. Yet we can’t help but suspect that a fully fit Sean O’Brien and Rob Kearney would have given the team a different balance.
Having been back-up to Paul O’Connell, Donnacha Ryan may also have expected to be drafted straight into the second row. Instead, Mike McCarthy’s solid vein of form in Leinster’s Pro12 resurgence helped Schmidt to again trust in a long-time servant.
2. First major test for Zebo as a fullback
In the not too distant past, this fixture left us with nothing but admiration for Rob Kearney and Leigh Halfpenny as the pair became embroiled in a jaw-dropping aerial duel with incredible feats of athleticism.
Both Ireland and Wales still pride themselves on their ability to contest high ball, but somewhat unusually, neither side has armed themselves with a fullback who specialises in the Garryowen.
As much as Ireland will target bombs at Gareth Anscombe, Wales will target Simon Zebo. The Corkman is a uniquely gifted back who is capable of sensational skill and he was superb when named fullback for Ireland during the World Cup. However, those games were against Romania and Italy.
This weekend, Zebo will be helped out in a big way by Andrew Trimble, Jared Payne and Robbie Henshaw, but Dan Biggar has shown himself to be a formidable athlete when chasing his own kicks and he will fancy his chances against anyone.
3. No SOB, but still plenty of GFB* in the back row
Sean O’Brien is a massive loss to Ireland’s gameplan. However, the major good news story from the starting line-up is the return of Tommy O’Donnell to the fray. The Tipperary man started last year’s Championship success at extremely short notice after O’Brien’s hamstring problem arose in the very last drill of the warm-up in Italy.
He was in the shape of his life last summer when he looked set to challenge O’Brien and Chris Henry for the openside berth when he suffered an absolutely horrible dislocated hip injury in a warm-up win away to Wales.
After proving his fitness gradually over the course of January, the Munster man is rewarded by being thrust in to battle against the formidable twin breakdown threat of Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric.
He will be aided in no small part by vice captain and captain Jamie Heaslip and Rory Best on the deck and will give Ireland a solid carrying option to take some attention away from Stander who will have the entire Aviva Stadium drawing in breath when he lines up a carry.
(*Go Forward Ball – think it will catch on?)
4. Clock comes around to Trimble time again
It’s hard not to think of Andrew Trimble’s relationship with the Ireland team as much more than ‘on again, off again’.
Ulster’s record try-scorer was terrific in bringing Schmidt his first Six Nations in 2014, missed out last year through injury, but was again reaching top form last summer until being cut from the World Cup squad.
Everybody outside the squad at that stage assumed the wing would be called up when Jared Payne was ruled out of the tournament. But three weeks went by between Payne’s foot injury and the news that Isaac Boss was invited over instead.
Now, with Tommy Bowe out, Trimble is back and – internally – must have a point to prove once again.
5. Form fallen away
Ulster’s team-sheet yesterday afternoon gave us the heads up that Paddy Jackson had again been shelved by Joe Schmidt in favour of Ian Madigan’s history of being shifted around the back-line.
Jackson has been in superb form and his unfairly-maligned goal-kicking has steadied with more responsibility on the tee. The 24-year-old is now entering the prime of his career and his passing, game management and decision-making have been absolutely key to a team which looked rampant with home and away wins over Toulouse.
The shadow of the World Cup and Leinster’s loss to Wasps are still not yet far enough passed for us to stop worrying about the contingency plan if Sexton is again required to head for the sideline early.
Stander has been the form forward in Ireland this season and he rightly gets a start beside Jamie Heaslip in the back tow, but the country’s form back Stuart McCloskey has also been kept out of the matchday 23. The Ulster 10-12 axis it seems, have suffered for being the masters of their trades rather than spreading themselves thin.
