IF THERE IS an ideal time to have a wobble, perhaps it is now. While doubts and concerns creep in around an Ireland team who are struggling to reach former heights, the good news, for anyone who wants to take the optimistic slant, is that we’re still two years out from the next World Cup. 

Previously, Ireland teams have been humming at the mid-way point of a World Cup cycle only to ultimately fall short of their goals when the main event arrives. So while this current Ireland squad does not look like one that will make history in Australia in two years time, maybe a period of introspection and transition can stand to them down the line.

Repeat, familiar frustrations against both New Zealand and Japan ensure there is plenty to keep the coaching staff busy ahead of the visits of Australia and South Africa. Should those issues not be sufficiently ironed out, a more thorough examination of exactly where this team stand will surely be needed.

Not that it’s all doom and gloom.

For all the talk of an ageing squad, there are some fresher players pushing through. Tommy O’Brien has settled in nicely on the wing in Mack Hansen’s absence, while Paddy McCarthy is clearly a player who the coaches are excited about. Gus McCarthy caught Andy Farrell’s eye during his cameo at the weekend, Ryan Baird is finally getting a run of games in the starting team, and while it’s unfortunate Jamie Osborne will miss the closing November Tests through injury, he’ll remain a regular in the team going forward.

Ireland trained in Abbotstown on Tuesday. Nick Elliott / INPHO Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO

They are names which can help shape the direction this team travels over the coming years. 

But the here-and-now has to be focused on Ireland’s inaccuracies and apparent loss of confidence. It goes without saying that an inaccurate, low-confidence team won’t enjoy their night out against an in-form Springbok side.

Ireland’s attack has been one of those on-going concerns across the opening two November Tests.

Farrell’s side struggled to execute against New Zealand in Chicago, manufacturing just one try in a 26-13 defeat. Similar handling and accuracy issues crept up against Japan. Ireland were 17-10 up at half time thanks to a well-worked Jack Crowley try and an opportunistic finish from Nick Timoney, before eventually getting on top in the second period as Japan faded, adding tries through Andrew Porter, Gus McCarthy, Paddy McCarthy and Tommy O’Brien.

There have been contributing factors, with an unconvincing lineout holding Ireland back from launching attacks in promising positions on the field.

However there is a clear sense that Ireland’s attack will need to be sharper if they are to get the upper hand against the Wallabies this weekend, before the world champions roll into Dublin a week later.

“It’s been inconsistent in the first two weeks, isn’t it?,” admits Ireland assistant coach Andrew Goodman.

“When you look at Jack Crowley’s try at the start of the (Japan) game, the phases that were put together, the bodies at the line, people running with proper intent and skill sets at the line and through the line and keeping the ball alive, I thought that’s where we want to be as a team.

Jack Crowley finished one of Ireland's best attacking phases against Japan. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

“So we need to chase that down more consistently, and we’re working on that hard through our training week.

“I know the country, you boys (media), and us as well as as a coaching group and a team, we want to see that more consistently as well. So there’s plenty of work going on behind the closed doors here at training to make sure we can produce that for everyone.”

Goodman was asked where Ireland are falling short in terms of finding that consistency.

“Some of it’s around our speed to get set, some of it’s around our support lines and communication.

“So the focus for us (training) today in a good competitive session again was to make sure we play our set on our terms, and I think there was a good shift in the air in terms of making sure last passes were hitting the money, support lines were really on, working towards the ball, communication off the ball was really good to our guys when they did make line breaks as well.”

It would help if Ireland’s lineout could settle into games earlier, but Goodman is more focused on how the backline deal with those situations, rather than what is actually going wrong at the setpiece.

“Looking at our backline, what we can control when we get the ball is around our passing position and running lines. We’ve done it well a couple of times in the weekend, but there’s still massive improvements for us when we do get that clean ball as well.

So it’s been a part of the review that we’ll go through as a backline and as an overall team attack, to look at how we can make sure we’re more consistent when we do get the ball and strike to score and strike to get the defence in chaos.

“There were a couple of last passes where we created opportunities and a bit of support lines that could have been better, a bit of communication that could have been better. So it’s not this one thing, there’s a couple of things that we need to improve as a back line to make sure we do finish our opportunities.”

An interesting couple of weeks lies ahead. Ireland hope to have Mack Hansen involved as he rejoined the squad following injury, while Stuart McCloskey, Josh van der Flier  and Garry Ringrose are also pushing to feature.

“First of all it was great to have Mack back amongst the squad, he’s always a great man to bring the energy up, the boys look forward to having him in today and yesterday,” Goodman said.

“He took a full part in training today and was running around well. Stu, the same, and then Josh and Ringer are going through their process, return to play, so they took part in parts of training today. They are all pushing for the weekend.”