AGAINST FRANCE IN the opening round, Ireland probably over-kicked from the middle third of the pitch.
We might all be thinking differently if they had won some of the aerial contests that resulted but they didn’t and so, the lingering impression is that they didn’t attack with ball in hand often enough until it was too late.
The balance was better against Italy and England, although the fact that Ireland won far more aerial contests in those games helped hugely with their attack. They got more transition chances and in Twickenham, particularly, they prospered.
Last weekend against Wales, it was almost the opposite of the French game. Ireland held onto the ball very often in the middle third of the pitch. They did get some success from that, but they also overplayed at times, occasionally leaving themselves in a little trouble.
So as they now look for a big final-day showing to clinch the Triple Crown against Scotland this Saturday in Dublin, Ireland are keen to get the right balance in their game.
“It was one of our big review points,” said Ireland assistant coach Andrew Goodman.
“I don’t think we managed that middle third of the field that well against Wales, and we’ve looked at that and discussed how we can be better there as a group.
“The accuracy in the kick and in the air makes a big difference. If we are going to kick, we’ve got to make sure it’s on point and we’ve got to make sure we’re really contesting in the air so they don’t get any of those scrappy balls, because with the likes of [Blair] Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, etc. in the back there, they’re dangerous when they’ve got time and space on the ball.
“So we’ll make sure we talk about that, both sides of the ball, attack and defence.”
On the other side of the coin, when Ireland do hang onto possession and attack with ball in hand, the Irish coaches want the players to be very precise.
The last thing they need is to be running themselves ragged to no avail.
“It’s playing to space if the space is there, but it’s making sure we’re really accurate if we do that, and it’s awareness around the forwards and how much work you’re putting into them and the toll that will have on them as well,” said Goodman.
“So there’s a lot that goes into it, a lot of conversation that the backs have to be really aware of, how they’re managing the energy of the team.
“As coaches, we want to encourage them to play if the space is there, ‘Take the space, OK,’ but we’ve got to execute, especially in that area of the field because if you don’t, you might be defending in your 22 for five, six, seven minutes and that takes its toll on a team as well.
“So it’s just being really smart around your decisions. If we do decide to take the space, we’re really accurate with our skillset.”
Before this Six Nations, Goodman said Ireland wanted to be the best aerial team in the world and that they wanted to improve in the unstructured play that often follows aerial battles.
Ireland had a hit-and-miss afternoon under the contestables against Wales. They had some nice wins in the air that led to promising situations, but they also lost out in some of those all-important battles.
“I thought in the Italian match and again against England, we had some good aerial moments which led to some good transitional attack,” said Goodman.
“Probably again at the weekend, we didn’t have the success we wanted in terms of the aerial game and we know how important it is to get that attack against the unstructured [defence].
“So every week we’re making sure we put massive effort into the skillsets in terms of the kicking and the catching, but also the ability to play off that unstructured ball and make sharp decisions and skill accuracy under that pressure.
“So it’s something we’re still growing.”
And Goodman said it’s important that Ireland’s coaches back up their own words about improving the transition attack by actually giving their players chances to improve.
“It’s us as coaches giving them more training time to get reps in there,” said Goodman.
“You’ve got to get the balance right and especially at Test level, it’s probably something that I’ve learned over my last couple of years.
“You’ve got to get the balance right between set-piece and if you’re saying you’re gonna grow the transitional game, you’ve got to give them time to grow the transitional game at training.
“So, it’s about finding the right balance through your week and reviewing it, chatting around it, and trying to find ways to evolve, not just at the start of the campaign, but watching trends and what other teams are doing, and growing our ability to be world-class in that area.”
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Ireland look to get perfect balance in finale against Scotland
AGAINST FRANCE IN the opening round, Ireland probably over-kicked from the middle third of the pitch.
We might all be thinking differently if they had won some of the aerial contests that resulted but they didn’t and so, the lingering impression is that they didn’t attack with ball in hand often enough until it was too late.
The balance was better against Italy and England, although the fact that Ireland won far more aerial contests in those games helped hugely with their attack. They got more transition chances and in Twickenham, particularly, they prospered.
Last weekend against Wales, it was almost the opposite of the French game. Ireland held onto the ball very often in the middle third of the pitch. They did get some success from that, but they also overplayed at times, occasionally leaving themselves in a little trouble.
So as they now look for a big final-day showing to clinch the Triple Crown against Scotland this Saturday in Dublin, Ireland are keen to get the right balance in their game.
“It was one of our big review points,” said Ireland assistant coach Andrew Goodman.
“I don’t think we managed that middle third of the field that well against Wales, and we’ve looked at that and discussed how we can be better there as a group.
“The accuracy in the kick and in the air makes a big difference. If we are going to kick, we’ve got to make sure it’s on point and we’ve got to make sure we’re really contesting in the air so they don’t get any of those scrappy balls, because with the likes of [Blair] Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, etc. in the back there, they’re dangerous when they’ve got time and space on the ball.
“So we’ll make sure we talk about that, both sides of the ball, attack and defence.”
On the other side of the coin, when Ireland do hang onto possession and attack with ball in hand, the Irish coaches want the players to be very precise.
The last thing they need is to be running themselves ragged to no avail.
“It’s playing to space if the space is there, but it’s making sure we’re really accurate if we do that, and it’s awareness around the forwards and how much work you’re putting into them and the toll that will have on them as well,” said Goodman.
“So there’s a lot that goes into it, a lot of conversation that the backs have to be really aware of, how they’re managing the energy of the team.
“As coaches, we want to encourage them to play if the space is there, ‘Take the space, OK,’ but we’ve got to execute, especially in that area of the field because if you don’t, you might be defending in your 22 for five, six, seven minutes and that takes its toll on a team as well.
“So it’s just being really smart around your decisions. If we do decide to take the space, we’re really accurate with our skillset.”
Before this Six Nations, Goodman said Ireland wanted to be the best aerial team in the world and that they wanted to improve in the unstructured play that often follows aerial battles.
Ireland had a hit-and-miss afternoon under the contestables against Wales. They had some nice wins in the air that led to promising situations, but they also lost out in some of those all-important battles.
“I thought in the Italian match and again against England, we had some good aerial moments which led to some good transitional attack,” said Goodman.
“Probably again at the weekend, we didn’t have the success we wanted in terms of the aerial game and we know how important it is to get that attack against the unstructured [defence].
“So every week we’re making sure we put massive effort into the skillsets in terms of the kicking and the catching, but also the ability to play off that unstructured ball and make sharp decisions and skill accuracy under that pressure.
“So it’s something we’re still growing.”
And Goodman said it’s important that Ireland’s coaches back up their own words about improving the transition attack by actually giving their players chances to improve.
“It’s us as coaches giving them more training time to get reps in there,” said Goodman.
“You’ve got to get the balance right and especially at Test level, it’s probably something that I’ve learned over my last couple of years.
“You’ve got to get the balance right between set-piece and if you’re saying you’re gonna grow the transitional game, you’ve got to give them time to grow the transitional game at training.
“So, it’s about finding the right balance through your week and reviewing it, chatting around it, and trying to find ways to evolve, not just at the start of the campaign, but watching trends and what other teams are doing, and growing our ability to be world-class in that area.”
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