ON THE ROADS around Aviva Stadium tonight there was a new souvenir scarf on sale – Johnny Sexton: Thanks for the Memories. If only EPCR spared a thought for the small businessman when handing out suspensions.
This month is all about the other 41 players in Andy Farrell’s squad. Regardless of experience, status or position, they all want the same thing from these warm-up games – impress the boss, don’t get injured.
It’s the one big concern which always looms large around these fixtures, and one game into Ireland’s three-match pre-season schedule we’ve already had the image of Jack Conan in a moon boot on the bench and Farrell with furrowed brow in the coaches box on a night Ireland recorded a 33-17 win over Italy.
Conan wasn’t the only scare – in a disjointed second half, Craig Casey also made his exit after a knock before Jack Crowley was left in a heap on the turf after a late hit, only to pick himself up and see out the game. A heavy outtake of breath in the coaches box, no doubt.
During the week Paul O’Connell indicated all available squad players are likely to feature over the course of Ireland’s World Cup warm-up games and tonight’s meeting with Italy provided a chance to get a first proper look at those hoping to squeeze themselves into the final selection.
Farrell likely has a good idea of those 33 names but it wouldn’t be a proper pre-season without a few surprises thrown in along the way.
For the first 40 minutes here, things were running smoothly for the Grand Slam champions, with Conan’s exit the only real point of concern across what was a largely smart, clinical performance.
By the time the rest of the squad followed Conan into the changing room at the break, Ireland were coasting, 21-3 up and playing nearly all the rugby in Italy’s half after shaking off a somewhat sluggish start to their first contest of the 2023/24 season.
When they found their groove, they looked like the Ireland we’ve come to expect under Farrell – fast, fluid, and accurate. Yet this was a very different Ireland team, one that had the energetic Munster pairing of Crowley and Casey pulling the strings in the half-backs. Henderson captained the side in the absence of key leaders Sexton, Peter O’Mahony, James Ryan and Tadhg Furlong, the Ulster man partnering 22-year-old debutant Joe McCarthy in the engine room.
Then you had the wingers, two seasoned pros who at different stages over the last two seasons may have feared their days with this team were over. After a year out of the side, Keith Earls came back in to win his 99th cap, while on the opposite side of the pitch Stockdale buzzed and injected energy into a game which needed something to ignite it.
On 20 minutes, he did brilliantly to claim a Casey box kick, his catch triggering a move which led to Jimmy O’Brien seeing a try crossed out in the far corner after great hands by Ryan Baird. You have to go all the way back to March 2021 for Stockdale’s last start in green and the 27-year-old looked to be enjoying every minute of it, taking on the roving role Farrell expects from his wingers. By the close of the first half the Ulster man had clocked up a massive 13 carries for 151 metres.
If you wanted to pick holes in the performance up to that point, you might question if Ireland could have been more ambitious with some of their play. The three first-half tries – from Dave Kilcoyne, Caelan Doris and Stuart McCloskey – all came from close range and were a result of Ireland being physically dominant; Kilcoyne crashing over from a tap-and-go, Doris bulldozing through from a lineout maul and McCloskey staying alert to score after brilliant work on the ground by Doris – who had a storming game in the less familiar surroundings of openside.
The Leinster player is a world class number eight but tonight he showed Farrell he can also be a very able deputy for Josh van der Flier in the seven shirt, and at 10, Crowley’s display puts the pressure on Ross Byrne – presuming the Leinster player get his chance to audition in the England game.
Then it turned a little sour. Not for the first time, Ireland look disjointed in the early stages of the second period after Farrell had turned to his bench, with the excellent Crowley pushed to fullback to allow Ciarán Frawley get a full 40 minutes at 10 on his Test debut. The Leinster player had some nice moments and linked well with Crowley, but over the course of the second 40 Ireland’s half-backs didn’t enjoy the same level of control.
Italy struck first after the break, and it was around this time the TV pictures flashed up an image of Conan with a moon boot protecting his right foot.
Over the next 20 minutes there was plenty to fill Farrell’s notebook as Ireland became sloppy with some aspects of their game. The discipline slipped, the penalty count rose and Ireland fell off tackles – issues they will be confident of ironing out in the coming weeks.
Eventually Ireland seized control again with tries from Healy and Doris, the latter finishing a fine move which finally saw Ireland’s attacking shape come to the fore, with Earls and Stockdale linking up in a move that also saw great work from McCarthy and a smart offload from Cian Prendergast.
Job done, and a decent return for a first outing of the summer, yet Farrell will certainly expect more cohesion when his side welcome England to this stadium in two weeks’ time.
The first hurdle has been cleared with little issue. For now, that’s all that matters.
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