AROUND TEN MINUTES into the second half of Ireland’s 31-7 Six Nations defeat of Wales on Saturday, during a long passage of play across the middle third of the pitch, Josh van der Flier took a bang and a signal was sent to the sideline.
Players are now wearing ‘smart’ mouthguards, which deliver in-game alerts if someone needs to leave the action for a HIA assessment. This was the technology which led to Van der Flier being called ashore, the Ireland flanker passing his subsequent HIA but not returning to the action, with Jack Conan seeing out the game in the Ireland backrow.
“They kind of flag the impacts and I was pulled off for part of the process, I passed fine, and they just made a substitution then,” Van der Flier said. “I feel perfect.”
The Ireland camp was a happy one after this latest bonus-point win, even if the performance raised more questions than the previous victories against France and Italy.
Against an inexperienced, new-look Wales side, Ireland lacked their usual cutting edge. After an opening half which saw them build a 17-0 lead through forward dominance – Ireland bossing the collisions and squeezing Wales at the scrum as Dan Sheehan and James Lowe crossed for tries – in the second period they lost their way as the penalty count rose and their game management crumbled.
Eventually, after a brief period of Welsh pressure, Ireland settled back into the game and powered to the bonus-point through second-half tries from Ciarán Frawley and Tadhg Beirne.
A 24-point win against Wales is no mean feat, even in their current iteration, but this Ireland side will head to Twickenham on 9 March knowing there’s much more in the tank.
“It was a big scoreline for the way the game felt,” van der Flier said.
“They defended really well, they came at us pretty hard at times and I think one thing that was very encouraging and pleasing was that they spent a lot of time with lineouts just outside our 22, or in our 22, and we managed to defend really well and get the ball back and get it back up the field.
That was probably one contributor to the scoreline, and then we definitely could have been more clinical. Andy [Farrell] had mentioned that it could’ve been more clinical, but we did take chances as well at times.
“I think, definitely, a lot of credit has to be given to Wales for the way they defended and worked really hard. It’s obviously difficult for a team like that, a lot of younger guys, whereas we’re at a different stage as a team. That definitely makes a difference.”
Scotland’s defeat of England on Saturday means Ireland now stand as the only team unbeaten in this year’s Six Nations, with the opportunity to become the first side to win back-to-back Grand Slams in the Six Nations era still live.
“Yeah, it’s a good place to be. The chat from the coaches at half time and the end of the game was that we were a bit off in places and if you’re saying that after a scoreline like that it’s a good sign.
“It’s a very experienced group, but there’s definitely another level in us and a bit to go in terms of getting everything right. It’s a great place to be, we have to be happy with where we’re at at the moment.”
While Ireland were frustrated with some of their accuracy on the day, there were positives in many of the performances. Ciarán Frawley had a strong outing at fullback on his first Test start and the 6/2 bench split made a telling impact.
Rónan Kelleher won an important turnover within moments of his introduction and played a lovely offload before Ryan Baird – who was also heavily involved after being sprung from the bench – went on a trademark rampaging run.
James Ryan was one of Ireland’s top tacklers (11) despite just seeing 25 minutes of action, while Jack Conan brought his usual punch across the final quarter. Cian Healy also had a high number of involvements, Conor Murray helped settled things in the closing stages and Stuart McCloskey tackled hard while filling in on the wing.
On current form, many of those players would walk into the starting teams across the other squads in this year’s tournament.
“I think we look towards our goals as a team, we want to be winning all the competitions we’re involved in and the games we’re involved in, but to do that you have to have a good squad as well,” van der Flier said.
“It’s not just 15 lads that you rely on. Even looking at how well Robbie Henshaw did today playing at 13, Garry [Ringrose] had been in 13 before.
“Ciarán Frawley had a really brilliant game, I thought he was exceptional today, and Hugo Keenan’s out.
“Then today the bench, how well they did, Cian Healy was flying around, he seemed to have about 20 involvements in the last five minutes.
“It’s what it takes to do well at this level, you need a squad. Rugby is an abrasive game, people get tired towards the end of the game, and having those impacts is brilliant for us.”
