SCHOOL’S OUT SO the folks have taken the kids down to the Fota Island resort in Cork for the mid-term break. In truth, it will be more of a grind school than a proper holiday, the satisfaction of an unbeaten start to this Six Nations championship diluted by the knowledge they’ve really only completed the mocks, not the real tests.
Next up is the English paper, the exam Ireland flunked a year ago, coughing up 32 points in the Aviva. Come the summer, when they sat their repeat, the result was even worse.
So can we expect anything better this time? And can we expect them to sail through the French test as they did in five of the last six years? So much depends on how much swotting they get done over the next week-and-a-bit.
Or to put things another way, the mid-term report card is decorated by a mixture of gold stars and a cranky teacher’s red pen.
CASE FOR THE DEFENCE
The concession of just two tries from the opening two games – one of which came from a last-minute maul – is an impressive enough stat. Yet hold on for a minute. Remember Ground-Hogg day, Stuart Hogg’s big mistake when he crossed the try-line? Remember Hadleigh Parkes letting the ball slip from his fingers? Or how about Jacob Stockdale’s return of two missed tackles from four attempts against the Welsh?
On the plus side, the resistance the team displayed against Scotland in the closing minutes of that round one fixture was superb, replacement Ronan Kelleher making four tackles in eight minutes; Devin Toner posting a return of seven tackles in 13; John Cooney putting in 10 tackles in 20 minutes.
With eight players – starters plus subs – making 10-plus tackles in that match, it was clear there was a shared belief in the game-plan as well as an old-fashioned desire to get the job done. Deep down, though, they’ll also be thinking back to the 20-32 defeat to England last year, when the visitors made 48 dominant tackles in that game compared to the 11 Ireland posted. A repeat of those statistics will lead to one thing: another big English win.
Teacher’s comment: Everyone in class puts their hand up for homework and it’s just as well. Things need to improve for Twickenham.
Mark: B
ATTACK
It only functioned in spurts against the Scots before operating much more smoothly against Wales last weekend, when Ireland became the first side to get a bonus point victory over the Welsh since, well since Ireland in 2018.
You can partly excuse week one’s sloppiness on the basis that the players were getting used to a new regime – possibly suffering from a dose of information overload.
And yet by week two they were flying, four tries a result of a varied game-plan, a willingness of the coach and the players to take risks and also the fact they recycled over 60 per cent of their ruck ball within three seconds – a much better figure than any other team has recorded in this championship.
Another plus point is their willingness to counter attack – Jordan Larmour carrying for more metres (257) than any other player in the championship so far, while Andrew Conway has carried for 120 metres from 12 attempts, Jacob Stockdale posting figures of 185 metres gained from 12 carries.
If Larmour can add a kicking option to his attacking armoury then we’ve a genuine superstar in our mix.
Another couple of things are worth mentioning. Firstly, only three players have carried for more metres than Bundee Aki in the championship thus far. Secondly, between them, Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose have also carried for 164 metres in just 84 minutes of rugby.
Teacher’s comment: Note written into the homework journal after Scotland clearly had a big impact on the class. Top marks last Saturday although Wales’ soft-drift defence helped them look good.
Mark: B plus
SCRUM
Here is another subject where the classwork improved from week one to two. While it would be an exaggeration to say Ireland were pushed around by the Scots, they did concede two scrum penalties to a side, who a week later, coughed up two scrum penalties of their own to England.
The concession of another scrum penalty against Wales needs a little context – a harsh decision going against Tadhg Furlong. It’s worth noting, though, that the Welsh also conceded three scrum pennos to the Italians in their 42-0 win. Next up for the Irish pack is England who have yet to concede a scrum penalty in the championship.
Teacher’s comment: More homework needed as hardest test of the season comes next at Twickenham.
Mark: C
DISCIPLINE
Under Joe Schmidt Ireland were the best behaved boys in the game; a contributing factor to their grand slam season and subsequent win over the All Blacks in November 2018. In two games so far in this championship, they have conceded 19 penalties whereas England have coughed up just 11 from their two games.
Teacher’s comment: One yellow card is two games is nothing to be ashamed of. But penalty count was better under previous head
Mark: C plus
LINE-OUT
Rob Herring’s throwing has been much better than anticipated, helped no doubt by the depth of his understanding with Iain Henderson, his Ulster team mate.
It was noticeable how he threw to five different players – James Ryan, Henderson, Devin Toner, Peter O’Mahony and CJ Stander – in the Scotland game; although just three were required for the Welsh win. Add in the line-out steals carried out by Ryan and Henderson against Scotland, O’Mahony against Wales – and you have a decent body of work to reflect on.
Ireland’s line-out defence had also impressed – until the final minute of Saturday’s game, when Stander’s absence through a sin-binning and Max Deegan’s lack of concentration contributed to the Welsh sneaking over for a late try – which may come back to haunt them when the sums are being calculated on the final weekend of the season.
Teacher’s comment: Gold stars for Herring and Ryan; huge effort by entire pack in their maul defence bar last minute against Wales when they left the classroom before the bell went
Mark: B plus
OVERALL
Last Saturday was the swing match in the campaign. Had Ireland lost, then it is unimaginable how they would have bounced back to win away from home in both London and Paris to seal the championship.
But all of a sudden that seems possible, not just because of the marked improvement in the Irish performance levels between weeks one and two, but also because England have yet to find form and there is not yet enough evidence to be convinced that we’re witnessing another French renaissance.
Cautious words are advised all round at this stage. We’re only two games into the Farrell era. Big statements can only come on the back of big wins on the road.
Teacher’s comment: English test will determine season – pass it and Ireland can dream big.
