IRELAND WEREN’T EXACTLY setting the world alight before Paul O’Connell joined.
2020 was a weird year for everyone but still, the Andy Farrell era hadn’t begun with a notable bang. A third-place finish in the Six Nations was followed by a third-place finish in the Autumn Nations Cup. Not the worst results but the performances weren’t the best overall.
Word from within camp was that it was a happy, well-run environment under Farrell. Players were enjoying it but there was a sense that Ireland were missing a small bit of detail. Irish players crave specific analysis and deeply technical coaching.
They got much more of that when O’Connell joined Farrell’s staff at the start of 2021 as forwards coach, with Simon Easterby shifting to the defence. O’Connell is a legendary figure in Irish rugby and his authoritative presence added a huge amount but what was key was the nerdy detail. All of a sudden, the Irish players were getting their hit.
2021 is when things started to come to life. By the end of that Six Nations, Ireland had their first real statement performance under Farrell, a convincing 32-18 win over England.
The Irish lineout defence had become a big strength under O’Connell, while his work with their attacking breakdown started to bear fruit.
That summer, Farrell decided to take direct control of Ireland’s phase-play attack, leading to the stunning performances of the November 2021 window as his team swept past Japan, New Zealand, and Argentina. O’Connell’s breakdown work was also key to that attacking improvement.
A Triple Crown followed in the 2022 Six Nations, Ireland then went to New Zealand to win a first-ever series on Kiwi soil, before another clean sweep of the November Tests. In 2023, the Grand Slam arrived before Ireland played some cracking rugby at the World Cup only to come up short against New Zealand in a quarter-final that ranks as one of the greatest games of rugby.
But for Jordie Barrett’s thigh preventing Rónan Kelleher from grounding the ball in the second half, O’Connell might have been hailed as the genius behind Ireland reaching a World Cup semi-final for the first time.
Ireland had scored a maul try soon before that held-up effort. Two maul tries to secure a World Cup final win would have seen O’Connell lauded to the high heavens. Fine margins and all that.
Instead, the post-World Cup analysis involved scrutiny over Ireland’s lineout. That wasn’t unfair, with O’Connell’s pack having some crucial lineout losses against South Africa and New Zealand, in particular, to deliver an overall return of 82.5% on their throw, leaving them ranked 13th of 20 teams at the World Cup. That said, Ireland’s lineout defence was strong, stealing 24.5% of their opposition’s lineouts, the second-best in the tournament.
The Irish lineout bounced back strongly for the opening game of the 2024 Six Nations when Farrell’s men earned a bonus-point win against France in Marseille. They won 13 from 13 on their own throw, with all five Irish tries coming off lineouts, including two maul scores. That performance teed Ireland up to successfully defend their title.
Ireland went to South Africa last summer and O’Connell’s coaching had a big impact on them securing a second-ever win over the Springboks on South African soil.
As Farrell revealed after the second Test, O’Connell is the man who comes up with Ireland’s plays off goal line drop outs, which have become a real calling card for this team.
The most memorable example came when Hugo Keenan scored against France during the 2023 Grand Slam, with O’Connell cleverly tweaking an old Joe Schmidt play to be used in an entirely new scenario.
In South Africa last summer, O’Connell dusted down another classic play that originally came from Aussie rugby, was used by Leinster against Munster in 2009, and had been used by Munster themselves last season, sparking Ireland to come up with their own version.
Conor Murray scored off that play in the first Test and then again in the second Test, the latter try proving to be the only one of the game in Durban as Ireland secured a memorable win.
Last month, Ireland obviously had issues in the lineout but it was still the key source for Farrell’s men as they won three of their four games.
10 of Ireland’s 15 tries in November came from lineouts, including all three in the final game against Australia. Indeed, the winning try in that match was a maul effort from O’Connell’s pack.
Two of the other 15 tries came from five-metre tap plays, which are also coached by O’Connell. As with the goal line drop out plays, he pores over video footage of other teams and competitions for inspiration and ideas for Ireland’s five-metre tap plays. Josh van der Flier’s effort against Fiji was a good example of their ability in this area.
As with any forwards coach, O’Connell also has a major influence on Ireland’s pick-and-go work close to the opposition tryline. He focuses on the forwards’ ball-carrying, latching, and breakdown work to ensure Ireland are good at finishing from close range.
Restart receptions from the halfway line are another important role for the forwards coach and Ireland did a magnificent job in defusing the threat of Joseph Suaalii against Australia, with O’Connell and co. making an excellent plan to negate his ability in the air.
And even while acknowledging all of that good work, Ireland’s overall lack of lineout success will be the overriding impression for many supporters when they think of O’Connell’s impact on the autumn series.
The defeat to New Zealand was a concerning night as Ireland saw three of their throws stolen by the Kiwis, while several other ‘wins’ were scrappy. The visitors also had the better of the maul as they made some big stops on the Irish pack.
The lineout performance was better a week later against Argentina but there were further issues against Fiji and the Wallabies, even if having a whopping 24 lineouts against the Australians meant Ireland were also going to lose a few. 24 is a massive number of attacking lineouts in one game.
Ireland still did lots of excellent work on their own throw and Farrell’s men were reliant on the lineout as a scoring platform, but O’Connell will have been frustrated with the lack of slickness on many occasions. It would also have been a disappointment to make only two lineout steals in four games.
It seems clear that Ireland’s lineout is short of peak confidence and rhythm but they seem confident that the issues can be ironed out. Tadhg Beirne has become the primary lineout caller recently, with James Ryan and Iain Henderson having occupied that role before. The fact that there has been rotation in that pivotal job perhaps shows that O’Connell and co. haven’t been 100% certain who the best caller is.
It’s also worth noting that Peter O’Mahony lost his starting position in the back row last summer in South Africa. The Munster man is not a caller but he is a supreme lineout forward on both sides of the ball. He has been a crucial part of the Irish lineout for a long time.
Tighthead lock Joe McCarthy has become a first-choice player for Ireland this year and while he offers major ballast, he is not the springiest or deftest lineout operator yet. Number eight and captain Caelan Doris can jump in the lineout but it’s not his strongest skill, while openside flanker Josh van der Flier isn’t a lineout option.
Those are factors O’Connell must consider as he generates Ireland’s lineout plans with the likes of Beirne, Ryan, and Henderson.
The Ireland forwards coach and Farrell will obviously consider whether there are fresh faces who could improve their lineout on both sides of the ball, but they also know they must do their utmost to get better results from current players too.
Farrell and the Ireland players have faith in O’Connell, who is invaluable to this Ireland set-up.
For all the bluster from Murphy, Wilkins was right in saying Murphy didn’t put his best hand forward against Bulls, and had this match in mind. Definitely a stronger Ulster line up. Some interesting choices for Connacht – Carty had a good first half last week, but faded out before being subbed last week. Think he still offers a lot, but probably Forde is the better bench option. Aki/POC midfield hasn’t been tried before, so I’m curious to see how that goes. Josh Murphy mostly played at lock two seasons ago, so probably makes sense for him to return there, albeit I do think back row is his more natural position. Still, should be a good match. Ulster will be desperate for a win at home, and have picked a really strong side, so they’ll be a very stern test. Match of the weekend
@JoeVlogs: match of the weekend? 82.5k people beg to differ!!!
@Kevin: As in this match could go either way, and the recent history of the tie is that usually the home side win it, but only just. Looking at the Leinster v Munster sides, despite Leo insisting on selecting two tens on the bench, it is still Leinster’s to lose. Don’t get me wrong, I’d still want to attend it if I was in Dublin – Croke Park, world cup winners, internationals, etc. But as a contest goes, I expect a tighter, more exciting game from the later match.
@Kevin: well in fairness this game should be close and competitive. The other game has a strong likelihood of Leinster running out big winners. Hopefully not and it’s competitive too
@JoeVlogs: that’s fair enough alright. The game should be a cracker too.
@JoeVlogs: yeah Josh is an absolutely savage 6
Thought Cordero was very poor at full back against the Scarlets! For me he looks like an out and out winger! I’m surprised Mack isn’t the one being tried there as his style would be more suited, we could do with more options there internationally too! Interested to see how Paul Boyle goes, at times he looks like the best ball carrier in Ireland. but has rarely been picked to start in the past 2 years right when he was banging on the Irish door!
@Attacki Acki: Agree, I’d nearly put O Connor on the wing and Hansen to full back with Forde in midfield. Send Cordero packing. Boyle was unfortunate with injuries, but on his day he’s probably strongest ball carrying backrow on the island.
@Ray Ridge: not even the best 8 on the pitch Saturday. Timoney will outplay him in every facet. As for the best 8 the future lions captain is that
Hard place to go, would never bet against Ulster at Ravenhill. Connacht have only won twice (not double checked that) in the last 10 years. Team looks decent tho, may be the best shot they’ve had in a while.
@Thesaltyurchin: Three times including the Rainbow Cup. Not just 10 years though. It’s about 75.
How Cordero continues to be selected is beyond me, considering he hasn’t completed a tackle in the opening 3 games of the season. Not even offering a whole lot in an attacking sense either to make up for it. Hopefully he will manage to catch the ball this weekend without dropping it and nail a few tackles. Not much between the sides otherwise, maybe home advantage will be the difference.
@Ray Ridge: I would genuinely love it if he had a stormer tomorrow for no reason other than for you to be shown up for the clown that you are.
@Patrick Kennedy: I’d love it too, but he’ll have to improve quite a bit on the evidence of the first 3 games.
@Ray Ridge: he missed a whole season through injury. give the lad a break.
@Niall English: Ah Stop, a professional Rugby player out for a few months is no excuse for not being able to catch the ball and make a simple tackle. He’s being back long enough now. I’m expecting a much improved performance from this guy otherwise……. See more
@Ray Ridge: A few months? He played one game last season after doing his ACL. Ignorance on show again, well done
@Patrick Kennedy: yes he was out for a few months, besides you don’t catch the ball with your ACL. He’s had a long pre-season and 3 URC games. Long enough to be able catch a ball and make a tackle. The time for excuses is over.
@Ray Ridge: So August to June is “a few months”? Last time I checked it was 11 months.
@Patrick Kennedy: End of August to middle of May is around 9 months.
@Ray Ridge: Did his ACL during preseason at the beginning of August, played his first game the end of May. But don’t let facts get in the way of your nonsense.
@Patrick Kennedy: The 22nd of August is not the beginning of August and the 18th of May is not the end of May. Besides that’s not the point. The point is he should still be able to catch the ball. I haven’t been on a bicycle for about 20 years but I can still bloody cycle.
Another mouth watering game to look forward to