IF ANY IRELAND fans were struggling for confidence coming into tomorrow’s Six Nations clash with France in Paris, even a glance at the starting back row named by Joe Schmidt yesterday likely served as a boost.
CJ Stander, Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip.
It’s the dream Irish back row in many people’s eyes and there is an excitement at getting to see that trio go to work against France’s mixture of dynamism in Yacouba Camara, intelligence in Damien Chouly and work rate in Wenceslas Lauret.
Stander, O’Brien and Heaslip give Ireland three superb ball-carrying options, three players capable of causing breakdown havoc and three men who rack up huge workloads as a habit.
Munster captain Stander will win just a second international cap after his man-of-the-match performance last weekend against Wales, and the fit-again O’Brien is excited about getting an opportunity to link with the 25-year-old.
It might take some pressure off me for the carrying,” said O’Brien with a smile in Carton House yesterday.
“No, he had a brilliant game the last day. I’m not sure what his stats were. But, there were a lot of carries. He was showing up a lot of times. I’m looking forward to finally getting to play with him and seeing what we can do together.”
Stander’s stats? 23 carries for 38 metres and 12 tackles with none missed. The close-in nature of many of those carries accounts in part for a relatively low number of metres gained, while the figure of 12 doesn’t account for the quality of Stander’s hits and work rate.
“I wouldn’t be disappointed with 23 carries in any game,” said O’Brien, who missed out due to a hamstring strain last weekend. “In that type of a game, an inch was worth a lot to us.
“The Welsh are a tough side to break down and someone who shows up that much is working very hard for the team. It was a tough battle out there. I would take 40 metres in a game like that, I think.”
Heaslip, meanwhile, was huge for Ireland in the breakdown fight, even though he got little reward from referee Jérôme Garcès when another match official might have handed him two turnover penalties.
The Leinster number eight completed 18 tackles and made 43 metres on his 15 carries, as well as contributing the usual amounts of defensive and set-piece intelligence that don’t show up on the stats sheets.
Oddly enough, Heaslip is often the first man suggested as droppable on the outside of the Ireland bubble. Stander’s eligibility has certainly given Ireland another strong option in the eight jersey, but vice-captain Heaslip remains an indispensable figure for now.
Jamie is the most consistent player I’d say I have ever played with in terms of his attributes in D and in attack where he shows up,” said O’Brien. “He is a very smart player, he does a lot of work.
“I think he had the second highest tackle count last week out of the forwards [Jack McGrath had 18 too], so I don’t know where people are getting that idea. His value for the team has been unbelievable and has been that way since he came into the side.”
To the final element of Ireland’s starting back row, O’Brien himself. Tommy O’Donnell was excellent in the seven shirt against the Welsh, but the Tullow man will expect to stamp his authority all over this game.
His last outing for Ireland came against the French, when he made up for an infamous early yellow card – “something that shouldn’t have happened” – by delivering a towering, bruising display for the other 70 minutes.
While O’Brien’s ball carrying will be as important as ever this weekend, his defensive breakdown work adds hugely to what Ireland do.
There were a few instances last weekend where the Leinster man felt breakdown penalties “should have been given” to Ireland, though he says the same was probably true for the Welsh in what he calls “a bit of a free-for-all at the breakdown.”
Heaslip says the Irish back row won’t be going into the French contest with pre-defined breakdown roles, rather a collective desire to make good decisions.
“Six or seven or eight, wherever you are, everyone has different attributes to their game,” said O’Brien. “Some go hard at the breakdown and some don’t. It’s when the situation arises, you make that decision yourself in a disciplined manner.
You don’t want to be going into dead rucks and into places where you will affect the team off next phase. They are the decisions you make on the field. There’s no pre-planning of that from our end.”
Having missed out on the first weekend of the championship, O’Brien is certainly in at the deep end. He is well equipped to cope, of course, and recognises that Ireland are in must-win territory already.
“If you have any aspirations to win this tournament, you have to win in France,” said O’Brien. “It is that simple, that’s the way I am thinking about it anyway. I’m sure most of the lads are in exactly the same mindset.
“When you lose over there you are up against it for the rest of the tournament. I am sure that’s the way most of the lads are thinking about it. Winning in France is momentum.”
With O’Donnell ready to go off the bench, Schmidt’s back row provide confidence for Ireland and their hopes of building that momentum.
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