BEFORE IRELAND’S INTERNATIONAL season kicked off three weeks ago, Joe Schmidt’s pre-series press engagement was dominated by talk of one man. Simon Zebo.
With one of the island’s most talented and popular players jettisoned after agreeing to become Racing 92′s new Cork representative in 2018, Schmidt needed the three Tests to provide more than just tangible victories and more of those precious Ws the binary code of the form guide.
He needed to stoke some excitement and hope, particularly against a team like Argentina who have thrice gleefully popped Ireland’s World Cup balloon.
Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“If we want a time when we can be competitive but still grow the group a little bit, this is our window,” said Schmidt on Halloween night. And he was true to that word.
Four new caps were awarded, six more players made either a full or home debut (or both). New combinations were forged too, particularly in the second row with Devin Toner called ashore early against Fiji and named as a replacement for yesterday’s win over the Pumas to give some valuable feet-to-the-fire experience for Kieran Treadwell and James Ryan respectively.
Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Midfield brought three new partnerships too – albeit the first-choice Robbie Henshaw-Bundee Aki axis came ready-made from Connacht – and it’s one area where Ireland do boast enormous amount of depth. Chris Farrell and Aki’s impressive run yesterday represented the 10th different 12-13 pairing Schmidt has started over the 18 Tests since he took his squad to South Africa last summer.
If there are no new injuries and Jared Payne manages to overcome his worrying headache problem, Schmidt will do well not to tie himself in knots trying to figure out who to select from Payne, Aki, Henshaw, Farrell, Garry Ringrose, Stu McCloskey and already-capped outsiders like Luke Marshall, Rory O’Loughlin and Rory Scannell.
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Of the men who count 2017 as their first international season; Aki, Farrell, Jacob Stockdale and Andrew Conway did most to further their claim to be considered in Schmidt’s plans when he comes to plot a way through the Six Nations.
The Kiwi has warned that the ‘major tournament of the year’ won’t feature anything like the level of experimentation he has allowed for this month. But Stockdale has delivered in spades on each of his four caps and that kind of finishing ability can’t be easily put to one side.
Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Conway, meanwhile, is much further along the learning curve Schmidt puts in front of players. The Kiwi clearly trusts the Munster man to act as a standby fullback should anything befall Rob Kearney. With Zebo absent, the Louthman’s other rivals for the jersey, Henshaw and Joey Carbery, will be primary considerations in other roles so Conway’s versatility could well mark him out as a regular number 23 in Schmidt’s matchday squad – a role his backs coach at Munster was favoured for not that very long ago.
Big digs all over the place then, yet there there remains a depth chart issue behind number 10.
As part of those long discussions about Zebo, Schmidt mentioned that he didn’t feel Sexton was quite as durable as the man who left for Racing 92 in 2013. So it’s imperative that there is a viable back-up option to step into the void created by Paddy Jackson’s uncertain future. Tyler Bleyendaal will be Irish-qualified before the Six Nations kicks off, but right now, Ian Keatley is the perfect fit for the role – experienced, rejuvenated and assured if the time comes to close out games.
Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Joey Carbery was a delight when he took a rare turn at number 10 against Fiji, but the issue of how frequent he can play as an out-half remains a glaring concern – particularly with Ross Byrne refusing to put a foot wrong at Leinster.
The Athy man is supremely talented and playing fullback won’t hurt his long-term development. But Schmidt is counting down the Tests before the World Cup is upon us and the ticker is down to 16. So time to hone the inimitable skills of a 10 is thin on the ground.
It’s hard to separate the efforts to up-skill personnel from the performances of this team over the past month. The constant chopping and changing unquestionably had an impact on the team’s rhythm.
Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
The late flourish brought more questions than answers about how the two nations have fared since going their separate ways from Cardiff in 2015.
For a long time, yesterday’s match looked to be safely following the template of the encounter with South Africa a fortnight ago; a solid set-piece, clinical breakdown work, intensity at the ideal pitch and an attack that was mature and confident enough to pick and choose their moments.
However, before the Springbok contest turned into a rout, the game dropped several grades in quality in the 20 minutes after half-time. That third-quarter drop-off was a constant issue for Ireland through the month; Fiji picked off an intercept try to level the game after falling 17 – 3 down during the first-half and, Stockdale’s second try aside, Argentina were allowed sniff their way back into the game in the same period and thus inject some nerves on Lansdowne Road when a 20 – 0 lead ought to have killed the contest.
A few work-ons have never been a bad thing in a Joe Schmidt setup, however (they’re more like a necessity). When all is said and done, we asked for three wins and we got them. We hoped a few fresh faces would impress on the big stage and we got them.
So despite the few wrinkles brought on by wholesale change this month, Paris in February doesn’t look the least bit daunting.
England and Scotland in March, mind you… well, let’s try not to lose touch with that talented Corkman before we absolutely have to.
Inpho / Billy Stickland
Inpho / Billy Stickland / Billy Stickland
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Schmidt delivers on two fronts in November built on future promise
BEFORE IRELAND’S INTERNATIONAL season kicked off three weeks ago, Joe Schmidt’s pre-series press engagement was dominated by talk of one man. Simon Zebo.
With one of the island’s most talented and popular players jettisoned after agreeing to become Racing 92′s new Cork representative in 2018, Schmidt needed the three Tests to provide more than just tangible victories and more of those precious Ws the binary code of the form guide.
He needed to stoke some excitement and hope, particularly against a team like Argentina who have thrice gleefully popped Ireland’s World Cup balloon.
“If we want a time when we can be competitive but still grow the group a little bit, this is our window,” said Schmidt on Halloween night. And he was true to that word.
Four new caps were awarded, six more players made either a full or home debut (or both). New combinations were forged too, particularly in the second row with Devin Toner called ashore early against Fiji and named as a replacement for yesterday’s win over the Pumas to give some valuable feet-to-the-fire experience for Kieran Treadwell and James Ryan respectively.
Midfield brought three new partnerships too – albeit the first-choice Robbie Henshaw-Bundee Aki axis came ready-made from Connacht – and it’s one area where Ireland do boast enormous amount of depth. Chris Farrell and Aki’s impressive run yesterday represented the 10th different 12-13 pairing Schmidt has started over the 18 Tests since he took his squad to South Africa last summer.
If there are no new injuries and Jared Payne manages to overcome his worrying headache problem, Schmidt will do well not to tie himself in knots trying to figure out who to select from Payne, Aki, Henshaw, Farrell, Garry Ringrose, Stu McCloskey and already-capped outsiders like Luke Marshall, Rory O’Loughlin and Rory Scannell.
Of the men who count 2017 as their first international season; Aki, Farrell, Jacob Stockdale and Andrew Conway did most to further their claim to be considered in Schmidt’s plans when he comes to plot a way through the Six Nations.
The Kiwi has warned that the ‘major tournament of the year’ won’t feature anything like the level of experimentation he has allowed for this month. But Stockdale has delivered in spades on each of his four caps and that kind of finishing ability can’t be easily put to one side.
Conway, meanwhile, is much further along the learning curve Schmidt puts in front of players. The Kiwi clearly trusts the Munster man to act as a standby fullback should anything befall Rob Kearney. With Zebo absent, the Louthman’s other rivals for the jersey, Henshaw and Joey Carbery, will be primary considerations in other roles so Conway’s versatility could well mark him out as a regular number 23 in Schmidt’s matchday squad – a role his backs coach at Munster was favoured for not that very long ago.
Big digs all over the place then, yet there there remains a depth chart issue behind number 10.
As part of those long discussions about Zebo, Schmidt mentioned that he didn’t feel Sexton was quite as durable as the man who left for Racing 92 in 2013. So it’s imperative that there is a viable back-up option to step into the void created by Paddy Jackson’s uncertain future. Tyler Bleyendaal will be Irish-qualified before the Six Nations kicks off, but right now, Ian Keatley is the perfect fit for the role – experienced, rejuvenated and assured if the time comes to close out games.
Joey Carbery was a delight when he took a rare turn at number 10 against Fiji, but the issue of how frequent he can play as an out-half remains a glaring concern – particularly with Ross Byrne refusing to put a foot wrong at Leinster.
The Athy man is supremely talented and playing fullback won’t hurt his long-term development. But Schmidt is counting down the Tests before the World Cup is upon us and the ticker is down to 16. So time to hone the inimitable skills of a 10 is thin on the ground.
It’s hard to separate the efforts to up-skill personnel from the performances of this team over the past month. The constant chopping and changing unquestionably had an impact on the team’s rhythm.
Schmidt used the words “mixed bag” a number of times in close proximity post match last night because the series ended on a low as the Pumas pulled out a strong finish despite early appearances that they were more than ready for their flip-flops and the southern hemisphere summer.
The late flourish brought more questions than answers about how the two nations have fared since going their separate ways from Cardiff in 2015.
For a long time, yesterday’s match looked to be safely following the template of the encounter with South Africa a fortnight ago; a solid set-piece, clinical breakdown work, intensity at the ideal pitch and an attack that was mature and confident enough to pick and choose their moments.
However, before the Springbok contest turned into a rout, the game dropped several grades in quality in the 20 minutes after half-time. That third-quarter drop-off was a constant issue for Ireland through the month; Fiji picked off an intercept try to level the game after falling 17 – 3 down during the first-half and, Stockdale’s second try aside, Argentina were allowed sniff their way back into the game in the same period and thus inject some nerves on Lansdowne Road when a 20 – 0 lead ought to have killed the contest.
A few work-ons have never been a bad thing in a Joe Schmidt setup, however (they’re more like a necessity). When all is said and done, we asked for three wins and we got them. We hoped a few fresh faces would impress on the big stage and we got them.
So despite the few wrinkles brought on by wholesale change this month, Paris in February doesn’t look the least bit daunting.
England and Scotland in March, mind you… well, let’s try not to lose touch with that talented Corkman before we absolutely have to.
The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the year’s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Eason’s, or order it here today (€10):
Farrell to the fore and more talking points from Ireland’s win over Argentina
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big dig Ireland Jacob Stockdale Joe Schmidt November Tests Review