ON THE ONE hand, Saturday’s quarter-final defeat to New Zealand marked the end of an era for Ireland as they bid farewell to a couple of legends in Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls, while the international futures of a couple more senior players remain uncertain.
On the other hand, the next four years will call for evolution and not revolution, as outlined by former Ireland and Melbourne Rebels performance coach Eoin Toolan and The 42′s own Murray Kinsella on today’s Rugby Weekly Extra podcast.
Exclusively for The 42 subscribers, Toolan and Kinsella joined Gavan Casey on Wednesday’s pod to delve further into all four quarter-finals, including a forensic assessment of South Africa’s stunning win over France, and look ahead to this week’s semis.
The also cast an eye towards the future and, specifically, the areas in which a still-strong side will look to improve under Andy Farrell and his coaching staff for next year’s Six Nations campaign and beyond.
“I think you’ll see a lot of nations looking at New Zealand and what they did to deny Ireland’s attacking framework, to deny them the ability to score tries which they had done at such a facile rate throughout their 17-game run,” Toolan began.
“So, I think Ireland will look to find a bit more balance in their attack.
“I think they’ll look to use a genuine running threat at 10 — and we will see this with Jack Crowley — particularly to deal with passive defensive systems. We’ll look to play a little bit later at the line.
Like, Johnny did look fatigued towards the end of the game. I thought it was absolutely right for him to stay on the field because he was moving Ireland around the pitch excellently, but having the ability to go at the line as a 10, and with real pace, could be a change in dynamic for Ireland.
“But it’s hard to pick too many holes in what has been a brilliant, brilliant Ireland team over the last 18 months,” added Toolan, who went on to explain why he believes a World Cup quarter-final now presents an even bigger psychological barrier for Ireland’s players, irrespective of what they say publicly.
“We are nitpicking here,” said Kinsella.
“Ireland have been absolutely brilliant. But they want to be better.
“One of the things that maybe could be improved is tailoring things slightly more for opposition.
Of course they analyse and go into detail and try to pick out flaws in the opposition — but they’ve been very… almost boastful in saying, ‘This is what we do.’ And I think that is a strength, that they’re more focused on themselves. I think it’s great that Irish sides aren’t over-obsessed with the opposition. But you saw how tailored the All Blacks’ plan was for Ireland and how it worked.
“I’m not saying Ireland should go to that degree every game, but just that they might add a few more ploys around weaknesses that they’ve seen in opposition. And that means taking time away from the things that you want to do on the training pitch, and you’ve got to get that balance right.
You don’t want to become obsessed, again, with opposition and going through every single thing they do in minor detail, but just to have those little weapons up your sleeve — as New Zealand did with that lineout move (for Will Jordan’s try), for example: a really specific plan based on a really, really specific part of Ireland’s game which put the players in a position in which they were deeply uncomfortable.
“They weren’t familiar with it in any way.
“I thought that was really smart coaching and maybe Ireland can have a small bit more of that without returning to being robotic.”
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Hooper is somewhat of an anomaly in that he’s a world class 7 that’s basically never been injured for any notable length of time. Not even 29 and nearly a test centurion. Remarkable when you consider how brutal the game is physically these days.
Hopefully, someone will pick up the broadcast rights over here. The quality in the Top League has been “mixed” in recent years with some big name players on the downswing of their careers chasing a last big payday but there seems to be a real uptick in the quality of players & coaches heading there for next season, so it could make for interesting viewing.
@Del McG: yuuuuuuuppppaaaaa
Why, what is the point of playing in Japan. Its understandable in your mid 30s at the end of your career but in his prime why wouldn’t he move to England or France. Probably get the same money and will play a very competitive level of rugby, rather than just collect a pay check and play in a mickey mouse league
@s mc: you answered your own question there chief
@s mc: Big bucks, not as far from home, can basically stay match fit for a return to Super Rugby and the Wallabies when this passes. Will likely get a big contract in France for a couple of years when he calls it quits on his Wallaby career if he still wants to play at a high level.
@s mc: Even though he has had a break, in Japan he can earn the same money as he would in England and France, and its a lot easier on his body. Who wouldn’t take the easier money?
@Kingshu: I would rather look back on career and have won another meaningful tournament than protecting myself.
@s mc: It may beca longer career to look back on, by taking the Japan option
@s mc: Lad, it’s not that hard. He’s not retiring. He’ll be closer to 29 than 30 when this finishes. Consider it a gap year type arrangement. Still opportunities to win trophies but he’s filling the rugby career dead space with a bit of pick up ball that he gets paid really well for. He’ll do the 6 months, pocket a pay check and slot back in as a world class operator with 4-5 years at the top left in him when it’s done. It’s the smart decision for a guy who’s been playing elite back row rugby for 11 years already.
@s mc: yes