THERE WERE IMPERFECTIONS aplenty from Ireland on Saturday, as expected after so long without a game together, but just about enough positive stuff to provide a small boost of confidence.
Andy Farrell and his players won’t need reminding that this weekend’s visit to Paris will be an altogether different ball game. The Six Nations title is still up for grabs heading into Super Saturday, though it will take something special from Ireland to upset the odds and claim it.
As ever, team selection will be key this week but the initial outlook is that Farrell will be naming a settled XV on Wednesday. He will be happy at key combinations getting 80 minutes together against Italy before the France clash, including his halfbacks.
The early sin-binning wasn’t part of the plan but Conor Murray was in good form thereafter, passing intelligently and accurately when Ireland got moving forward. There was far less kicking pressure on Murray and he defended as strongly as ever. There is definitely more still to come from his sniping game but this was a fine outing.
Sexton had a couple of errors that greatly frustrated him – the intercept try and a knock-on with a promising overlap wide to the left chief among them – but also delivered lots of strong defensive moments, clever kicks, a few half-breaks, and accurte place-kicking.
The loss of Garry Ringrose in midfield is a big one but inside centre Bundee Aki was very good, combining powerful ball-carrying with incessantly loud communication and some subtle touches with and without the ball. Robbie Henshaw was sharp after replacing Ringrose and looks likely to be paired with Aki in Paris.
The return of Keith Earls to Ireland training means Farrell now has another option in his back three but the Munster man could perhaps replace Henshaw in the number 23 shirt after debutant Hugo Keenan, Andrew Conway, and Jacob Stockdale had a strong outing as the back three against Italy.
Keenan’s pair of tries were matched by aggressive tackling and his usual hard work off the ball chasing kicks and covering backfield space, while Stockdale looked content in the number 15 shirt. The Ulster man showed his attacking threat with ball in hand, while his left boot is a real weapon. The game didn’t quite flow Conway’s way as much but he has been excellent for Ireland for a long time.
In the pack, props Cian Healy and Andrew Porter had a far happier afternoon at the Aviva than had been the case for Leinster against Saracens last month. Their set-piece work was solid and Porter delivered a particularly big work-rate around the pitch.
Ulster hooker Rob Herring made two turnovers, showed energy around the pitch, and threw well, while Connacht’s Dave Heffernan had some dynamic moments off the bench too. It remains to be seen if Leinster man Ronan Kelleher is fit this week after missing out on the Italy game and Farrell may opt to include his power if so.
James Ryan rarely has a bad game and produced lots of examples of real quality with his lineout and maul defence, as well as in the tackle and carry, while Tadhg Beirne had one of his best games for Ireland alongside him in the second row.
Beirne brought his usual jackal skills and mobility around the pitch but also offered notable bite at ruck time. He is not a heavy-weight ball carrier who will repeatedly dent defences like the French one, but Beirne is a very good rugby player.
Finally, the back row trio of Caelan Doris, CJ Stander, and Will Connors was excellent for Ireland. Stander is a key man thanks to his relentless physicality and jackal skills, while Doris already looks like a guaranteed first-choice player too. The 22-year-old dominates collisions, runs good lines, is quick, wins turnovers, jumps in the lineout, can pass and offload, and is also a superb maul defender.
The question marks coming into the Six Nations were over the other back row spot and Connors delivered a brilliant demonstration of his abilities as he got the first shot on Saturday. His tackling is sublime, while he had some nice passes and also added a breakdown threat. Connors isn’t a meaty carrier but uses his footwork to good effect.
Peter O’Mahony had a fine outing off the bench for Ireland, looking very motivated. He threw a stunning offload for Aki’s try and though he faced criticism for dropping a restart before Italy’s late try, he was audibly frustrated with designated lifter Heffernan not being in position to give him a boost in fielding the ball.
Of course, Josh van der Flier was unlucky to miss out altogether last weekend and one could easily make an argument for his all-action energy to be included against the French. One could also argue that O’Mahony’s experience and set-piece nous should be backed or even that Jack Conan’s dynamism would be useful at Stade de France.
With the likes of Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane, Jamison Gibson-Park, and Ross Byrne having decent cameos off the bench, there doesn’t seem any great need for wholesale changes there either as Ireland head to France looking for a big result.
“Just to win in Paris is very tough,” said Farrell on Saturday. “We all know that. The squad that they picked [in their win over Wales] is a very strong squad, so to go over there and get any form of win would be a tremendous achievement.
“We’re certainly not getting ahead of ourselves and being brash enough to say we’re going to go over to Paris as though everything is going to go according to plan and we will come up smelling of roses, you know, that we are going to get four tries against them.
“I’m sure Shaun [Edwards, France's defence coach] would have something big to say about that.
JVDF and Chris Farrell instead of POM and Ringrose. Earl’s is not a true centre and has been found wanting when in that position.
@Con Cussed: Yeah I’d probably go with Conan on the bench, we need the bonus point and he’s our best attacking option. POMs offload was class but he then messed up a second one and had the knock on as well. I’d go Earls ahead of Farrell, again looking for a late try Earl’s pace could be the difference. Farrell also struggled against Nakarawa in europe(most do in fairness). Scrum will be the biggest worry for us, if we can match them there we have a chance.
As usual you never know with France which makes them so exciting to watch. We need to start well though and score early. Huge ask but would be a great start to Farrell’s campaign if we can pull it off.
@Umpaloompa: Earls in the centre does not work. Henshaw and Farrell are available and are natural options. Earls is brilliant. But he’s brilliant on the wing.
@Pete Bat-ery: He’d be covering wing, the normal is to have a back 3 player on the bench…
@Umpaloompa: By your logic Farrell doesn’t cover back three
@Con Cussed: pom ran backwards to take a kick off that was floating perfectly in Cj bread basket where he could have took the ball going forward. Every one whos ever played the game knows the player coming on to the kick off feilds it. Cj had caught nearly ever kick off in the game up to that point. POM not only went for a ball that wasn’t his he also dropped it and then clearly blamed one of his team mates for his mistake.
@Umpaloompa: earls at centre
@Chris Mc: there was nobody in the stands, if it was cjs ball he should have shouted for it. Theres no way pom could have left the ball go over his head without knowing whats there. It was a system breakdown, someone should have been lifting him
@Tim Magner: I don’t know who made a call but of course he should know who’s behind him and who was there. They were set up for a kick off. The first thing most players do when receiving a kick off is scan that’s everyone in the right place and there’s no gaps in thr cover. Anyone watching the first 78 minutes of the game would have known Cj was there. He was standing in the very same spot for each and every other kick off.
Tim I know he’s your captain and you don’t like leinster fans pointing out his mistakes but come on he should not have went for the ball and even then should have caught it and should not have blamed someone else for his mistake.
@Chris Mc: no id imagine the first thing most players do at a restart is keep an eye on the ball, its up to the individuals to be in the right positions. None of us know but if pom was expecting a lifter and that guy wasn’t there then thats a systems breakdown. Whether cj caught every other ball in the game is irrelevant. You might think pom was being petulant but if the lifter didn’t do his job then the coaches are going to pull him up for it too
@Tim Magner: he got 2 hands on a ball and dropped the ball.
Long time since I played bad junior rugby but certain things don’t change. There is need for a balance between athletes/ball-players and grunt/dog in a pack and while POM career is very near its end , there is still a need for him from the bench especially against the French. The best example of the absence if that balance lately was Leinster loss to Sarries where the absence of Fardy and Ruddock was felt. That enforcer role that the likes of Fardy, POC, Retallack, AWJ bring to a team was missing on Saturday and while Beirne was fantastic he does not fill that role. Nobody thats available springs to mind but I fear being bullied up front on Saturday.
@Michael Murray: Leinster lost the game in the front row, the back row was fine. Sarries only bullied the scrum, Leinster matched them in the collisions and without the scrum penalties would have won.
POM doesn’t add the grunt like the players you named. They are all work horses who make lots of tackles, carry hard and ruck hard. POM offers a lineout threat and breakdown threat but is not big in the collisions like the others.If we want to add grunt Ruddock is the best option but obviously not in the squad.
@Umpaloompa: If real grunt is is to be added the second row is where it should be. Baird out injured (also probably not mature enough yet) & Kleyn struggling with injury also so we don’t have great options.
I’m not 100% convinced by our replacement props either.
For the back row O’Mahony’s experience & lineout skills will probably shade it for him ahead of JVDF though you could move Beirne to 6 if you went the other way. The downside is that Beirne hasn’t played much at 6 since returning to Ireland
@TL55: Agree about the second row grunt. Beirne was class at the weekend while Ryan had a quiet game for his standards. The grunt option second row would be Quinn Roux but you’d lose a lot taking out Ryan or Beirne. Beirnes versatility makes him a great bench option but you can’t drop him to the bench after his performance.
Still think the scrum is a worry for us. Porter is young and will keep improving but Healy and Killer aren’t that young and there’s a big gap behind them.
@Umpaloompa: Absolutely agree on the gap behind those 2 LHs. McGrath next best imo but he’s over the 30 mark also. Ulster’s O‘Sullivan will hopefully come into the reckoning in another year.
We’re a bit better at TH but injuries to Furlong & O’Toole are hopefully just a short term problem.
I’d say stick with the same side, Henshaw to come into the 13 jersey and Earls or Shane Daly into the 23 spot. There’ll be plenty of time for experimentation after this game.
@Jim Demps: completely agree with you. Earls experience at centre gives him the nod at 23 for me.
1. Healy
2. Herring
3. Porter
4. Beirne
5. Ryan
6. Doris
7. Connors
8. Stander
9. Murray
10. Sexton
11. Keenan
12. Aki
13. Henshaw
14. Conway
15. Stockdale
Subs
16. Kelleher
17. Byrne
18. Bealham
19. Dillane
20. Van Der Flier
21. Marmion
22. Byrne
23. Earls
I’d have VDF tackling effort to defend in the last 15 or Conan which I think stylistically makes more sense as Ireland need to score so his ball carrying could be impactful
@John Carey: Unless Heffernan is injured there is no reason to drop him. He did well when he came on. Kelleher is a great prospect but he needs to work on his throwing. Otherwise I agree with your selection.
Is it just me but are ireland horrible to watch
@Al Byrne: Just you lad. A few of the tries on sat were boxoffice.
@Pete McEvoy: totally agree, we did play some lovely rugby. POM’s off load, Keenan’S runs, some lovely passed to on running players, bundee’s footwork. Stockdale made some fantastic runs, JGP’s chip for sexton. There’s plenty of examples of some really good rugby.