IN THE END it was a 32-point losing margin, and Ireland had to dig deep to push their way off the dreaded zero that remained on the scoreboard for 68 minutes.
Beating New Zealand in this tournament, at this stage, was always going to be a mountainous task, but to be so thoroughly taken apart makes this one of the most galling of Ireland’s many World Cup quarter-final failures.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way, of course, it’s less than a year since Jacob Stockdale scored at the Aviva as Ireland beat the world champions and Steve Hansen happily installed Ireland as the world’s number one team. From there, we were supposed to build, add to the gameplan, add to the depth chart and peak for a quarter-final against South Africa after ploughing through Pool A.
Instead, Ireland appeared to stagnate in the first half of 2019. England dismantled Joe Schmidt’s side at home and away, in the summer and winter.
Yet on they pressed, undeterred. The trust in 2018 methods was maintained and there was no deviation in course with the World Cup looming.
A thrashing of off-colour Scotland gave a sense that all was rosy in the garden. Until Ireland’s true 2019 form returned six days later when they were unable to last the pace with Japan’s inventive, high-tempo and high-skilled attack.
Ireland have no shortage of players possessing a strong ball-handling skill-set, but we have become accustomed to watching them keep a tight rein on such instincts and become restricted to a gameplan that grew tighter and tighter in recent years. And while a hint of an offloading game returned during that loss to Japan, it felt as hurried and panicked as you might expect from players using a skill they have rarely put into practice.
This morning, New Zealand beat Ireland out the gate with a vicious display of defence and clinical attacking. If Ireland had an answer, it was lost amid individual and collective errors, knock-ons and blind alleys.
The mood in the camp was confident all week, we were told. And those pushing relentless positivity espoused the view that a few Joe Schmidt specials – set moves so effective that they had to be kept under deep cover – could be easily tacked on to transform Ireland’s bull-dozing machine into something bold and new.
It proved to be magical thinking. The evidence in front of our eyes proved reliable. There was no solution produced out of thin air and no change in gear from a side that has struggled all year long.
On TV post-match Schmidt lamented that his team had been ‘glued together’ as players were carrying knocks during the week.
Knocks sustained in a clash with Samoa that should never have been crucial. Knocks that were kept secret until the moment after defeat, yet were not deemed serious enough to test depth in the squad. The depth Schmidt had four years to build after lamenting a spate of injuries that explained a quarter-final loss to Argentina.
Schmidt’s era will be remembered for its Six Nations successes, southern hemisphere exploits and two momentous landmark wins over New Zealand. But he was unable to break the mould in the World Cup.
When it comes to this tournament, for four more years Ireland must be defined by quarter-final failures against inventive and adventurous opponents.
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Best of luck to him. Him and this team gave us alot more good memories than bad. Thanks Joe.
Bloody blaming injuries is weak. I was a bit harsh earlier, fully acknowledge it, but that’s just embarrassing. I haven’t been so disappointed in an Irish game since 2007. Thanks and all that to everyone involved but the last four months have been the worst since Eddie o Sullivan’s run in France and arguably just as bad. The World Cup is the pinnacle and I don’t know what the answer is but it’s not whatever we’ve been doing.
@Jim Demps: they slumped since he announced his exit. Can’t replace a couch four months out. We peaked last year where England and NZ peaked at the right time.
@Paddy Murphy: that announcement had nothing to do with it, if so why are wales flying it?
@Paddy Murphy: Gatland and Hansen both announced they were leaving their jobs but both Wales and New Zealand are peaking
@Jim Demps: it was the lack of new ideas for the last year that was the killer. England showed us in the 6ns that they had our game plan figured out, that’s what good coaches & analysts do. however he did coach a team to win a grand slam & I think most of us still look upon that as a huge achievement. He’ll probably get the stick kidney had to deal with now, I wouldn’t write off all the good achievements
@Tim Magner: nah I think it’s possible to hold both views, that what he did in the past was great and fair play but also that he made an absolute balls of this campaign. A refusal to back form, sticking to the same tired game plan and a decrease in actual basic skills are the hallmarks of Ireland 2019 and the exact opposite could be said about Steve Hansen. He had no trouble in jettisoning guys who were out of form, no trouble in changing up and building on an already successful game plan and the basic skill set of all the all black players from 1-23 was sublime.
@Jim Demps: I’m not saying it has anything to do with it, I’m saying that’s when we started playing bad. You lonely lifeless serial commentor.
@Paddy Murphy: no need for the personal stuff paddy. No interest in talking to you if that’s the carry on.
@Jim Demps: What’s embarrassing or weak about it? Nothing weak or embarrassing about fronting up to the media so soon after a gutting defeat, which also happens to be your last game in charge. And I’d prefer know than not know that players were carrying knocks. Your hissy-fit comments since the game ended, while predictable, are embarrassing and weak. Schmidt’s coaching limitations were shown up in 2019 in particular but those limitations pale in comparison to what he has done overall for Irish rugby’s infrastructures and players. Added to that, he has always seemed like a good and hardworking man. It’s only a game. Get over yourself.
@Jim Demps: look he’s a good man but it does seem that his mind went from the job & his heart wasn’t really in it for the last year. Sadly for us our half backs were just never the players they used be after the injuries for Murray & just plain age for Sexton.
@dRod2128: he’s fronting up now so he doesn’t have to bother with any media commitments at Christmas. Do you think Joanne Cantwell will be grilling him in the Burlington(or wherever) in December? No of course not. He’s a media darling.
@Tim Magner: ah there’s no doubt about it, I don’t think it’s a lack of effort or that his head wasn’t in it though, more that he’d convinced himself that what he was doing would work. He became too entrenched in what Ireland were doing. It’s the old blackadder thing about going over the trenches for the 35th time, they’ll never expect it. Eddie jones takes a lot of flak but he has no bother identifying weaknesses and making changes. He changed defence coach when he had to, cut older players when he had to. Same can be said about Hansen.
@dRod2128: there’s no doubt about him outside of his job, he’s an incredible guy, hard working and genuinely nice. None of that is relevant to his job though I’d say. Also none of my criticism has been personal, it never is, just simply about the job he’s done.
@Jim Demps: I actually looked upon Joe as a coach with the ability to change things up. At leinster he seemed to be a great innovator & he developed a style for Ireland that bamboozled everyone for the guts of 2 years…..I do think he was lucky to have a Conor Murray in his pomp that made it so difficult to play against. I was still expecting him to pull a rabbit out of the hat today but as you said he got stubbornly entrenched in his ideas
@Jim Demps: I saw you make a comment earlier comparing how people now view Kidney to how you feel about Schmidt today. I’ve always felt Kidney was unfairly maligned by some for how his reign ended and I hope Schmidt doesn’t suffer the same fate.
@Paddy Murphy: Hilarious carry on that you’re the one reaching out to Jim for validation and then when he disagrees with your point you abuse him. Real classy carry on.
@Eddie Hekenui: yeah and time will temper my view on schmidt, no doubt about it. He was incredibly successful and our best coach ever, like the 2 coaches before him he brought Ireland on to new levels but for now it’s hard to be anything but incredibly disappointed at what’s happened to what I think was our best squad of players and our best chance to do well at this stage to date.
@Tim Magner: yeah I think the problem was expectation I suppose
@Jim Demps: form is the big thing. We also protect players too much.
@Jim Demps: I think saying someone is embarrassing and weak and should be put in a bin would be considered personal by most. Away from that, 2019 was undoubtedly poor by Schmidt’s standards – we became defensively weaker and didn’t progress offensively at all. On the other hand, Sexton’s kicks out of touch, Henshaw, Furlong and others knocking on at terrible moments, Murray’s poor game control and the All Blacks general excellence can hardly be blamed on Schmidt today.
@Paddy Murphy: back in your box Paddy
Read the headline, not the article. He owes us nothing. Enjoy your extended stay in Ireland Joe. NZ were just different class today and we weren’t as perfect as we needed to be to win.
@Ado Smith: Rubbish. The entire style of play we’ve developed is 10 years off the pace. It’s slow, conservative, relies on bashing it up which is ridiculous since we all know we’ve not got the biggest players. Where’s the creativity & variation in play? Where are the backs? Where’s the ingenuity & flow that would suit us far better?
Joe Schmidt had no plan B plain and simple. If the opposition can neutralise our plan A we are up the creek, exactly the same thing happened four years ago against a decent but unspectacular Argentina team.
Thanks and best of luck to him , seems like a gent too . Can we now please stop playing this attritional rugby, try and play heads up …. less body weight , less collisions and injuries . They seemed a bit over coached and couldn’t Exspress themselves . These are fantastic players I’m sure they can play that way too . Or am I wrong ? Can they just pick and go like cave men style . Maybe I’m delusional , spent a bit of time in New Zealand and the rugby is all about fun and expression there…… hasn’t seemed like fun for the Irish in a long time
What he has done for Irish rugby is massive. The great days we’ve had were his creation more than anyone else. Can only wish him well in his next project.
I wish he could have kept his departure a secret until today or at least kept it quiet between the Union, Farrell and himself.
The early announcement changed things and not for the better.
He’s been a great addition to Irish life though.
Joe brought Ireland into the conversation, we ultimately ended up with nothing to say but he can leave knowing he has done more for Ireland than any other coach. We need to make the next step up now however and build on the foundations of success that Joe has put in place and that requires completely changing our approach to attack. We need to be more inventive, more skillful and more confident in our abilities to execute beyond third phase ball. We have the backs to score tries, it’s time to let them off the leash. This attitude of “we can’t compete when it comes to skill alone” or “we don’t have the players” has got to change cause we can and we do.
Spot on, Sean. The style of play is suffocating for the players when it should be suffocating for their opponents. Never thought I’d say this, but I’m so pleased Schmidt is going. He’s not adapted and is now years behind the better teams, including Japan. One can only hope Farrell takes a new approach. But will he?
Ireland needed to be perfect to win today but instead made 17 errors which is so unlike a Joe Schmidt coached team.
Let’s hope that after 32 years and 8 failed attempts the WCQF’s hasn’t become another Holy Grail that beating the AB’s was x 111 years. Anyway thanks to Joe Schmidt Irish Rugby in the last 5 years has had it’s most successful period ever.
Such a disappointment,we constantly big ourselves up to say we are a top team and permenantly fail to deliver on the big stage. Its not just the coaching ticket , the players need to take the brunt of what was a shambolic tournament. Joe has done all he can as i can see and givin this team the tools and blueprint to compete at the upper etchilons , I didnt see passion,aggression or guile today and I doubt anyone else did. Lets be real its the players who 1-23,did not perform along with a flawed game plan and no plan B. No one is absolved from blame.
In the end Joe brought us as far as he could which was a long way from the starting point of a team which had just lost to Italy. It’s definitely time for a change but he should be proud of his efforts.
Luckily they’re are only a handful of nations that take rugby seriously, we were a big fish in a small pond until the top teams start taking things seriously then we struggle big time, also we need to calm down with the hype not just (but especially) with the rugby but it’s always the same with any sport when we’re winning
Bit harsh
@Joe Schmit’s inside man: no. Spot on.
What a shite headline….. not for real rugby fanz