THE IRISH BACK row is a fluid situation at the moment with Sean O’Brien looking at a move abroad, Jamie Heaslip possibly heading on the same flight, Chris Henry and Iain Henderson just back from injury, Jordi Murphy steaming into contention, Stephen Ferris reportedly close to a return for Ulster, and Peter O’Mahony still searching for his best position.
Into the mix you can add Tommy O’Donnell, Shane Jennings, Kevin McLaughlin, James Coughlan, Dominic Ryan and Rhys Ruddock, one or two of whom will probably feature during the Six Nations. The back row selection will dictate both the style and the success of Joe Schmidt’s debut season in the Six Nations, but even with all those options Ireland are already on the back foot without O’Brien.
If a coach, hypothetically, was given unlimited resources and told to build a team from scratch, he might start by buying Sean O’Brien, Stephen Ferris and Jamie Heaslip, three of the best all round athletes in the game. If they can hold off (and return from) injury, gather a few more trophies with Toulon or Ulster or Leinster or Ireland, then they have a shot at becoming the greatest players to play for their country in their respective positions.
Back rowers are the key influencers, the non-specialists who have to be good at everything. The international players in these positions would all make decent heptathletes. The good ones can run fast, they can run for a long time, they have explosive power for the hits, but a grinding machine-like power for mauls and scrums.
Rugby used to be a game of set plays, of distinct moves, short bursts of activity book-ended by props faking injury and two minute penalty kick routines. The game had little or no pattern to it, with a random mix of scrums, line-outs, rucks, mauls, garryowens, back-line moves, grubbers and clearance kicks.
The sport is now more fluid, the dominant play is the ruck, and the trends indicate that will continue. There’s no worldwide average, but in a World Cup match there are about 150 rucks per game. Between the 2007 and 2011 World Cups there were seven fewer line-outs on average per game, and 18 more rucks and mauls.
Jamie Heaslip is one of the finest athletes Ireland can call on. ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne.
On a dry day there can be as few as 10 scrums per game. Compared to 1995 there are 40% fewer scrums and line-outs per game, while there are now twice as many rucks. If a rugby game was a Dickensian workhouse, the back rowers would be the ones beating the drum.
For Joe Schmidt’s game plan, they assume even greater importance. In his time with Leinster he once admitted if he was an opposition coach playing against a Schmidt-led side, he would focus on flooding the breakdown, throwing numbers at it. Not a revolutionary insight, but still revealing.
In the Six Nations, O’Brien will probably be replaced by Chris Henry, who is as good as O’Brien at poaching and tackling, but nowhere close on all the other measures. O’Brien’s importance is such that his loss may involve a complete re-think on how Schmidt approaches the tournament.
Rugby teams go through good spells and bad spells, but in each game there will come a point where they run out of ideas and lose all momentum. In this situation every country has one easy out. The mentally lazy, but in the circumstances, only option: give it to their blunderbuss.
France have Louis Picamoles, South Africa have Bismarck Du Plessis, New Zealand have Kieran Read, Ireland have the Carlow man.
The positive thinkers will point out that his absence will force Ireland to think laterally, to kick more strategically, to keep the brains on red alert and it may squeeze the best out of the other ball carriers; but in the same way there’s still a giant Stephen Ferris-sized hole up in Ulster, there’s no replacing the chunk of muscle, bone and gristle that is Sean O’Brien.
In other news: the laws around the breakdown, lineout and offside line have been abolished.
Saracens win then! Him and Barnes are in a league of their own for blinkers.
@David Coyne: get your excuses in early
@David Coyne: Barnes is actually one of the best out there these days.
@Bungee Aky:
Did not expect to see you on here after Jim took your head off the other day ?? Did you Email him and say sorry !! You know he is having a good laugh at you !!
Has not been kind to irish teams so far this year
Not sure who this suits more but I suspect that the more cynical team at the breakdown will be rewarded.
@Jim Demps: suits Sarries I’d say as Garces as red means no offside and free for at rucks
@Conor Sexton: have you watched Leinster recently? Furlong and Fardy haven’t been legal at rucktime in an age. The only ruck I remember furlong staying on his feet for this season was the one he put Cloete on a stretcher at. Saracens are no angels at the ruck but neither are Leinster.
@Jim Demps: I don’t know whether to laugh or to pity you when I see how bitter you are towards Leinster. Read Nietzsche and set yourself free!
@Andrew Hurley: yawn. Not bitter at all, I’ll be supporting them in Newcastle. You going?
@Jim Demps: No, why?
@Andrew Hurley: thought you might make the effort to actually go to a game. You’re a leinster fan right? Or are you just anti munster?I could have pointed out all the finer points of the sport to you that you wouldn’t know having not played it.
@Andrew Hurley:
Ask him if he played ::and to what level since he is making fun of your participation in the game, he is having a go at you.
“The only ruck I remember furlong staying on his feet for this season was the one he put Cloete on a stretcher ” he must have said that at least 10 times over the last Month. Then he says” I’ll be supporting them in Newcastle.” not a chance will he !!
@Jim Demps: I go to plenty of games of rugby dear Jim. You’re such a fanboy, and so typical of a Munster fan (but I don’t think you see why).
Another insult to genuine rugby followers from the powers that be. This guy should have been put out to grass a long time ago. I hope Leinster can cope with Saracens illegal tactics because Garces will let them away with everything.
@Peter O’ Dowd: it’s up to both teams to play the referee. While Saracens have the advantage of already experiencing him and his interpretation of the laws already, the onus is on leinster to figure out what they will and will not be allowed get away with – which was a lot – I’m sure they have the experience to adapt accordingly
@Norris Kevin: fair point and it’s not as if Garces has never refereed any of the Leinster lads before. Stu and Leo will do their homework on the ref and what they need to watch out for!
@Norris Kevin: The ref should be fair and impartial & should apply the laws of rugby. It should not be up to the contestants to figure out what laws the ref will not apply n the day. If Saracens continue to cheat at the breakdown Leinster should take the law into their own hands.
@Locojoe: all very true in theory but referees are human and the laws can be ambiguously interpreted at times (e.g – deliberately weeling a scrum, clearing out etc) All you can ask from a referee is that he applies his interpretation of the laws consistently to both sides. In this day and age, teams prepare for games and also for the ref.
If he referees the final the way he did the semi then the ruck is going to be a free for all again. At least Leinster now have a template to work off and can plan accordingly.
@Eddie Hekenui: He’s a great referee, the best team always wins when he refs. Only Barnes close to him at a world level.
@Andrew Hurley: I’m guessing by that you mean Saracens were the better team and his performance had no impact on the result and if so that would be correct. Saying the best teams always win when he refs is a nonsense statement. The best team tend to win 99% of games. But he has made bad decisions in big games that have cost teams. Ask Gloucester fans for their opinion on him after he cost them a European title last season.
He is a very good referee but like all referee’s they have flaws. He doesn’t take full advantage of the tools at his disposal (namely the touch judges and TMO) and he can let the breakdown turn into a mess.
@Eddie Hekenui: I think he’s excellent and doesn’t try to be the headline in a match (like Barnes years ago and Owens throughout his career). Matches always better to watch when he refs, I think Ge’s an absolute treasure.
Very disappointing! A compensationary token to French Rugby? Could ruin the game as a spectacle as synical play will dominate.
Not good news about Garces, he does not see the offside, Itoge is off most of the time
Ah facksticks, it was going to be hard enough
Irish rugby football fans have to accept that Nigel Owens can’t referee every match involving the national team or a provincial franchise.
@Treaty Bhoy: just as well, Owens has been poor for a while now. While he is decisive he is often factually wrong. Would have preferred Poite or Raynal myself.
@Kevin Colman: Agreed, I don’t rate Owens as a ref either.
It’s just certain elements within Irish rugby football think the sun shines out of “Nigel.” I know he gives the Irish national and provincial sides plenty of decisions so that’s why they idolise him but I think he makes it more about him than the two teams, the stupid attention seeking gags about soccer etc.
@Treaty Bhoy:
I would be very happy with him as my ref, still one of the best in the world. Also Billy would be stopped from all that illegal running over players ::he would stop him from doing that (with a smile on his face)
He let’s a good contest at the breakdown. So we need to be on the sarries ball and commit numbers to defend our own properly. Not overly worried as Sarries dont have an out and out 7 but the do have an effective back row
@Dean Soady:
Players going in off their feet and from the side is a common occurrence in top14 rugby, at least we know what to expect from him and can be prepared
It was always going to be a Frenchman, but I would have preferred to see Poite in charge. Is Raynal injured?
Would you every all stop with your complaining, he’s a consistent ref, it’s up to the teams to play within his approach of the game, and they have plenty of time to get ready, he is not as prone to a howler as other refs are and won’t be the reason any particular team loses the game.
His approach to the breakdown is more lenient than other refs, but he always favors the team with the ball so whoever wins the possession game will also win the penalty count and in a final which will be a super tight affair that is huge.
@Bungee Aky:
Are you OK Bungee Aky ?? Jim is not a nice person and he should not be laughing at you. I don’t agree with you much of the time but you are a Rugby man and that is enough for me !!
Well another Irish side for a roasting – he clearly impressed Saracens
Is there a dictat to referees from the authorities to keep games flowing at any cost? Watching both semi finals I couldn’t help but think that is the case. The rules regarding the breakdown are not being enforced. Side entry, clearing beyond the ruck, offside at the breakdown are not being policed at all. Has there been a rule change or are the ref’s just not policing it anymore? It’s bloody infuriating!