NEVER BEFORE HAS an Irish side mastered the basics of the game so well. They have the best maul in the competition and on current form the lineout is comparable to South Africa’s.
Wales, New Zealand and England have been contained in the scrum, the back up front row are young and dynamic, and the defensive patterns look rock solid. Teams have reached World Cup finals with less going for them.
At the same time the offloads have dried up, the back three aren’t connecting as an offensive unit and counter attacking plays are almost non existent. Elsewhere, players have missed clear overlaps and the wingers don’t look dangerous when in space.
If you were told a year ago that Joe Schmidt would be managing an Irish team that’s brilliant at the basics but isn’t attempting the delicate stuff you would assume the players had gone off message.
Considering the way Auckland, Clermont and Leinster played under him, its unlikely Schmidt is telling them not to try things, so the only conclusion can be that the players are following the brief too rigidly.
There have been lots of advantages to that obedience so far in the tournament. They have given teams very few chances, they’ve scored tries straight from the training ground and everyone is clearly buying into the system and gaining confidence from following the plan.
Ireland are now well organised, ruthlessly efficient and will be in with a chance of winning every game they play, irrespective of opposition. The problem is, they’re still losing against the really good teams, and that’s down to a lack of spontaneous moments.
There has been the occasional individual burst, such as Kearney’s footwork and finish against Scotland, but rarely have the players combined to put each other into space. That may seem overly critical given how well they’ve played at times, but until the players feel the flow we’re unlikely to win a run of tough games, which is the only way to reach a World Cup semi final.
The lack of offloading is the strangest thing about this current side, especially considering the way Leinster played last year. The counter attacking and overlaps may come down to vision or new personnel in certain positions, but a small team will usually try to offload or make short lateral passes rather than take full contact.
Brian O’Driscoll got criticised in some quarters for over complicating things, but in the final 20 minutes he looked the most dangerous back, and was the only one attempting to disguise his intentions. If the switch pass to Sexton had come off, they would have been in a really threatening position. For some reason it was only when the game looked beyond them that they tried to get it going. One of the few clear attempts on Saturday came from Sean Cronin, the replacement hooker, who knocked the ball on as he tried to get his hands free. At that stage the pressure on execution was probably too great.
Fans aren’t too sure what sort of expectations to have at the moment, and that is tied in to the inconsistency over the last few years. Since November every game has been encouraging, besides Australia. Ireland led 10-3 in the second half against England, led NZ by 19 points and hammered the Six Nations defending champions. Then again last season was the worst since Italy joined (2000), so supporters must be wondering if its greedy to ask for a championship straight away.
Ireland shouldn’t lose to Italy, so the focus over the next week and half will be on points differential, staying fresh and keeping some rehearsed moves in the locker for the trip to Paris.
Against the weakest team in the competition there should be time for some off the cuff moments, and players will have the luxury of knowing all moves don’t have to succeed, which is a good way to get this thing rolling. So far the plan has been followed, and the plan is a good one, but the next step has to have a sprinkle of spontaneity to it.
Simon Hick column: Ireland need to add some magic to Schmidt's masterplan
NEVER BEFORE HAS an Irish side mastered the basics of the game so well. They have the best maul in the competition and on current form the lineout is comparable to South Africa’s.
Wales, New Zealand and England have been contained in the scrum, the back up front row are young and dynamic, and the defensive patterns look rock solid. Teams have reached World Cup finals with less going for them.
At the same time the offloads have dried up, the back three aren’t connecting as an offensive unit and counter attacking plays are almost non existent. Elsewhere, players have missed clear overlaps and the wingers don’t look dangerous when in space.
If you were told a year ago that Joe Schmidt would be managing an Irish team that’s brilliant at the basics but isn’t attempting the delicate stuff you would assume the players had gone off message.
Considering the way Auckland, Clermont and Leinster played under him, its unlikely Schmidt is telling them not to try things, so the only conclusion can be that the players are following the brief too rigidly.
There have been lots of advantages to that obedience so far in the tournament. They have given teams very few chances, they’ve scored tries straight from the training ground and everyone is clearly buying into the system and gaining confidence from following the plan.
Ireland are now well organised, ruthlessly efficient and will be in with a chance of winning every game they play, irrespective of opposition. The problem is, they’re still losing against the really good teams, and that’s down to a lack of spontaneous moments.
There has been the occasional individual burst, such as Kearney’s footwork and finish against Scotland, but rarely have the players combined to put each other into space. That may seem overly critical given how well they’ve played at times, but until the players feel the flow we’re unlikely to win a run of tough games, which is the only way to reach a World Cup semi final.
The lack of offloading is the strangest thing about this current side, especially considering the way Leinster played last year. The counter attacking and overlaps may come down to vision or new personnel in certain positions, but a small team will usually try to offload or make short lateral passes rather than take full contact.
Brian O’Driscoll got criticised in some quarters for over complicating things, but in the final 20 minutes he looked the most dangerous back, and was the only one attempting to disguise his intentions. If the switch pass to Sexton had come off, they would have been in a really threatening position. For some reason it was only when the game looked beyond them that they tried to get it going. One of the few clear attempts on Saturday came from Sean Cronin, the replacement hooker, who knocked the ball on as he tried to get his hands free. At that stage the pressure on execution was probably too great.
Fans aren’t too sure what sort of expectations to have at the moment, and that is tied in to the inconsistency over the last few years. Since November every game has been encouraging, besides Australia. Ireland led 10-3 in the second half against England, led NZ by 19 points and hammered the Six Nations defending champions. Then again last season was the worst since Italy joined (2000), so supporters must be wondering if its greedy to ask for a championship straight away.
Ireland shouldn’t lose to Italy, so the focus over the next week and half will be on points differential, staying fresh and keeping some rehearsed moves in the locker for the trip to Paris.
Against the weakest team in the competition there should be time for some off the cuff moments, and players will have the luxury of knowing all moves don’t have to succeed, which is a good way to get this thing rolling. So far the plan has been followed, and the plan is a good one, but the next step has to have a sprinkle of spontaneity to it.
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