Twenty years ago, when the Irish squad met to prepare for what was considered to be an unpromising season, the instruction from coach Mick Doyle were simple. He told them to run the ball. It was a bold and, in hindsight, brilliant call by a novice international coach on the threshold of a difficult season. The class of 1985 were something of an unknown quantity. As Paul Dean, who started at outhalf put it, "I was just grateful to Mick for giving me the chance."
The optimism that followed the 1982 Triple Crown had begun to decline and with it some of the key figures. Ollie Campbell had been the pale, elusive genius of that era, a man who had the gaunt, haunted look of an overworked accountant but the hands and feet of a sporting genius. His deft hands set in motion the powerful, dominant pack.
Although the abiding sequence of that season featured the strawberry barnet of Gerry McLoughlin bulldozing towards the England line while, in the famous phrase, "festooned with Saxons", it was the split-second touch pass from Campbell to Willie Duggan that set the wheel in motion.
Three years later, it was expected Ireland would continue to rely on the formidable if predictable brawn of the pack, advancing with the slow, bloody-minded bravery of an army. Instead, they played with neither fear nor inhibition and out of the blue, it seemed Ireland had concocted a three-quarters line that threw the ball around with the flair of vintage France.
Ireland in the rainy season of the mid-1980s was not full of diversions. The country was broke and troubled, a place that was not quite a lost cause but not really salvageable either. The zany nationalist fervour created by Jack Charlton's soccer teams had yet to come. Emigration was the most popular course among Leaving Certificate students. U2 had yet to make The Joshua Tree. It was not all that hard to stand out and so the energy, style and clean running with which the Irish team lit that Five Nations championship was something to behold.
In any year, it would have been remarkable but in such a mundane, low wattage period in the evolution of the State, it was like a tonic.
Perhaps that is why even today many casual sports fans have little difficulty in recalling the three-quarters line of Keith Crossan, Brendan Mullin, Michael Kiernan and Trevor Ringland. Throw in Hugo McNeill, Ireland's imposing full back, and you had a back line that strung together a series of tries that somehow seemed much deeper than the mere points they put on the scoreboard on those grey afternoons. They had an everlasting quality, like Simon Geoghegan's classic strike in Twickenham. They gave a downtrodden place something to shout about.
This week, Ireland is a much different country but as Eddie O'Sullivan names his first team of the new season, there is an expectation - an assumption - Ireland can chase down the Grand Slam while using a similarly expansive game. The inclusion of the lightning and adventurous Geordan Murphy at full back gives the back line a potent edge and with O'Sullivan's pedigree for drawing up exciting patterns of attack, there is plenty to whet the appetite.
In 1985, Crossan was beginning his third season with Ireland. He had cut his teeth in a team wedded to the culture of the big man and the dressing-room was filled with colourful personalities like Moss Keane, Fergus Slattery and John O'Driscoll. So although Crossan's pace was appreciated, he had yet to score his first try.
"That was why 1985 was such a different philosophy. Mick just gave us free reign to run the ball. He had complete faith in us. It became a very exciting time and I felt lucky to be part of it. We weren't really afraid to try anything. There was no backs coach then, it was just Mick. And he did devise some patterns for us which worked and others which were kind of weird, I suppose. They were a wee bit over the top even for us. I remember us going to Deano after training once or twice and saying, 'see if you call that in the game, you are on your own'."
Because of the high precision, zero-error margin of the contemporary game, even the moves that look spontaneous have probably been rehearsed a hundred times. Sometimes the passing of rugby's amateur era is bemoaned because the more carefree atmosphere gave rise to greater adventure (which overlooks the fact the game itself was much slower and instinctively conservative). But as Ringland recalls, "we were a very, very fit team. We trained hard, as serious teams always do in any sport and were very dedicated. There was a group of guys there that had the skill to move the ball but these things don't just happen. And I suppose some of the moves that we hoped would come off broke down. We all bought into the idea of moving the ball, though, instead of concentrating on safety first."
And the rewards followed. Dean says he was determined to run practically everything: "I had experienced rugby as an average centre and didn't enjoy it very much and so when Mick showed faith in me as an outhalf, I decided to just go for it."
They travelled to Edinburgh in a mood to create. It was a strange time in the old championship, with the Welsh dipping and England beginning to put in place the structures that would enable them to dominate in the years to come. But the French were still a force and Murrayfield was a great arena to visit.
The try Ireland scored that afternoon saved the game and set the tone for the season. It began with Brian Spillane battering his way into the Scottish 22 along the left touchline, or as Dean recalls, "with the forwards messing up as usual before we came along to rescue things".
In five crisp passes, the three-quarters line had flung the ball across the field before Ringland sprinted around the fringes of the cover to touch down in the corner. It became known as his try although he insists it was "just a matter of running it over the line".
"The pleasing thing was that we were all involved in it. Such a great feeling when something like that comes off and in that arena and I suppose it symbolised for us what we wanted to become."
An icy pitch postponed the visit of England to Dublin and so the Irish travelled to Cardiff, where Crossan's debut try inevitably followed. It was another dashing sequence, with Mullin and McNeill linking before feeding Crossan. Although the visit of England was understandably more tense, the three-quarters line was again instrumental. Mullin began his record-breaking try haul by blocking down the booted clearance of England full back Chris Martin before sprinting on to claim a vital try in a low-scoring contest.
The end has since become lore: the drive-on by Philip Matthews, the pass by Michael Bradley to Kiernan who stood just beyond the borders of the TV camera, which swung just in time to capture him delivering a thump of a drop-goal. It was an absorbing moment in a thrilling season. Often forgotten is the fact Ireland drew 15-15 with France in Dublin after a fantastically tough game which Crossan remembers for the special treatment the visitors afforded Dean.
"In a way, that was our favourite game," says Ringland now. "Because we stood up to them physically and showed that we could match them. We were just so driven that afternoon and we also had the confidence to keep on playing our game."
The draw left Ireland unbeaten for the season and mightily close to having achieved the Grand Slam. A year later, it all went sour as Ireland finished at the bottom of the table. "Funnily enough, I don't have all that clear a recollection on 1986," laughs Crossan. "But yeah, I suppose it showed the perils of the running game. I think we were actually in a good position at half-time in a number of those games but the moves we tried then just didn't culminate in tries. Maybe the others wised up to us. I suppose it is something that guys like Gordon D'Arcy will have to be aware of this year.
"I was still on the scene in the early 1990s when Simon Geoghegan made his debut and I remember he was scoring all over the place, having great fun. The next year, the cover was right up on him and because of the respect they had for him, he was marked out of it, going berserk for the ball but not able to get it. That's what happens. But the thing is, there are so many attacking options among today's backs that it is going to be very hard to close them all down."
For the rest of the 1980s, Irish rugby went through a fugue state, never quite delivering on its promise and the 1985 season came to be regarded as a last glorious stand for the green game. Last year, however, the Triple Crown was won again and so we move to this weekend, with expectations great and the Irish back line glowing with Lions candidates. The game has moved on since that time but no matter what era, a sweet running back line strikes a chord.
"They really are full of running," praises Ringland. "I suppose one thing they have in common with us is that they are willing to take a chance with the ball. They have a great strike force and they have the confidence and will to express that. The other teams are obviously going to be aware of that but no matter how they try to counteract it, Ireland have options. There is the supreme player in Brian O'Driscoll but opposing teams face the dilemma of concentrating on O'Driscoll and giving Gordon D'Arcy a chance."
When Dean watches the present generation, he enjoys the depth of understanding that exists. Although a long-time admirer of David Humphreys, he believes Ronan O'Gara is the right number 10 for the season ahead and sees echoes of his old team in the way the three-quarters line reacts to the first pass.
"There are a lot of class players out there. Geordan Murphy is a real attacking talent. But I really think Girvan Dempsey is a class, class player as well. Maybe he doesn't join the attack as much as people would like but that is partly because the wingers like to cut inside. When Hugo McNeill played, our two wingers hung back a little so he probably wasn't as worried about cover as Girvan was. It would be nice to see him coaxed forward to express himself more. But there is so much to look forward to in this Ireland back line. They aren't waiting for something to happen, they are already moving and thinking three passes ahead."
Some or most of the 1985 team will meet at Lansdowne Road over the course of the championship. They remained a close team and Crossan recalls most of them got to meet Mick Doyle at an after-match function last year shortly before the charismatic man's untimely passing. Doyle's tragic death will probably spur on the momentum for a proper 20-year reunion.
"It is about time it was put in print. Brian Spillane is meant to be organising that," says Ringland.
"Spillane was making great promises but I haven't heard anything yet," says Crossan.
"Brian Spillane has loved himself so much down the years," says Dean, "that it is about time he did something for the rest of us."
Two decades later and still running on the same wavelength.
AT MURRAYFIELD
Late into a game that seemed destined for an Irish loss, Brian Spillane drove the Scots back into their own 22. Paul Dean moved Michael Bradley's pass sharply and Hugo McNeill came into the play, dashing in front of the Scottish posts surrounded by blue shirts. Trevor Ringland met his high, looped pass perfectly and touched down in the right corner.
Fred Cogley said: "Magic."
AT CARDIFF ARMS PARK
Another bruising drive by the Irish back row, this time initiated by Philip Matthews. The Welsh were chasing shadows once the back line began to move the ball, with Hugo McNeill again puncturing their centre. Keith Crossan finished with glee.
Fred Cogley said: "Matthews lays it up for McCoy. Now Bradley. Now Dean. Now Mullin. Now Crossan. Great try Ireland. Keith Crossan scores his first try for Ireland. And the Irish backs were brilliant."
AT LANSDOWNE ROAD
Paul Dean clears from deep in Irish territory and England back Chris Martin collects. Brendan Mullin is first on the scene as Martin begins a ponderous clearance. He charges down and wins the sprint with the ball. It is the only Irish try of the day.
With the game poised at 10-10, Spillane makes a fine catch off an Irish throw in and feeds Donal Lenihan who drove on to set up one of the great, great sporting moments.
Fred Cogley (immortally) said: "Back to Bradley, back to Dean, the drop at goal . . . is over. Michael Kiernan has done it."
