SIX NATIONS PENALTY DEBATE: GERRY THORNLEYreports that the Ireland team and management are set to review the latest rash of breakdown offences which contributed to the 13-4 penalty count against them at Murrayfield

THE IRISH starting XV which kicked off last Sunday’s win over Scotland will convene for a day-and-a-half camp in the Carton House in Maynooth, Co Kildare, today, with one of its primary purposes being to review the latest rash of breakdown offences which contributed to the 13-4 penalty count against them at Murrayfield.

Whereas the seven replacements – Connacht’s Seán Cronin, Ulster’s Tom Court and Paddy Wallace, Leinster’s Leo Cullen and Jonathan Sexton, along with Munster’s Denis Leamy and Peter Stringer – have been released to return to their provinces this week, with a view to playing in the Magners League this weekend, the 15 starters will address the vexed issue of discipline which have blighted their Six Nations campaign to date.

What is especially infuriating for management and players alike is that this rash of penalty infringements is undoing hours of video analysis and homework, such as bringing in Alain Rolland to referee a half-hour full contact session at the RDS last Wednesday in the build-up to the Scottish game. Neither Rolland nor another referee will be brought in over the next two days, but the dozen direct penalties are likely to be examined in fairly fine detail.

Ironically, Ireland didn’t concede a penalty in the last 14 minutes at Murrayfield, though referee Nigel Owens was playing advantage as Dan Parks landed a 70th minute drop goal after Leamy had come in from the side, which is just as well as otherwise not only would Owens have gone back for the penalty, but he might well have yellow-carded Leamy also.

Ireland have outscored their three opponents by seven tries to two, and by six tries to one in their last two games, yet have emerged with needlessly nervy victories by just two and three-points either side of a defeat, thanks in the main to full penalty counts of 13-5 against them in Rome (16-10 including free-kicks), 10-8 against them in the Aviva Stadium for the French game (in which the official stats overlooked a full penalty against Ireland) and then 12-4 (excluding the one free-kick) at Murrayfield.

That amounts to a scarcely credible 35-16 penalty count (or 39-23 including free kicks) against them over the course of the three matches to date. Admittedly, a team can become a little too obsessed about this. Ireland’s next two opponents, Wales and England (who have won five out of six matches between them) have conceded 36 and 34 full penalties to date. Italy and Scotland have conceded only 24 and 22 penalties respectively, yet are winless and seemingly on course for another wooden spoon shoot-out, while the French have conceded 23.

Amid the torrent of self-recrimination emanating from the Irish camp, especially the players, the following is worth noting: “It’s schoolboy stuff and we have to cut it out. Discipline’s still a major issue for us.” The talker? Welsh winger Shane Williams. “The penalty count against Italy (15-5) wasn’t good enough,” Williams added. “At international level you’ll get punished and Italy could’ve won that game. Ireland play clever rugby, they put you under pressure, they’re good at the set-piece and look for turnovers. Hopefully we’ve learnt our lessons because Jonathan Sexton and Ronan O’Gara will make you pay.

“We’re giving away key penalties in key areas and it’s stopping us playing our usual game. When we’re in good positions we feel under pressure, we go into our shell and stop playing rugby,” said Williams, and it could just as easily have been an Irish player talking.

Furthermore, Ireland have gone through official IRB channels to seek clarification on the performances of Romain Poite at the Stadio Flaminio and Dave Pearson at the Aviva Stadium. In the aftermath of Sunday’s game, Declan Kidney revealed that Pearson had wrongly awarded one penalty against Ireland and ought to have penalised France twice before subsequently awarding two more penalties against Ireland. It is understood that Poite’s error count worked even more heavily against Ireland.

It is also likely that the Irish management will seek clarification on some of Owens’ calls last Sunday. While there is acknowledgement that the majority of penalties conceded were correct, and in some instances eminently avoidable, the management have some particular concerns about the mere four penalties conceded by the Scots.

Allan Jacobsen having been binned (and he’d been penalised and warned at previous put-ins) the Scots were defending with 14 men, Owens called a marginal forward pass at best against Reddan and then overlooked what seemed a clear case of Moray Low illegally flicking a hand from a ruck to prevent Reddan moving the ball away under the Scottish posts after one of Seán O’Brien’s barnstorming runs. “Fair contest,” said Owens, utterly inconsistent with previous calls on the same offence, as at least four Irish players instinctively throw their hands into the air.

Interestingly, Ireland will sample their first Southern Hemisphere referee in this season’s tournament, South Africa’s Jonathan Kaplan, for the trek to the Millennium Stadium on Saturday week. Ireland have been encountering Kaplan ever since he controversially deemed the famous 13-man line-out illegal in the final throes of Western Province’s 12-6 win at Cape Town during the seven-match tour of South Africa in 1998, and with mixed results.

As Kaplan will be coming from Super 14 rugby, one imagines his interpretation at the breakdown will favour quicker ruck ball, and that he will also police the offside line very strictly. One imagines, too, that Ireland – no less than Wales – will again do their homework, and hopefully with better results.

Murrayfield Penalty Tally

FIRST-HALF

1st penalty:(2 mins) Luke Fitzgerald fails to gather high ball from Ruaraidh Jackson, knocking it forward, whereupon Paul O'Connell – three yards in front – plays the ball. Eh Paulie? Very avoidable.

2nd penalty: (9 mins) Luke Fitzgerald takes a good line but is tackled on half-way by Mike Blair, Ireland are counter-rucked and Fitzgerald plays the ball a second time with his hands on the deck. Avoidable.

3rd penalty: (15 mins) Cian Healy, having made a tackle is deemed not to have retreated quickly enough, or at any rate back to the hindmost foot. Called by the touch judge and a case of "fair cop, guv". Paterson landed the ensuing three points.

4th penalty: (17 mins) O'Gara shoots up to nail Jackson behind the gain line, but after a call of "away green" either O'Gara is done for not rolling away or Seán O'Brien, is pinged for going off his feet as Ireland rucked over the ball. Hard to see what else they could have done, really.

5th penalty: (17 mins) Jamie Heaslip tugs at John Barclay, standing in at scrumhalf. Very avoidable and another three-pointer for Paterson.

6th penalty: (23 mins) After four re-set scrums and two mins, 45 seconds' scrum time, Owens decides to penalise Mike Ross for his "binding". One which was down to the ref's interpretation.

7th penalty: (31 mins) Ross Ford is double tackled by Heaslip and Rory Best, who makes no attempt to release the Scottish hooker, is penalised. Eminently avoidable. Paterson lands another three pointer. The penalty count is 7-1.

8th penalty: (35 mins) Ireland go through 15 phases with great variety, and with one or two Scots on the edge of the law, before Owens pings O'Gara for not releasing. Hmmm.

SECOND-HALF

9th penalty: (46 mins) Ireland went for the shove on a delayed put-in but Healy is penalised for not binding properly by the far side touch-judge.

10th penalty(indirect): Ireland are penalised for having four against three at a shortened Scottish line-out.

11th penalty: (50 mins) After another surge by O'Brien, when Max Evans clearly didn't release after the tackle, David Wallace carries into contact and Rory Best is done for "sealing" and preventing "a fair contest". A decidedly marginal call.

12th penalty: (57 mins) Heaslip tackled Sean Lamont from behind, slides to his feet and wins the ball on the deck but, to O'Driscoll's clear annoyance, says Heaslip was still playing the ball off his feet. Looked a marginal one. Another Paterson three-pointer.

13th penalty: (66 mins) After Seán O'Brien tackles John Barclay, Denis Leamy pulls the ball back with his hands. Although on his feet, as a ruck had formed and given the circumstances, he would have been better advised to leave well enough alone. A three-pointer for Dan Parks.