Much to learn from visit of England

When some of the Australians came up for air after their famous 1991 World Cup quarterfinal win over Ireland at the cauldron that was then Lansdowne Road, they remarked that the venue was the noisiest in world rugby. Well, no one needed their ear-muffs on Saturday. Amplifiers, more like.

The problem, of course, was the English. Their team was simply too good, and besides, the increasingly corporate-orientated Lansdowne Road has become less and less of a rugby crowd, and therefore more reactive than pro-active. And on Saturday the crowd had little to react to.

It was instructive to observe the attempts at a Mexican wave with the aid of the Guinness top hats during the interval. On the terraces, where one won't find too many of the corporate type, they were heartily chucked skyward, but the effect tapered off the more the wave travelled through the centre of each stand. (As an aside, might not the union give away hats or flags in predominantly green and white to illuminate a grey Dublin day?)

Another problem was the English support. There were simply too many of them. Good luck to them, of course, if Mike Burton and his ilk can persuade Irish clubs to part with their most prized asset at its best price in any two-year cycle. The win over Wales only helped to drive up the price on this side of the sea.

Past internationals and life-long honorary members of clubs were unable to obtain tickets. Clubs need to look into their souls about this vexed issue; but I suppose with debts well into five figures in some cases, they have to look into their bank accounts as well.

Nor can the union take the moral high ground on this. After all, they turned a blind eye to the practice when it was conducted by players as an unofficial means of payment prior to the advent of professionalism.

What the issue does highlight is the need for the union to stop dragging their heels on the stadium issue. One can understand why the union do not want to build a white elephant pending the possibility of a Government-financed stadium, a la French models. One can also understand why the union are reluctant to move out of their traditional home.

But they've been dragging their heels on this one too long, and it seems a shame that the Croke Park avenue hasn't been explored to the benefit of both the GAA and the IRFU.

Aside from the fact that there's additional revenue going abegging - estimated to be well over £2 million - vast swathes of genuine rugby supporters are being denied the chance of supporting the Irish rugby team. Thus, it is also hurting the Irish team itself.

In another respect, though, the union deserve some sympathy, given the introduction of more and more drink and food outlets inside the ground and pre-match entertainment. So, having provided the option of easily obtaining all the drink you want and enjoying the France-Wales game on a large screen in relative comfort, the union can only sit back and watch as Dublin rugby supporters opt for their traditional fun: cramming inside one of the traditional dens of iniquity in the environs of Lansdowne Road to queue for an age just to get served in manic discomfort 30 seconds prior to kick-off.

What compounded the problem was the sheer spellbinding brilliance of the Parisian affair. One can imagine most Lansdowne Road punters sitting in a living-room with a few tinnies, or in the pub peering through heads at a remote screen, thinking: "Well, we'll watch this for a few minutes, see a few French tries, and then saunter up to Lansdowne at our leisure . . . Hey, look at Jenkins carve them open. Jenkins?"

Thus, many Lansdowne Road ticket holders must have delayed their departure to the ground. Several have told me they left in time to get there 20 or 30 minutes before kick-off, and such was the typical late crush were just about sitting down before kick-off.

Amid the madding crowds, word was spreading like a forest fire that Wales had indeed prevailed. "Nah, I don't believe you." "No, honestly. They won by 34-33." "I knew they would."

Another problem for Lansdowne Road, though, was that Ireland-England was always likely to be more of an old-fashioned Five Nations antidote to Paris. Anybody who knew this Irish team (and England for that matter) could have foreseen that and saved themselves any sense of anti-climax.

In the event, Ireland's herculean defending close to their line prevented the kind of 46-6 rout of two years ago. But attempts to broaden the team's game may ultimately mean tampering with some key personnel.

Warren Gatland will surely be reluctant to tamper unduly with the make-up of his 22-man squad, unchanged, save for injuries, in this championship. However, his back row dilemma is compounded by Victor Costello's below-par performance last week and Andy Ward's unfortunate timing in producing two equally sub-par performances. Jonathan Bell's return apart, do the Irish management dare drop one of their two under-performing back rowers from the squad?

Alternatively, Dion O'Cuinneagain showed against France that he can play at open side. Were he tried there against Scotland, and presuming Eric Miller returns to the starting line-up, this could mean looking at Ward on the blind side.

The understudies haven't made compelling arguments for promotion. Eddie Halvey came into his own in the second-half of the A game, contributing vitally to the continuity of some moves with his support play and passing. But he hasn't convinced the management that he can cut it in the physical stakes.

David Corkery was demoted to the bench on Friday, though when he came on he made a palpable impression, as befits a player with four successive man-of-the-match awards at AIL level. He also has 25 caps to his name. But Trevor Brennan is more of a regular squad figure, and he gave an encouragingly focused performance on Saturday. He's probably first up in the queue.

However it's done, the need to regenerate the back row, and add to its mobility, is heightened by the Scots typical rucking game, the mobility of their back row and the running threat posed by their Townsend-Leslie-Tait midfield combination.

The Scots also had a timely and useful workout in wearing down the abrasive Italians on Saturday. Weary though Ireland may feel up until early next week, they're probably better off remaining in the bi-weekly rhythm and crank it up one more time for Saturday week. Month-long breaks can be disruptive: witness the French on Saturday.

Cue to Murrayfield.