All eyes will be on Paul O’Connell’s return from injury and how it has affected his overall game
DESPITE SOME arguments to the contrary, there is money in the game and there is lots of it France. Mourad Boudjellal, millionaire, Frenchman and owner of Toulonnais is one of a possible half dozen “owners” who are prepared to spend money. He has practically begged Sonny Bill Williams – remember him? – to the south of France for a second stint post World Cup. Clearly there is an appetite to attract the best players in the game or more specifically, world class players to certain chosen sides in Europe. There has for some time been a tradition in France to capture household names. Boudjellal has admitted Dan Carter is a tad too expensive.
Carter of course is world class and as such should be the most expensive player on the planet. This does beg the question, what constitutes world class? Realistically how many, if any, of our Irish players would Boudjellal pull out his cheque book for?
Each of the last 10 years has thrown up an International Rugby Board Player of the Year. The noughties brought much success to the “Golden Generation” (most annoying) and Ireland won it just once, Keith Wood in 2001.
In that time we have had four other players nominated, Brian O’Driscoll three times, Gordon D’Arcy, Paul O’Connell and Jamie Heaslip all once. This is a remarkable achievement from our little country, considering England, the World Cup winners of 2003, have the exact same statistic. Remarkably, Australia have never won it.
Scotland have but one nomination.
O’Driscoll’s continued presence over the decade, regardless of the horrific oversight in not winning, confirms his status as world class. But what of the other three, and with a certain return to the Heineken Cup fold this Sunday, what of O’Connell. our other Lions Test captain?
Over eight months ago O’Connell departed Croke Park and our game for what has been an extraordinarily long and trying injury break. The narrow loss against the Scots back in March has fuelled much debate which wasn’t aided by the summer tour and certainly large parts of the Autumn Series. Ireland attempted a non-confrontational game full of width against the Scots. It failed and with it a came a possible loss in confidence. With that the game has once again changed dramatically. Yes the core values remain but only just.
In halting the All Blacks’ winning streak in Hong Kong, Australia had a 66.7 per cent scrum win rate (losing three from nine) and a 71.4 per cent win rate from lineouts (losing two from seven). This was further compounded by a 37.5 per cent kicking success. How could Australia beat the All Blacks with such poor stats? How could Ireland survive on such meagre stats? The answer is very relevant to both Ireland and O’Connell. They did so by outrunning, outbreaking, outpassing and most importantly, out-yarding the All Blacks.
O’Connell has had the luxury of observing the sea change in world rugby from the stands. As perverse at it appears his absence from the coalface could prove very beneficial to our journey. If stuck in the middle of the autumn series his objectivity may have been tainted. Outside the fence will have given him an interesting view.
What does he think of the “new” game? He is certain to gain pitch time on Sunday and I wonder how his game will have changed. Judging Australia’s method of overcoming the All Blacks, O’Connell should focus heavily on broken field play. There’s no doubt his ability to manage the lineout is crucial to both Munster and Ireland. We also know from YouTube his famed manic aggression is beyond question, but can he exert an influence beyond that?
Put this in context, Mick O’Driscoll at 32 is older than O’Connell and has 48 fewer Irish international caps, hasn’t toured nor captained the British and Irish Lions but over the weeks has managed to embrace a more all-round game. For several Munster and Ireland games in both the Magners League and Heineken Cup he has performed the duties expected of him in lineout and scrum but has since added a real hunger for the ball.
In doing so he hasn’t abandoned his primary roles nor shirked his grunt but has afforded himself the luxury of the ball when appropriate. He will never be a Bakkies Botha and certainly not a Victor Matfield but O’Connell can learn much from the evolvement of O’Driscoll.
Clearly it is far too early to lump such expectations on O’Connell. For me the unfolding weeks of his rugby as he eases himself back into the top flight, will be fascinating to watch. He will, of course, exert huge influence on those around him, notably Seán Cronin of Connacht.
He will also exert an influence while on the pitch as tactics unfold. These are clearly team influences through leadership but what of him as a rugby player? What will be different in his game from what has brought him and Ireland so much success? If he can utilise his unique physical and competitive abilities, around the ball offloading and ideally not as a first receiver, so he can use his pace, he can then make it work for him and his team. With this addition he will once again have world class status. Is he closer to Botha than Matfield? The game has very much changed and O’Connell is more than capable of adjusting.
Looking at O’Connell’s Ospreys opposition on Sunday extends the world class debate. Facing him in the number six Ospreys jersey will be Jerry Collins. In the All Black jersey he was pretty damn good but retired two years ago. But for his hard hitting today there’s not much world class about him. His suspended but older colleague, Marty Holah, is a monumental loss to the Ospreys. He, like Richie McCaw, has the ability to suspend the rule book whenever he’s at the breakdown and would have slowed Munster’s flow dramatically. Ospreys are a very strong side with lots of class. However, much of it is not world class. They will cause Munster concern but will ultimately fall short Sunday.
