Ireland head coach Andy Farrell’s first Test review was blunt in tone following the 27-20 defeat to South Africa in Pretoria. The performance fell below accepted standards and he said as much to his players. Such candour is appreciated on both sides when merited, and it’s intended to elicit a positive response.
“The group is very good at wanting honest feedback. If you don’t give honest feedback, in my opinion, you don’t care [enough], or people think that it [level of performance] is acceptable. All of a sudden if you are accepting something, that’s your 100 per cent and it’s not the case. We are after better than that, everyone agrees. We move on and see what we have got.”
Injuries informed selection to a point. Craig Casey and Dan Sheehan were joined by Bundee Aki on the casualty list, the centre’s shoulder problematic during the week and therefore not worth the risk.
Garry Ringrose, Conor Murray, Rónan Kelleher and James Ryan are promoted to the starting team from the bench. Robbie Henshaw and Tadhg Beirne will wear a different jersey number from last week, while Rob Herring, Caolin Blade and Stuart McCloskey come into the matchday 23.
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Peter O’Mahony is named among the replacements, with Caelan Doris taking over the captaincy. In numerical shorthand it’s four changes to the run-on team and two positional switches. It won’t come as a surprise that O’Mahony’s attitude on learning the news was to prioritise the team.
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Farrell said: “He does the right thing for the team, that’s at the forefront of his mind constantly and that’s proper leadership. He understands that we want to have a look in this direction to see how it goes.
“He’s the captain of this tour and it shows the mark of the man how you lead after a bit of disappointment, how you carry on being yourself or not.”
The Irish coach highlighted the fact that Ryan had forced his hand by virtue of last week’s cameo off the bench, coupled with his attitude and diligence in training.
“We’ve seen some real guts and fight and determination to get his starting place back. We know that Tadhg Beirne’s a world class player no matter what position he plays.”
Last week’s referee, Luke Pearce, was rather curt and dismissive in some of his interactions with Doris when he took over the captain’s armband. Farrell defended his player and pointed out that he had the utmost confidence in the Leinster number eight.
“I thought he was excellent. First and foremost, he leads from the front. His performance last week, never mind the leadership or captaincy bit, he was outstanding: be the best version of yourself, that’s the best form of leadership. He’s a calming influence, he’s bright. The questions that he’s going to the referees with are the right ones. His manner is very good as well.” Farrell added that experience will hone Doris’s development as a captain.
The Irish coach acknowledged that his team’s performance was an appreciable step down from the standards they reached during the World Cup meeting between the countries and that Ireland would have to elevate them if they hoped to square the two-Test series.
“I think it was down, yeah, certainly from our point of view.” What’s on the list to improve? “Quite a bit, actually. I’ve no doubt it [the first Test] was a great game to watch, it was exciting. A bit chaotic at times, there was a lot going on decisions-wise or lack of them. All the talk’s been about that as well.
“It was a proper Test match but when we strip it back from our side, we’re disappointed enough. Our first-half performance wasn’t us; it wasn’t us doing things properly. It might not seem like that to everyone, to us it was. So, therefore, we need to improve, to commit and be better.
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“I’ve no doubt South Africa will be twice as good this weekend, so we need to move pretty quickly going forward. I thought we were passive in most areas and maybe you could put that to attack, defence, breakdown, set piece, all of it, [we] needed some intent.”
It wasn’t all state of the nation, Farrell’s sense of humour peeking through on a couple of occasions, including one when a South African inquisitor asked whether he had spoken to left wing James Lowe.
The following exchange ensued: “James Lowe, have you spoken to him?” “No, he’s been sent to his room, and I have not spoken to him all week.” “How is his head space?” “His head space? I don’t want to go there.
“I am sure that South Africa would look at some of the stuff that James Lowe did, [in] making sure that some of the good stuff that he did doesn’t happen again as well. I think a mixed bag is an understatement really, the sublime to the ridiculous.
“The glaring error was the one from the kick-off and he doesn’t need telling about that; he is not three years of age. How he set up Jamie [Osborne] for his first try in his first cap was the real James Lowe. How he finished the try that wasn’t a try was quite remarkable. We know what he is about as a talent.”
Straight and honest, just like he’ll want his team to be come Saturday evening in Durban.
IRELAND (v South Africa): Jamie Osborne; Calvin Nash, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Conor Murray; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Ryan Baird, Peter O’Mahony, Caolan Blade, Ciarán Frawley, Stuart McCloskey.
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