Liam Toland: Good players know when to deviate from the plan

The greatest sound you will ever hear is the sound of your own name. I heard mine this week so here I am! Forty two Irish players heard theirs last week; some head off to Chicago, others wait their turn but with a baker’s dozen tests left till RWC ’19 the sound of your name carries huge significance this autumn.

This hasn’t just started last week; competition in provincial squad team announcements is driving standards.

I’ve attended matches every weekend and have noticed, not just highly competitive, brilliant games and squads being rotated but an adjustment on the fly – by coaches and players.

Take the Munster props who play behind their Leinster equivalent for Ireland. David Kilcoyne has a new dimension to his game; yes he carries in heavy traffic and he's been excellent, especially against Ulster, in stopping opposition fatties but there's a subtlety to his ball carrying that hasn't been there in previous campaigns.

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Like his more illustrious team colleagues (Tadhg Beirne etc), he hears his name called, pivots his head, looking for offloads. And, crucially, his support runners are calling his name, expecting the pass.

John Ryan, Stephen Archer and especially Niall Scannell have battled brilliantly with the Munster coaches quick to maximise their impacts and not only at the preordained 60-minute mark. And here is a microcosm of what I hope to experience this Autumn; an ability to adjust way beyond the template.

Against Wasps, Leinster implemented totally different tactics as they ignored the air and happily maintained possession, and kept the game narrow, battering their way 80 metres in the knowledge that Wasps were incapable of coping. But what if Wasps could?

Four-star general Stanley McChrystal, former commander of the ISAF security mission in Afghanistan, once noted an instruction he gave to his officers in Afghanistan: ‘If, when you get on the ground, the order we gave you is wrong, execute the order we should have given you’.

Far too many teams, especially schools, are rooted in pre-ordained ‘professional’ plans – either unable or not encouraged to think their way out of a situation.

Now, in the rarefied air in which Joe Schmidt operates there are arguably no ‘wrong orders’ but no plan survives the first shot. Tomorrow the plan, pinned up on the hotel team room all week, will be the responsibility of a new raft of players to execute.

The wash out

Any deviation, especially accompanied with (silly) mistakes, will impact the sound of their name – silence. This is understandable and, considering tomorrow’s opponents, appropriate. But this Ireland has been transformed over the past decade and must adjust the plan on the field when necessary.

The provinces are giving examples this season in how to adapt tempo, field position and tactics to get the job done.

I expect a subtle tightening of the New Zealand boundaries and with it their error count will drop, limiting Ireland's opportunities

I can’t imagine Peter O’Mahony and CJ Strander have practised that unique last-play penalty win over Glasgow last week. It was quality play, quality thinking and quality adjustment to what needed to get done.

With the clock almost dead, O’Mahony, covering his mouth, instructed Stander to ignore the ball carrier and clear out the space (illegally??) of any Glasgow support runner to give O’Mahony the split second to jackal over the ball.

I’ve so much to discuss regarding the jackal, the breakdown, the wash out, the referee’s patience with the ‘wash out’ but it’ll have to wait.

Suffice to say way too much time is afforded the ball carrier in ‘holding’ possession before placement and release, leading to a situation where the jackal is going to get badly injured by some 18 stone secondrow during a protracted wash out.

Reward must go to the jackal and his skill, but more importantly, for safety reasons, surviving the washout should be rewarded immediately. More on that anon.

Finally; New Zealand looked vulnerable 'at times' down South for one reason, which I fancy will be adjusted to suit the Six Nations environment.

How conservative is too conservative? This year’s Rugby Championship was telling as New Zealand were willing to push the error count in honouring their trajectory towards excellence. In doing so they lost one match but are now better?

Error count

I expect a subtle tightening of the New Zealand boundaries and with it their error count will drop, limiting Ireland’s opportunities. Not to mention three points are far more valuable up here than down there so I can’t imagine they’ll ignore a drop goal like they so casually did against South Africa.

I do look forward to observing one key New Zealand tactic – the use of their back three and specifically their on-field rotation. They appear to utilise their left winger (11) as a striker with fullback and right wing having a far greater role in defence. How, too, will New Zealand protect the air and utilise their 10 & 15 attack combo roles.

Ironically, in the week that’s in it, I bumped into the telling scores from that famous All Blacks defeat 40 years ago – two Munster set piece plays of pure quality.

The first, a try, from my Munster U-20 coach Christy Cantillon, supporting from the tail of a Munster lineout (quality line) to take from Jimmy Bowen (mesmerising no 11 attacking left winger), hearing the sound of his name.

It was off a Munster lineout deep in their own half (best attacking position) to Brendan Foley at number one in the lineout (clever); two passes and one outrageous chip kick (into green grass) from Tony Ward is all it took!

The second, another Ward special, off a Munster attacking scrum platform. A drop goal with no back swing! How far have we really come in 40 years?

liamtoland@yahoo.com