Sexton's kicking percentages may stymie Crown bid

This Six Nations has shown in technicolour that offloading in the tackle will destroy any defensive system

THE THREE key principles of rugby are fitness, motivation and skill. Every aspect of the game derives from attaining these attributes.

The hardest of the three to develop is skill. Coaching athletes to acquire a highly-tuned skill-set has been the basis of my life’s work. It has always been about facilitating talented players so their full array of skills can become apparent under the blast furnace heat of Test match rugby. In most cases it takes years to be fully achieved.

Ireland have a highly skilled team, individually and as units. Scotland are streets behind, with the notable exception of Glasgow’s Killer Bs – Kelly Brown, John Barclay and John Beattie – in the backrow.

Ireland banked four tries from lineouts in the last two matches. Last week Tomás O’Leary’s needle-through-a-thread pass for Keith Earls, and Paul O’Connell’s perfect offload for O’Leary’s own score, were examples of the individual and the lineout unit delivering at the highest level.

But this Six Nations has shown in technicolour what I have believed for a very long time – offloading in the tackle will destroy any defensive system.

The Calcutta Cup bore last week was tough viewing because both teams lacked the ability to create space on making contact.

Scotland’s attacking system is based on lateral passing and a deep alignment, moving the ball quickly to the flanks. This was developed in the late 1990s by Ian McGeechan and Jim Telfer. The theory behind it was solid; the Scots were smaller and therefore not as powerful as most opponents so they went wide at pace to find a route to the try line. It worked for a time but has been out of date since 1999.

I tried in vain to change the mindset when I coached there. It is very difficult to change the mindset from age-grade team through to provincial level. Against Italy and England, we have seen two average defences slide to stop the Scots’ lateral attacking style. As a result, no Scottish tries have followed.

Ireland have one of the best sliding defences in the world, Brian O’Driscoll being the best organiser of such an approach in the world, so it is doubtful the Scots will make much headway where Italy, England and Wales already failed. Scotland’s continuity game, besides the backrowers, is non-existent.

Culturally, they have resisted improving their attacking philosophy. That is why they are below Fiji in the IRB rankings. Their inability to create space is not Andy Robinson’s doing but a deep malaise within Scottish rugby.

France have displayed to devastating effect what an offloading game can do to any defensive alignment, including Ireland. The Scots should review their own vibrant and well-structured defensive display against France when offloading in the tackle saw them torn apart. Defence is not to blame. Nor is the Scots’ fitness levels. France were simply too good to resist.

Scotland would be further down the world rankings if not for quality place-kickers in Chris Patterson and Dan Parks. This could yet prove decisive if the heavens open this evening and a resolute Scottish pack hold Ireland in poor conditions.

Jonathan Sexton’s kicking percentages may stymie Ireland’s Triple Crown yet. His return of five from 15 or 33.33 per cent is not sustainable. Sexton is showing great authority with his game management but if his kicking stats are not improved by the hour mark expect Ronan O’Gara to come in.

I must also mention Rory Best as one of Ireland’s unsung heroes this season. He sustained a serious neck injury last summer that was, at the time, described as potentially career-ending. The prognosis changed over time from at least a year to the end of the season but it is a testament to the excellent medical and fitness set-ups in both the Ireland and Ulster camps along with Rory’s drive and desire that he is back playing international rugby.

He produced a faultless 80 minutes against England, with his high work rate and extreme accuracy from lineout throwing the genesis for two tries. He did all this after just 55 minutes for Banbridge in an AIL Division Three fixture, 40 minutes for Ireland A and 70 minutes for Ulster a week previous. A farmer’s son tends to be made of harder stuff than most.

Rory is a leader of rare excellence. His presence means the captains of Ulster, Munster and Leinster are in the Irish 22 under the leadership of O’Driscoll. Best will want to prove the Lions jersey in Ross Ford’s house should have been his just as he proved his superiority over Matthew Rees last week.

It remains of grave concern Ulster can only supply two players in the squad, especially as Ciarán Fitzgerald’s Triple Crowners in 1985 had seven starters at the Arms Park in Cardiff. I was at that game 25 years ago but that was a time when the Scots caused greater concern to Ireland than they do today.

The new interpretation of the tackle law, where the tackler must release the ball-carrier, makes the need to offload even greater than ever. I fully endorse the IRB aim of speeding up the game. To watch Scotland against England and not admit the game is under severe threat is to deny the obvious. The timing and management of the issue is a disaster for the IRB. It has allowed an issue of real concern to become a debate of the hemispheres, which is not the case. This is a playing issue; how we can speed up our game and make it more exciting to play and watch.

Amongst the hysteria of comment this week, most of which has lacked substance, viewing the Super 14 would show a huge increase in offloading to avoid rucks.

Despite what some are saying, penalties for infringements are still flowing in the Southern Hemisphere but the pace and intensity of games has lifted remarkably.

The interpretation that the tackler must release the ball-carrier will create genuine opportunities for teams who are prepared to get support players behind the ball, rather than having them fanning across the field. Support in depth behind the ball is the cornerstone of French continuity play and I firmly believe late tonight they will complete the Grand Slam and confine Ireland’s 2009 achievement to the history books.

A Triple Crown with no championship is no comfort for a very talented Irish team.