RUGBY ANALYST:Individual class kept Ireland on track against a limited Italian side which deserved more, writes LIAM TOLAND
I’LL GIVE the first words to General George S Patton Jr. “A man must know his destiny . . . if he does not recognise it, then he is lost. By this I mean, once, twice, or at the very most, three times, fate will reach out and tap a man on the shoulder. If he has the imagination, he will turn around and fate will point out to him what fork in the road he should take, if he has the guts, he will take it.”
Fate is now tapping on Declan Kidney’s shoulder following this difficult but winning performance in Rome where a brave but limited Italian side deserved more. However, individual class kept Ireland nicely on track. Further encouragement can be gleaned from the countless occasions we bravely fought against sides in the past but drifted away in the end. So it was very satisfying to score five tries against very stiff opposition. Bonus point anyone?
Kidney’s counterpart, Nick Mallett is a coach not afraid to experiment, but he returned to the Italian/Argentinian tactics of old which afforded the Italians a chance to beat someone other than Scotland this season. At no stage was the challenge in Rome understated. We knew in advance that the breakdown would have a major effect on Rob Kearney and co.
With a front five as grizzled as the Italians they were always going to disrupt the outside backs. Lesson learned? I hope so because reflecting on the challenges that lie ahead, Ireland must produce a predictable flow of possession. The Italians were so ferocious at the breakdown that the Irish backrow, in particular Jamie Heaslip, was forced to ignore the more pleasant task of open-field running in order to secure possession.
But in successfully ensuring the flow of ball to Tomás O’Leary, the Irish backrow displayed the dexterity of thought that augers well for the weeks ahead. Regarding the management of the breakdown, Peter Stringer’s cameo role before half-time provided food for thought. He continues to be much faster at the base.
The Italian pack was well served by the sensible decision to play Paul Griffen, a scrumhalf, at scrumhalf. He teamed up nicely with Australian-born Luke McLean. The high energy of Mauro Bergamasco and especially number eight Sergio Parisse transformed their performance from last week. So much so that by the 34th minute, although Italy were two to one ahead on the sin-binnings, 11 to seven ahead on penalties conceded and were way behind in possession, managing only 33 per cent, they were still ahead on the scoreboard at 9-7.
Worrying? Absolutely! Ireland displayed tactical naivety in failing to get outside an extremely committed Italian four-up defence. Instead they resigned themselves to run at fatties.
That’s a pity as Kearney’s first three touches resulted in three very strong attacking runs.
It appeared at that stage that Ireland were in the mood to start like Wales did against the English on Saturday. But it wasn’t to be. Not to worry because there’s 80 minutes in every match and Ireland built towards a victory through an excellent lineout and a solid scrum that produced a huge dividend in penalties.
Marcus Horan can be very pleased with his performance, earning several penalties against Martin Castrogiovanni. However, fewer rucks might have made the journey easier.
There was no shortage of brave ball carriers, but too often they ended up on the deck. Contrast that to Saturday and the Welsh who may hit the deck but they rarely allow the ball to do the same as it’s offloaded long before the opposition can get their hands on it.
If the breakdown was the biggest challenge for the Irish backline, attack was the next, particularly in the first half. To my mind Paddy Wallace was not utilised to his strengths and as time wore on Gordon D’Arcy’s entry was inevitable. Maybe it’s a Kidney tactic but why aren’t the Irish back three brought into play more often? Look what happened when Luke Fitzgerald popped up in the 39th minute off a ruck to complete the excellent work by Stephen Ferris and Stringer. When Ireland did go wide at times it was lateral, allowing the Italians to force the attack towards the touch-line. We need more consistent decoys, fixing the defence.
I suppose based on this weekend the key question remains: can Wales be beaten? Their entry into the Millennium Stadium was slow, measured and full of self-confidence, but a struggling English caused them problems.
This Irish side has so many gears in it that perfecting the breakdown and backline angle of attack will reap huge rewards. It was a very challenging afternoon which the Irish met, so bring on England!
As an aside, what about the men in the middle? Chris White of England had a very different take on the breakdown to his assistant and last week’s referee Nigel Owens. And certainly South African referee Jonathan Kaplan had a monumentally different view on Saturday in the middle of the Welsh-English fixture.
Altogether very confusing!
