Perhaps the affable French waiter was just playing to his crowd. Working in a cafe under the shadows of Sacré-Coeur, he served a group of Irish fans. The green berets were a dead giveaway of their rugby tourist status.
The story goes, according to the waiter, that Fabien Galthié is regularly seen in the area. He is supposedly a kind, friendly man among the public. Yes, he always wears those goggles.
Strolling around Montmartre will put anyone in a good mood. Should Galthié spend this weekend listening to the area’s buskers over an allongé, his grin should only widen, safe in the knowledge that France look ahead of rugby’s tactical curve.
Granted, a likely sterner English test is still to come, while France also failed their recent South African assignment. But on Thursday’s evidence, this French outfit looks close to a complete side with a shrewd plan. The sport’s best game manager runs things from scrumhalf while skilful, fast outside backs thrive in broken field opportunities created by the boot of Antoine Dupont.
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That much isn’t new. What was a slight tweak from the previous French MO was a preference for mobile, dynamic forwards over pure behemoths. According to a graphic in Thursday’s L’Équipe, the French starting pack was actually lighter than Ireland’s. France’s evolution in this Six Nations is clear. Agility and mobility are as important as size. The handbrake came off and Ireland could not cope.
Contrast Andy Farrell’s thoughts during an equivalent weekend stroll down his local Sandymount strand. Ireland are also in a stage of evolution between World Cups, only their tactical shift is a more significant change for players. Against the top sides, Ireland do not yet look comfortable embracing a greater focus on kicking and transition attack.
The great criticism towards the end of Joe Schmidt’s tenure was his inability to stay ahead of the game. The well-crafted, reasonably scripted game plan of the 2018 Grand Slam did not see much tinkering ahead of the following year’s World Cup. Ireland were found out. For what it’s worth, Conor Murray, now of this parish, still believes the plan was solid, just its execution diminished. There is no such thing as consensus.
Farrell, of course, was Schmidt’s right-hand man. He had as good a view as anyone of that decline and would have made up his own mind on its causes. Now the boss and not the assistant, he has decided to alter his own previously successful blueprint.
The 2022/23 version of Ireland, the one which won a series away over the All Blacks and missed a golden opportunity at the last World Cup, dominated the ball. Kicking was prevalent but not sacrosanct. In 2023, across Grand Slam and World Cup campaigns, Ireland put boot to ball in open play 27.2 times per match. So far this season, that figure is 34.4.
Old man shouts at cloud, this is not. If reading these stats confirms any sort of bias against the prevalence of kicking in modern rugby, then this piece is not for you. Kicking is a fantastic way to create entertaining attacking opportunities. France matched Ireland’s total of 39 kicks on Thursday. No one is calling them boring.
Instead of a general, lazy take, this is a very specific one. On Thursday’s evidence, Ireland are not yet adept at using the boot to create and exploit broken field opportunities. They did not win enough aerial battles nor did they cash in on the handful of duels that were won. The evolution of the transition attack has some way yet to go. At this specific moment in time, Ireland’s game plan does not suit its players.
The view within camp disagrees. There is belief in the quest to be better in unstructured situations, be they off turnover or kick chase. Kicking to attack worked well against Australia, after all. Maybe the answer is that, against better sides, this plan simply needs more time to bed in. “Potentially, yeah,” was Jacob Stockdale’s verdict. “[But] We back ourselves as being a very good transition team.”
There were moments. The second half purple patch came largely off Ireland’s aerial fortunes improving. In the first half, arguably their best attacking set of the first half in Paris came via a reclaimed Jamison Gibson-Park box kick. Dan Sheehan found himself on the loose ball – exactly the fast, dynamic forward required in those situations. Jamie Osborne’s grubber in behind asked questions of Ramos. If a faster man than Prendergast was chasing, it might have worked out.
See also Prendergast’s earlier cross-kick to Tommy O’Brien. The wing sent his subsequent chip over the top of Ramos too early, giving the fullback plenty of time to turn and recover.
In example one, France would have a faster player in the right place to chase a useful kick. In example two, Louis Bielle-Biarrey would draw the defender fully before chipping. It goes without saying that they are simply further along in their development as a transition side.
Remember Ireland’s difficult evening at the Stade de France early in the Farrell era. October 2020, Johnny Sexton shakes his head when summoned to take a seat. The heady phaseplay days of 2022/23 were difficult to forecast then, just as it’s hard to see Ireland competing with France in a battle of transition and counterattack once the next World Cup comes into view.
Adapt or die, as Billy Beane once said (well, Brad Pitt cosplaying as Beane). Short-term pain for long-term gain. Insert your cliche of choice, it may well be part of Farrell’s calculus.
We’re all waiting to see if, once again, his decision on Ireland’s direction of travel leads to better days. If it does, contemporary questioning of the masterplan will be a small price to play.
