Head coach’s Lions sabbatical now looks unwise
Andy Farrell’s first Six Nations game back didn’t go so well and the wonder is why the IRFU allows its national coach to take a year off to tour with the British and Irish Lions.
In a modern game with so much emphasis placed on coaching and team cohesion, is it a good idea to allow another coach, no matter how capable (Simon Easterby), to take the reins for a year?
The question is whether Farrell would have been given the sabbatical if the IRFU had no financial interest in the Lions franchise.
How far behind the leading pack are Ireland after defeat against France?
What impact it had on Ireland’s opening performance, or the team in general, will never be known.
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But if Irish players are not allowed to leave for a year to play abroad without probable sanction, should the coach have to abide by the same rules?
Ireland dug hole, then kept digging
Chasing shadows for more than half the match, Ireland played themselves into a hole from where they would never come back. Falling 29-0 behind to the French in Paris puts any team in the kill zone.
One of the bewildering aspects of that consequential phase of the game is how Ireland failed to really pressurise the French players.
Line speed and accuracy were missing and Antoine Dupont et al had time to throw the ball around and make life hard for Ireland.
[ Ireland vs France analysis: A lesson for Ireland in the ways of modern Test rugby ]
Unusually for Ireland it was a collective malaise and it permitted France to play exactly the way opponents don’t want them to play, secondrows running with the ball with other secondrows in support and the backline players zipping around the Stade de France looking beautiful and inventive, with Ireland overstretched.
Missed tackles need tackling
The one statistic that stood out from the rest was that Ireland missed 19 tackles in the first half of the match.
In that number, you would have to count the tries scored by the French left wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey and outhalf Matthieu Jalibert.
Both players were lined up for tackles that were not executed well enough to halt progress and prevent a score, although Bielle-Biarrey was on the ground before his first try.
The statistic also ties in with Farrell’s lament that he felt the Irish team lacked intent.
Missing tackles usually ensures the opposition instantly gain an extra man. Missing more than one tackle gives them extra players everywhere and that’s what it looked like in the sorry first half.
It is no wonder that when the coach spoke post-match, after a total of 38 missed tackles, he was biting his lip in anger.
Bench made mark
At around the 50-minute mark, Ireland started to pour players on to the pitch from the bench. Initially it was Nick Timoney, Jack Conan and James Ryan, before the frontrows and others came into the game.
There was an instant change of pace and intensity, and the contest began to look like the normal tussle between the two teams. Within minutes Ireland started hitting French players harder and knocking them back with Ryan leading the charge.
Ireland began to recycle faster and Jamison Gibson-Park, for a while, was able to start doing what he is good at, which is running a game off decent ball. When the frontrow players came in that continued, with flanker Timoney and prop Michael Milne both scoring tries.
After all the calamities on the night, the replacements were an uptick in the Irish performance. They came into the match at 29-0 down and it finished 36-14, when Ireland could have easily been nilled.
Italians could do a job at Aviva
Over the next week, Ireland have an urgent job to do of reconnecting, solidifying confidence and resetting standards individually and collectively before facing Italy in Dublin on February 14.
The last time Italy beat Ireland was in Stadio Olimpico in 2013. The only win in Dublin for the Italians was in the previous century, a 37-29 victory in 1997 at Lansdowne Road during Italy’s tour of Ireland. In 2000 Italy joined what is now the Six Nations championship.
Italy will be thinking two things when they arrive in Dublin. One they will keep secret and the other make public.
The secret thought is Ireland have never appeared so vulnerable in recent times and confidence must be low after the mauling in Paris. Their public expression will centre around Ireland’s world-class standing and their fear of a rebound in Aviva Stadium.
Either way Italy has become a stress test for Ireland.
