Gerry Thornley: Title now the Holy Grail in the Six Nations

Time was when a team which was losing by three points with five minutes to go – especially a game involving two of the four ‘Home Unions’ – would have eschewed a penalty to draw level, perhaps all the more so if they were the home side. Up to, and maybe even beyond the decision in 1992 to have the title decided on points’ difference, winning the Triple Crown and the Grand Slam was the Holy Grail.

To take the draw, and thus deny both countries a shot at the hallowed Crown or Slam would almost have been seen as bad sportsmanship. The crowd would have enthusiastically applauded the decision to tap the penalty or go to the corner. It might even have been a 9-6 game, with ne’er a hint of a try all afternoon, and this was in the days when tries off lineout mauls were a relative rarity.

So it was the longest of long shots and it probably would not have been rewarded. The winning/reprieved coaches and players would then have praised the losers’ bravery.

It’s true Warren Gatland was quick to note that both the Triple Crown and Grand Slam would not now be residing in either side’s trophy cabinet at the end of the championship. Yet he added that winning the title remained the priority.

The same is assuredly true of an Irish side seeking an historic hat-trick of titles, and virtually all supporters of both teams – who collectively held their breath in the endgame as both sides sought to run the ball from their own halves after the match clock had turned red – would have been of like mind.

Ultimate bonus

It’s funny how things change, but last season’s thrilling finale – aka Super Saturday – has cemented those altered perspectives.

Where before a Grand Slam was the primary goal, followed by the Triple Crown, now the main aim is the Six Nations’ title, with the Slam the ultimate bonus and, to be truthful, the Triple Crown strictly third in the pecking order.

Hence, while the draw was a tad deflating for both sets of players judging by their body language at the full-time whistle, and ditto the crowd, viewed in the Championship scheme of things both were relieved enough to take the draw. Ironically though, as a result the odds on another last-day three-way tie on points’ difference are now unlikely, even if the title race is still liable to go down to the final day.

As Ronan O’Gara said afterwards, good teams are obliged to ask themselves why they only scored three points in the last 52 minutes of a match at home. But it was a better performance than many pundits had dared hope for, and that opening half-hour – both offensively and defensively – was again a tribute to the preparation and work of a head coach and his assistants whose work the players all buy into.

Second favourites

The title remains within the remit of both sides yet if Ireland may have been marginally happier with salvaging a draw at the end, instructively the odds on them winning the title have drifted from 11/4 to 11/2, whereas Wales have hardened from 11/4 to 9/4 as clear second favourites to England.

Eddie Jones’ side have shortened from 7/4 to evens favourites, on the back of a predictably strong defensive and set-piece performance against Scotland, whose failure to score a try followed a dog-eared script.

This is also because England have Wales at home in the penultimate round, while three of Wales’ remaining four games are at the Millennium Stadium. The Welsh are traditionally slow starters, and trailing 13-0 after half an hour brought to mind the way Ireland stormed into a 30-3 lead early in the second half on opening weekend in Cardiff three seasons ago before just withstanding a stirring Welsh comeback.

Whereas Ireland did not win another game in an injury -ravaged campaign, Wales won four on the spin to retain the title. Yes, they followed their own dog-eared template and were a little one-dimensional, but on at least three occasions they could have outflanked the Irish defence if they had moved the ball between the hands quicker and more accurately. In any event, history has shown us they tend to improve as tournaments progress.

For their part, Ireland must now go to Paris and London, cities where they last achieved a double in 1972, and the first of those games is six days away. Changes are inevitable.

Schmidt will surely be tempted to gamble on the fitness of Mike Ross and restore him immediately if he is deemed fit enough to play for Leinster this week. Sean O’Brien too will surely return, and the odds against Keith Earls passing all his return to play protocols could accommodate both the return of Rob Kearney and Simon Zebo reverting to the left wing.

True, a revamped French team were indebted to Sergio Parisse taking on too much responsibility (as can be his wont), were porous in defence, missing 15 tackles, and were curiously sluggish for much of the first hour.

Less predictable

Yet, as the Damien Chouly try illustrated, they now have more licence to take quick taps under Guy Noves and his coaching ticket. As well as being less predictable, they also have more game-breakers in their mix with Jonathan Danty, Hugo Bonneval and Maxime Medard restored to the mix.

What’s more, recovering from an eight-point deficit nearing the hour mark will do more for their morale than a cosy 10 or 15-point win.

And after all his achievements in the game, if nothing else Noves will command respect, and have France playing for him, each other and the jersey, which hasn't always looked the case in the last four years. And they must be utterly sick of losing to Ireland. gthornley@irishtimes.com