Get with the programme! Henry’s heroics impress the three wise men

Not long after last Saturday’s final whistle I found myself in the Aviva Premium Section 326 bar where I bumped into three wise men standing very tall. Having enjoyed the fare on display they were now waxing lyrical on the performance. All agreed it was superb but each one nodded in acclaiming Chris Henry’s try to be the turning point. Yes, I kid you not, they felt that Henry deserved special praise for his titanic performance, culminating in five points, 14 earth shattering tackles and countless clear outs.

Irish camp

Thankfully there’s much more attention to detail emanating from the Irish camp and this weekend we get to do our own amateur version from the safety of our seats. France entertain

Australia

tomorrow evening at 8pm. I assume all will be glued to this fixture as the challenge that faces us next week to complete the holy trinity of autumn wins is extremely daunting. South Africa for all their achievements remain relatively predictable. Their many strengths were there to be seen but so too their many weaknesses. Throw in poor performances at half back and the Springboks were not as testing as what we face next week, especially in midfield.

As we play Georgia on Sunday there are two interesting factors. Firstly we are robbed of a day's recovery which will no doubt affect Joe Schmidt's selection and tactics. Georgia, like the Springboks, are very good at certain aspects which will occupy our tight head and openside.

However, I wonder what impact the French game will have on his final preparations for next week where he may tweak some tactics on Sunday.

In the meantime let's look back at Wales versus Australia. There is no doubt that policies and styles affect the fractional margins that exist at the level this Irish team occupy where a key style differential is the go forward mentality of Ireland v Wales.

Last week Ireland employed Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton’s tactical kicking to great effect in exposing the Springboks.

Australia’s half

Both Ireland and Wales had similar possession (Ireland 43 per cent and Wales 46 per cent) but Wales managed to occupy Australia’s half more often and interestingly elected to run there, whereas Ireland used precision kicking.

Line breaks and defenders beaten were similar but the offloads by Wales proved hugely beneficial, especially in the area of the pitch employed. The advantages in running with the ball, with added offloads, are there to be seen in Wales' four tries but dangers lurk deep inside the Australian psyche. Wallaby fullback Israel Folau's second try came from over ambitious risk-taking by Welsh scrumhalf Rhys Webb deep in Australian territory. In this vein, Australia scored three tries with 100 per cent goal kicking and won the game 28-33. With only a handful of games till the World Cup it is a fascinating journey Schmidt is bringing us on. I am especially interested in the subtle transition from the teak-tough miserable error free game that brought us the Six Nations allied to the precision of last Saturday, into a World Cup semi-final and beyond that must invite more error potential for even more reward.

One thing immediately achievable is mimicking the Australian ability to integrate backs and forwards in general play such as Wallaby openside Michael Hooper’s bump and run over Welsh outhalf Dan Biggar before a beauty to fullback Israel Folau for Australia’s opening try.

This will be the greatest achievement Schmidt will bring to this team.

Twenty years ago, during an Irish squad session, I inquired about our counter-attack policy. The management nodded and replied in unison: “There’s no counter-attack policy.” The Irish team Schmidt inherited had many policies but precious few of them were co-ordinated under pressure throughout the 15 players on the pitch. Forwards from one province failed to interplay with backs of another province. In essence they played their game while the others did likewise.

What Wales bring

Wales have failed to beat Australia too often so their style is questionable. Ireland has an immense base to build from and in borrowing aspects of what Wales bring can enhance the Irish product.

Last Saturday was huge for many reasons well beyond the starting XV but the real benchmark is next Saturday where Australia’s ability to interchange athletes around the ball at far greater speed than the Springboks could imagine – not to mention their ever growing defensive systems’ ability to stop Ireland doing likewise – makes for a huge challenge. For Ireland to gain enough quality line breaks resulting in scores they’ll have to negotiate not just the Australian attack, which will force a far more technical defensive system from the Irish, but an incredible Australian defence that has the ability to change shape, intensity and impact at top speed.

Their defence is designed to stop attacks dead or send a line break down blind corridors. A saviour at this stage is the individual errors in the evolving defensive systems of Wallaby coach Michael Cheika. All eyes on Paris!

PS. In an exercise in futility I asked the three wise men to take out their programmes and show me last Saturday's starting openside. All three grinned victoriously; yes they were right, it was Chris Henry who starred in number 7 – but I'm sure Rhys Ruddock is still very sore! liamtoland@yahoo.com