Subscriber OnlySports Briefing

Mary Hannigan: Serene Irish progress at Rugby World Cup leaves us a bit giddy

Ken Early on how mistakes deliver spectacle and Ian O’Riordan lauds Rhys McClenaghan’s faultless World Championship triumph

Ireland coach Andy Farrell and captain Jonathan Sexton celebrate after their comfortable victory over Scotland secured a spot in the last eight. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

Mary Hannigan's face
Mary Hannigan
Mon Oct 9 2023 - 10:27

“Where will this beautiful thing end,” asks Gerry Thornley. Hopefully at the Stade de France on October 28th, but we can’t be losing the run of ourselves. Although Andy Farrell’s assertion that Ireland haven’t even played their best rugby yet would leave you a bit giddy.

The victory over Scotland was one in which “outstanding individual performances abounded,” writes Gerry, to the point where John O’Sullivan was sprinkling nines left, right and centre in his player ratings. Peter O’Mahony, on the occasion of his 100th cap, was one of the recipients, Gerry hearing David Kilcoyne pay tribute to him after the game. Johnny Watterson doffs his cap to Hugo Keenan who, he says, was “ubiquitously excellent from the first take of the match”, and he also salutes the Irish lineout about which there had been no shortage of concern. “Crisis, what crisis,” he asks after seeing all 10 lineouts won and two nicked from Scotland by O’Mahony.

Ireland’s adaptability caught John’s eye, not least the sight of Jamison Gibson-Park and Garry Ringrose “fulfilling new remits as wingers” when the need arose. Farrell, he writes, has always said that “Ireland can’t be spooked by circumstance”, that they need to find solutions rather than focus on problems. “His team did that on Saturday night.” Next? The small matter of “a vengeful All Blacks side in next Saturday night’s World Cup quarter-final”. Whether James Ryan (hand), Mack Hansen (calf) and James Lowe (eye) will be fit for the game remains to be seen, “it’ll be the next 24-48 hours where we’ll get a good read on those guys,” said defence coach Simon Easterby.

Denis Walsh, meanwhile, was taking an exam on the laws of the game on the World Rugby website, but came to the conclusion that you don’t actually have to understand any of them to be “sucked in to the excitement”. Rugby, he says, is a bit like classical opera: “the action on stage is conducted in a foreign language, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be gripped by the plot or entranced by the spectacle”.

READ MORE

Ken Early wasn’t entirely entranced by the spectacle at The Emirates on Sunday when Arsenal met Manchester City, in contrast to the earlier “thriller” between Brighton and Liverpool. What made that such a good watch? It was littered with mistakes. “And football without mistakes,” he says, “is nothing”.

Rhys McClenaghan produced a pommel horse routine with no mistakes at all, and with that he earned himself another World Championship gold medal. His performance, writes Ian O’Riordan, was “flawless” and “devastatingly good”. Where will this beautiful thing end? Hopefully with an Olympic gold medal around his neck in, of all places, Paris next summer.

TV watch: Do you want to see highlights of Ireland’s Rugby World Cup triumph over Scotland? You know you do. So, tune in to Against the Head (RTÉ 2, 8pm) where they’ll look back at the weekend’s highlights.