Always darkest before the dawn

FROM THE ARCHIVES:In February 2000 Dermot Gilleecetalked to three successful managers about the crisis in Irish rugby and the Irish team's problems after Warren Gatland's men were outclassed by England in the Six Nations

SPORT’S CYCLICAL nature tells us we have been down this road many times before, enduring periods of deep depression at the failure of our national sides. But the events of last Saturday at Twickenham, when England ran in a neat 50 points to Ireland’s 18, were different, somehow, in that exasperation was accompanied by undeniable feelings of despair.

While partisan commentators talked about the inevitability of Ireland’s torment, there were those of us who wondered if it should be so. Without the necessary playing resources, had we truly reached a stage whereby it was simply not possible to bridge the gulf in class with England? There are numerous sporting situations which suggest otherwise. One thinks of soccer club Leicester City in the English Premiership and how manager Martin O’Neill has found a way to compete at the highest level despite modest resources.

There is the Ryder Cup, which has become one of television’s greatest sporting events, simply because of Tony Jacklin’s conviction that Europe could compete with the US.

Then there is the experience of the Ireland soccer team, which Jack Charlton guided to the final stages of two World Cups and one European Championship. And there is the remarkable survival of Wimbledon in the Premiership.

How is it done? Putting it at its simplest, the various managers or captains devised a method of playing which, to a significant degree, countered the individual superiority of the opposition. In the Ryder Cup, this meant concentrating on the foursomes and fourballs in the hope of building up a sufficient lead to withstand America’s anticipated singles superiority.

Clearly, a more technical approach is necessary in field sports such as rugby, soccer and Gaelic football. And to explore the question more thoroughly, I spoke this week to three coach/ managers, who have an intense interest in the subject.

Would they accept the thesis that moderate individuals could compete successfully with more skilful opponents if the right circumstances are created? Was it unreasonable to expect a coach to be able to create such a circumstance? And could we reasonably look to a future where Ireland’s rugby team would not be dismissed as hopeless also-rans.

The three are Charlton, who is now a soccer pundit, having retired from management; Seán Boylan, Ireland’s manager of the year for 1999 in which he led Meath to yet another All-Ireland Gaelic football title; and Brad Johnstone, the New Zealander who worked coaching wonders with Fiji, before guiding Italy to a remarkable, 34-20 win over Scotland in Rome last Saturday.

SEÁN BOYLAN

Meath football manager

THOUSANDS of people play the game, but not all of them can compete. So yes, I believe that an imbalance in skills can be bridged. In fact, I have found over the years, both as a player myself and looking after other players, that talent is only 10 per cent of the package.

Looking at Irish rugby these days, one of the things I notice is that while it is getting more publicity than ever, through the All-Ireland League and European competitions, the ordinary man in the street doesn’t know the players any more. Why is that?

I believe it’s because so few of them appear to play with the passion of the players of the recent past. I’m standing on the outside and I believe this is the attitude of the ordinary fan. Sure, we can overdo the emphasis on passion, but it gives you a great start.

When I began coaching, I would smile to myself at the number of players who would come up to me and start talking about tactics. What they didn’t realise was that if you don’t get the basics right, all the theory in the world is going to be no use to you under pressure.

It’s like me going and doing a course in karate in which I might reach white belt, yellow belt, brown belt or even black belt standard. Then I happen to walk into a row with a street-fighter. Now, if I decide to put my boot on his chin and I don’t get him the first time, I won’t get a second chance, even with all my karate expertise. He’ll have me on the ground, buried.

That is why it’s so important that the content of squad sessions should be kept as close as possible to what goes on in the game. I think it’s crazy we should separate things. I know Eddie (O’Sullivan) is very good with the backs. But we’re not playing two separate games. Forwards and backs should work together.

These lads are professionals, so if special work has to be done it should happen away from the normal squad session. And when the players get out to train together, that’s exactly what should happen.

And I would love to see the Irish lads doing far more talking on the field. You must have communication, especially when things are going really badly against you. You draw round the wagons and you grit your teeth and you become all the more determined to change the flow of the game. It mightn’t be pretty, but you do what circumstances demand.

It is also important that tactics are varied. I remember looking at our international matches last year and seeing Keith (Wood) getting the ball and doing his individual thing. The opposing players with videos today know he’s going to do that.

Anybody who doubts whether it’s possible to bridge the gap got their answer from Italy last Saturday. And when we look at the place-kicking impact of Diego Dominguez on that match, we might ponder on the treatment Eric Elwood has received from the Irish selectors over the years.

Italy got the basics right and they had a great kicker. That should tell us something.

JACK CHARLTON

Former Ireland soccer manager

WHEN I became manager of the Irish team, everybody was playing what was called a possession game. This is where you knock the ball about in a passing game and people are allowed time in which to work. But I decided it was no good coming to Ireland and trying to build a successful team playing exactly the same as the game’s leading nations. They had been good at this type of game for 10 or 15 years before us and for me to think we could match them with our resources was nonsense.

So, I devised a game which we called pressurise. You played the ball in behind people and, when you had them turning to face their own goal, you pressurised them. It meant that when they got the ball and wanted to come out a bit you were in there on top of them.

Now, that was basically the game I decided to play with the Irish. But it took about a couple of years to get it right, because you only have the players at internationals about once every three or four months, except when you have a few matches together at the end of the season.

When you don’t see your players for long periods the game you play has got to be very simple to understand. It’s got to be easy for them to learn and play.

Now, when you apply this to rugby, at which Ireland didn’t do so well against England last Saturday, you’ve got to have a coach who will come up with an idea that will foil England. Which is obviously easier said than done.

The coach has got to come up with an answer, however hard it is to find. Then you’ve got to match the players to the answer. These will be players who can do it the way you want it done.

You ask if it’s possible to bridge a gap in class through commitment and proper organisation. Well, you always get commitment from players. But it has to be channelled at getting you the result you want. If a player gets into a position with the ball, everybody on your side’s got to know exactly what he’s going to do with the ball. But the beauty is that the opposition don’t know. You do.

I don’t understand rugby, but things are basically the same for all field sports. And what I do know is that Ireland can’t play the game the way England play the game or the way France play the game, because you’re not a big enough country and you don’t have enough players with sufficient quality to do it.

So you’ve got to do something different to put them off balance. And if you’re prepared to stick with it, it can be done.

BRAD JOHNSTONE

Italy rugby manager

PHYSICALLY. I don’t think the Irish players are lesser men than any other team. So maybe the structure of the system that they’re working under is not getting them into a competitive mode. Either way, things are certainly not so bad that they can’t compete.

The Irish have been in this position before and fought back and I believe they’ll do it again. There’s certainly no cause for despair. In the end. it comes down to 15 players against 15 players, and the attitude of those Irish players will have a lot to do with whether things can be turned around.

I believe that if players are property organised and motivated, they can bridge a difference in class. Certainly on the day. Any one team can get up on an occasion and knock over a big boy, but it would be difficult to maintain it over a season.

By saying this, I’m not suggesting that your technical staff aren’t good enough. I believe Gats (Warren Gatland) is very good. So it may come down to what’s behind Gats and whether he’s getting the right sort of support and what the general structure is in Ireland.

It may be a question of whether they’re building towards the top of the pyramid and trying to develop players into international players, or whether there’s another agenda. Maybe the whole structure needs to be looked at.

All coaches have to play a pattern of game that will suit the 15 men you’re putting on to the field. For example, when I coached Fiji it was impossible for me to make the Fijian side play like the All Blacks. So I had to pick a style of game where I could use the flair of the Fijians and try and slot in some of the All Black patterns where they could win and retain ball.

When I got to Italy, I found a very negative scene. The clubs were denying me the players to come to training camps. We called 65 players to the first camp; 34 turned up and 12 couldn’t train because they had sore legs or some other sort of problem.

So, no matter how bad the situation may appear, it can be turned around; it just needs a change of attitude and a change of mind. It needs people getting behind the team and giving them support, because you can’t fight your own team as well as fighting the opposition. And the Irish players now need support more than ever.