Ireland's astute use of the bench and better decision-making in the second half finally paved the way for a comprehensive victory, writes LIAM TOLAND
IS THERE a finer sight than seeing a new cap soaring into the air as Peter O’Mahony did in the 73rd minute for his international lineout take followed by a lineout rumble with Jamie Heaslip at its tail before it all spun off with Eoin Reddan using his breaking instincts to ultimately send Tommy Bowe into a hole deep in the Italian territory? There were still two tries left in the Irish tank and all was good.
However, rugby matches are 80 minutes in duration which affords a variety of tempos and tactics throughout in order to achieve the goal of winning. The processes are crucial and Ireland employed enormous amounts of spadework in the opening half that afforded the bench (when used as it was brilliantly last Saturday) to exploit a team such as Italy.
Ireland managed this brilliantly by tactically exploiting the tiring Italians with the bench in the subtleties of energy (big hits) and offloads with Donncha Ryan and Seán Cronin in particular making an impact but it was the apparent change in decision-making that was most beneficial to Ireland’s five-try haul.
Decisions and subsequent execution are what success is built upon. With the new coaching set-up, execution will take time to settle in; mistakes and errors will be made, accept it. Decisions start at the management level; team selection and policy followed by further decisions on the field by the units, half backs and then individuals. Do I counter, do I go right, do I go blindside, do I kick or do I pass are all questions that must be answered in fractions of seconds. Donncha Ryan’s massive 63rd-minute hit on winger Luke McLean by flying up out of the line illustrates a great decision combined with execution. Andrew Trimble followed suit a minute later on Simone Favaro as did Stephen Ferris.
On 54 minutes Eoin Reddan arrived and I focused on the decisions being made or not being made. This had to be tempered to the ‘spadework’ that preceded his arrival but Sexton looked more comfortable at 10 and the flow of ball did change. Tommy Bowe’s 60th-minute try came from Reddan ignoring Rory Best as a first receiver finding Sexton on a cut pass to get Bowe in the corner. Would Conor Murray have hit Best or Sexton? Who knows but these minor decisions are crucial.
Ditto Sexton’s not getting Ireland out of the first-half trenches versus Ronan O’Gara’s decade-long management of field position. This is not a “he’s better than him argument” but a look at the flow of a game.
Why Ireland persisted in being dragged into the trenches for periods in the first half was in one sense obvious but fixable, yet it persisted. With this in mind Rob Kearney’s role can be fully understood and maximised. Time and again he fielded balls and set off, running hard, targeting weak shoulders and pumping his legs. He has clearly learned the importance of the offload and is bringing his team-mates into the game more consistently. Welsh fullback Leigh Halfpenny is another to work it out from the back. As predicted, possession was not an issue at 62 per cent and the overall territory looked good also at 62 per cent but who ultimately dictates the policy of ‘get the hell out of our half’? (25 per cent improvement in the second half).
Our kicking game at times gave the opposition more opportunities than is wise. The box kick for instance is best employed off quick ruck ball as it gives the hunters a much better chance of success; primarily down to the unsettled back three which may be out of position. In the first half the box kick became enormously predictable so much so that you could see the Italians such as their midfield or number eight Parisse peeling back into a receiving or supporting spot.
I was impressed by the sheer physique of their fullback Andrea Masi but adding Parisse and others to the mix off a box kick has no future, especially in Paris! Masi launched a powerful counter on 19 minutes which took all Cian Healy had to offer to stop him.
Time with Les Kiss has developed the Irish attack although it’s a wee bit off the finished product. A beautiful and crisp backline move on 23 minutes went from right to left with all passes in front of the receiver all the way to Andrew Trimble. The problem for Trimble was the ball arrived with three Italian defenders and he spilled in contact. The attack looked crisp and accurate but it fixed no defenders inside and was ultimately a pointless move. Still we did get five tries.
The opening half was owned by Parisse who I followed in chunks of time. Four minutes and 24 seconds in and Parisse fields an Irish Garryowen on the touchline; three minutes later and from a cracking Jonathan Sexton kick off the ball bobbles around for an Irish turnover setting up Sexton for a half break before Parisse fields another on the touchline. Four minutes later he secures an Italian kick off with a tasty tap back. My mind drifted back to Friday and the importance of keeping this legend out of the game.
If we were to up the ante on our defensive lines especially targeting the very poor starting outhalf (in all aspects) then the Italians had their plan too especially around the breakdown. The Italian pillars were very aggressive trying to stunt the Irish at the source of the second phase. Time and again they managed to slow the ball down but as Murray was attempting the sweep he was targeted. This clearly is no fault of his but the combination of a slower ruck and a very focused aggressive pillar defence can do exponential damage. What to do in this case?
Speed up the ruck and try to exploit the hole the pillar is potentially creating through a hard first receiver coming from wide angling very flat and hard towards the tail of the ruck.
Murray is an intriguing part of the Irish jigsaw that I hope to explore over coming weeks where his balance between the trenches and the tactics of the team are fascinating. More succinctly at issue is his decision-making process or what doesn’t happen as a result of his decisions and actions.
This brings me back to the last quarter when Ireland looked more fluid, direct and played in the right part of the field. Was this a result of the spade work completed by the starting team or better decisions and execution by the bench? A bit of both I fancy.
It was a great win with many first half aspects to be improved but it ultimately looked like fun where our back three contributed 200 metres, half the total team’s metres run with the ball; a good sign?
