Harsh truth turned up by post mortem

LAST Saturday, in the wake of Ireland's defeat by Scotland at Lansdowne Road, there was a feeling of acute disappointment, engendered not alone by the fact that Ireland lost, but accentuated by the fact that Ireland had played so badly.

It as well that Ireland's ex match in the championship will not be for a month. However, that match is against France in, Paris, an awesome task for Ireland at any, time, but made much more difficult now after losing last Saturday. The Irish management has some hard thinking and hard talking to do. Remedial action must be taken.

Were Ireland going to Paris after beating Scotland, they would be doing so with the cushion of two points. Irrespective of the result in Paris, Ireland would still have the prospect of meeting Wales at Lansdowne Road with their Triple Crown ambitions alive. Now, there will be no Triple Crown as an incentive. Winning an international is, of course, always in itself a very big incentive, but the reality is that Ireland is now, in essence, chasing the season. That has become an all too familiar pattern in recent years.

Failure to win the first match in the championship always makes it difficult. Failure to win it when the match is at home is even more damaging. That point was not lost on Jim Staples, the Ireland captain, prior to the match last Saturday. He stressed that after the training session last Thursday, Ireland coach Murray Kidd was equally emphatic in that regard when he said that to have any kind of decent season, winning at home was vital.

The Scotland manager, Jim Telford, said after his side had won that winning your first match away from home really sets up the season. It gives everyone a tremendous lift. "That represents a great start. It sets you up for a crack at the championship and eases the pressure," he said.

Winning at home in the first match is something Irish teams have failed to do in recent seasons. One has to go back to 1988 for Ireland's last win at home in an opening match.

In the course of their inquest on the match, two factors will be high on the agenda of the Irish management. The first will be why the line out strategy went wrong? The second item will be why it was decided to play into so strong a wind after winning the toss? This was the third time in recent seasons that the sane thing has happened against Scotland and with the same consequences. Leinster did exactly the same against Cardiff. You do not give your opponents an advantage like that on your own ground. You put points on the board as early as possible and make your opponents chase the game. You do not give them the benefits of having a lead.

When the Ireland side was chosen, the composition of the back five was aimed at having four big men in the line out. The back row's nobility was sacrificed to that. It backfired badly.

Ireland's line out strategy was at variance with what had been done on the practice ground. The line out, from which Scotland got their first try, was a telling example. The idea was that Neil Francis would move to the back, and take Doddie Weir with him, while Paddy Johns would act as decoy for Stewa Campbell, with Gabriel Fulcher the ball winner near the front. That needed a lobbed ball to Fulcher. He did not get it. Instead, he got his fingertips to the ball, which was not controlled or protected, and the Scotland hooker Kevin McKenzie had only to fall on the ball over Ireland's line out was a shambles instead of being the launch pad for our tactical approach. Scotland won the line out and reaped the benefits that accrued. They rucked Ireland off the field. The lack of mobility in the Ireland back row was, as a consequence, ruthlessly exposed.

WE WERE told, too, that once all the matters in relation to the players contracts were out of the way, there would be no distractions in that area. Well there have been distractions. One occurred last Thursday at, the training session when Neil Francis decided that he would wear a T shirt with the logo of a property company instead of, as per agreement, the official kit. The players are obliged to wear this kit once the team assembles for the match. The matter was, understandably, a source of great annoyance to the sponsors who are pouring a lot of money into the team. The indiscretion was compounded when Francis was interviewed on television.

There was alot of comment on that issue prior to the Ireland A match on Friday and members of the IRFU were, to say the least, extremely annoyed about the matter. All the more so as much effort had been put in to leave no room for doubt about what was and what was not acceptable under the relevant agreements.

The Ireland manager, Pat Whelan, has been in consultation with the IRFU on the issue and said yesterday: "I will deal with the matter and take the action I deem appropriate. Whelan did not want any disruption to team preparation last Thursday when Francis decided to do his own advertising by wearing a shirt that was in clear violation of the agreement with the team's sponsors.

Francis has been at the forefront of the campaign for players to be paid to play. He is on record as stating a player does not want to be dropped now because it will cost money. He would do well to bear in mind that such payments and agreements impose moral and legal obligations. I would have thought, too, that Whelan has quite enough to do without being burdened by this kind of distraction prior to a crucial match. Francis and his ilk would serve the cause of Irish rugby much better if they concentrated on giving performances that would justify their inclusion in the team which he rarely does in the matches against the big boys.

What has happened does little to increase confidence that the more the players get, the more responsibility they will carry and the better they will play. Membership of the Ireland squad Is an honour given to the chosen few, not a licence to extract the maximum return for personal gain.

It is now very likely that the team to meet France will not be chosen until after the selectors see Leinster and Ulster play New South Wales. There will be a training session on Sunday week. There should be some frank speaking at it. In the midst of all the depression after last Saturday, the performances given by the A and under 21 sides.