Ireland ... 39 Romania ... 8RUGBY: As Ireland try their best to engender a bit of passion into the national anthems, you couldn't but be struck by how subdued Thomond Park was on Saturday. Suddenly the thought occurred that hey, wait a minute, Ireland will do well to hit the ground trotting, never mind running.
It may have been two weeks into the season but this was unseasonal timing for an international. As it happened, Ireland scored at almost a point per minute in the opening quarter, using Ronan O'Gara's boot and the wind to keep a sense of structure to the game, but by the end the suporters were even more switched off than the team.
For sure it was a worryingly flat performance, but in the greater scheme of things this fixture won't amount to a hill of beans. In some respects, always presuming Ireland address the problems this match threw up, it may have been better for their mindset as they head off to Serbia in 10 days' time for Saturday week's first World Cup qualifier against Russia. They certainly oughtn't to be suffering from delusions of grandeur after this performance.
By the crudest of yardsticks it was probably in the region of 30-40 points below par. Romania weren't beaten by anything in the region of the 134-0 hammering they took at Twickenham last November, and thank heavens for that. Days such as that undermine rugby's pretence at being a global game. Romania have regrouped with a little help from the French Federation and the arrival of their well respected under-19 coach Bernard Charryere.
Romania were, as Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan repeatedly asserted afterwards, highly physical, competitive at the breakdown and recycled their own possession well. Even allowing for that, Charryere diplomatically conceded Ireland are a considerably better side than Saturday's 31-point winning margin suggested.
One can only imagine how much the loss of Keith Wood in the truly tragic circumstances of last Thursday due to the death of his brother Gordon affected the team's preparations, and their mindset, all the more so as Wood's influence on and off the pitch has never been so pronounced.
Nonetheless, to think the squad had effectively spent five weeks in camp together - two of which were confined to fitness work and another two in an expanded squad - made Saturday's patchy display all the more galling.
There were some good points, not least Shane Byrne's throwing and his industry. Long after the performance had slipped into an irretrievable morass, when the Romanians were taking tap penalties, Byrne was often first up looking for the tackle.
And there was also the performance of John Hayes. This game seemingly marked the point where Hayes' enormous strength will be used more as a target runner as well as an immense tackler. He was possibly Ireland's best player on the day, and that's saying something. It was fitting, too, he should also open his Ireland account, albeit from about two inches out from a lineout drive.
Peter Stringer augmented his slick service by sniping twice early on, which was good to see, and Kevin Maggs ran some good lines in attacking the space and looking for support in setting up two tries on a plate.
But there won't have been too much else for O'Sullivan to clutch onto - he admitted that the second-half was simply bad. There's no doubt that there was some validity to O'Sullivan's point that Romania were highly effective in slowing or spoiling Irish ruck ball, his reference to Giluilo di Santis' difficult day at the breakdown scarcely hinting at his frustration with the Italian's performance.
Even so the Irish coach was at pains to point out the difference in ruck ball that emerges in two seconds or five seconds, all the more so given much of Ireland's emphasis is in endeavouring to play a high-tempo game, and he must have been livid over Ireland's rucking. Ironic that it should come straight after a tour of New Zealand, the land of rucking excellence.
Yet so often Irish rugby teams, and they are by no means unique, let one particular facet of their play dip below standard only for it to be rectified next time out. And it wouldn't be that surprising if Ireland put to rights the problems at rucks on Saturday next time out _ hitting the breakdown earlier, lower and more cohesively. There is so much to mull over on the video of this one.
Given quicker ruck ball would make a world of difference, and allow us to see more of the type of multi-phase attacking rugby which O'Sullivan is striving for.
Yet watching Ireland this past while one is left with the distinct impression that they are overcomplicating things, and are going out onto the pitch with too much going on in their minds - an inherent danger with a host of specialist coaches and plenty of training camps.
Brian O'Driscoll apart, and how unnervingly blunt an instrument Ireland were after his departure, few others seem to have either the licence or the confidence to think for themselves and play it off the cuff.
The seeming under-performances of Denis Hickie and Girvan Dempsey compared to the free-spirited effort they took part in with Leinster a week before was a case in point. Twice Dempsey was guilty of not making the pass, even if on the second occasion Ireland were awarded a penalty try for Gabriel Brezoianu's high tackle.
Hickie, a truly world-class winger who had hit the ground running a week before, seemed to be running different lines altogether on Saturday, with an emphasis on cutting inside and checking for support to set up the next phase rather than pinning his ears back and going for the gaps.
Maybe Ireland have to experience these teething problems before achieving a grander game. And if not pulverising inferior opponents in a friendly on September 7th proves the worst point in this 14-Test season, then come the end of the campaign it really won't have mattered a fig.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6 mins: Hayes try 5-0; 14 mins: O'Gara pen 8-0; 16 mins: Gleeson try, O'Gara con 15-0; 20 mins: O'Gara pen 18-0; 26 mins: penalty try, Humphreys con 25-0; 29 mins: Tofan pen 25-3; 37 mins: O'Driscoll try, O'Gara con 32-3; (half-time 32-3); 45 mins: Maftei try 32-8; 54 mins: Henderson try, O'gara con 39-8.
IRELAND: G Dempsey (Leinster/Terenure College); J Kelly (Munster/Cork Constitution), B O'Driscoll (Leinster/Blackrock College), K Maggs (Bath), D Hickie (Leinster/St Mary's College); R O'Gara (Munster/Cork Constitution), P Stringer (Munster/Shannon); R Corrigan (Leinster/Greystones), S Byrne (Leinster/Blackrock College), J Hayes (Munster /Shannon), G Longwell (Ulster/Ballymena), M O'Kelly (Leinster/St. Mary's College), S Easterby (Llanelli), A Foley (Munster/Shannon), K Gleeson (Leinster/St Mary's College). Replacements: D Humphreys (Ulster/Dungannon) for O'Gara (24-35 and 79 mins), R Henderson (Munster/Young Munster) for O'Driscoll (40 mins), V Costello (Leinster/St Mary's College) for S Easterby (67 mins), P Wallace (Leinster/Blackrock College) for Costello (70-74 mins), G Easterby (Llanelli) for Stringer (71 mins), L Cullen (Leinster/Blackrock College) for Foley (81 mins).
ROMANIA: G Brezoianu (Begles/Bordeaux); C Sauan (Rovigo), V Matei (Pau), R Gontineac (Stade Aurillacois, capt), M Vioreanu (DLSP); I Tofan (Racing Club de France), L Sirbu (Racing Club de France); M Dumitru (Stade Aurillacois), R Mavrodin (Perpignan), M Tincu (Pau), M Dragomir (Dijon), C Petre (Racing Club de France), G Chiriac (Farul Constanta), A Petrache (Racing Club de France), A Manta (Begles/Bordeaux, Fra). Replacements: P Toderasc (Farul Constanta) for Dumitru, A Petrichel (Perpignan, Fra) for Dragomir (both half-time), M Picoiu (Stade Lavelanetien) for Gontineac (52 mins), D Tudosa (Racing Club de France) for Chiriac (62-64 mins) and for Mavrodin (68 mins), R Vusec (US Tours) for Tofan (68 mins), C Podea (Clauje) for Sirbu (74 mins).
Referee: G di Santis (Italy).
