The return of the openside flanker has been a striking feature of play in this refreshing World Cup, writes MATT WILLIAMS

AS MUCH as it hurts me to say it I have to admit the Kiwis have been wonderful this opening week. From the quality of the playing surfaces to the magnificent new Otago Stadium, to the home towns adopting the away teams and dressing up in support, the pool stages have been what they were designed to be, a festival of this wonderful game of rugby. All cultures, all countries as the song says, the world in union. As usual for rugby there is no hooliganism, no need for riot police.

There is only the occasional hangover and a sore throat from singing too much. It has been what rugby culture continues to be and something we can be proud of. No swearing at officials, no multi-million dollar brats acting spoiled. The game’s culture won’t tolerate that and long may it remain so.

The other aspect that stands out in the opening week is the levelling of the playing field of talent as professionalism enters its third generation of players. Despite New Zealand’s heavy win over Japan yesterday, the underdogs have been refreshing. Japan versus France, Italy versus Australia, Tonga versus New Zealand, Argentina versus England have all produced not sub-standard performances by the power houses but excellent performances by the lesser nations.

Nations such as Fiji and Samoa have gathered their professional players from around Europe and Japan and have performed. This exemplifies the quality of players that leave those islands to play overseas and then return home, regrettably only for the World Cup.

That leads us to the trends in the game.

The return of the openside flanker has been a striking feature of play. The concept of the openside never really left Australia or New Zealand. Richie McCaw in New Zealand has dominated for a decade. Phil Waugh and George Smith have taken over the mantles of the greats of the past like Simon Poidevin and David Wilson. South Africa has interestingly selected Heinrich Brussow as a genuine openside flanker, while Warren Gatland has unearthed a player of quality in Sam Warburton. His leadership as well as his constructive work in both attack and defence at the breakdown makes him one to watch for the future weeks.

Ireland need an openside flanker. People have been quick to forget the excellent work that Keith Gleeson did. He was the only genuine openside flanker that Ireland has used in the past decade. Gleeson did what opensides do. He linked with the ball carriers, and especially Brian O’Driscoll. In that period Ireland played some of its most mercurial rugby as Gleeson supported and continued the attack.

If not for a falling out with Eddie O’Sullivan and a terrible leg injury Gleeson would have had 20 more caps and a Lions tour to his name.

Ireland currently have Dominic Ryan in Leinster, who is a genuine openside and should be fast tracked into the system after this World Cup.

Why an openside flanker? The linking aspect of that position is a much under-valued role. Many of New Zealand’s tries illustrate the role of the number seven. In the vast majority of them captain Richie McCaw has had a hand in the try. The openside wins fast attacking ball, supports the ball carrier and continues the attack. When your team makes a break the openside is there to continue it. In defence his role is to pounce on the first or second ruck and steal the ball at best and at worst to slow it down. This is becoming ever increasingly important as coaches find ways to deconstruct defences.

Why? Attacking teams have moved to a concept developed by the 1927 Waratahs on the tour of Britain, France, Ireland and Canada. Queensland rugby had folded in 1918 so the Waratahs were Australia for that period. The entire squad came from eight schools. They defeated Ireland, Wales and France, losing in controversial circumstances to Scotland and England. Not bad for eight schools. The geniuses were Johnny Wallace, Cyril Towers, who was Pat Howard’s grandfather, and Tommy Lawton, the grandfather of the 1984 Grand Slam Wallabies hooker of the same name.

They developed a game played right on the defensive line, one designed to take out of play the bigger more aggressive Northern Hemisphere defenders of the time and to put the more agile players into space. By carrying the ball to the defensive line before passing, the defensive line stops and waits to see what the attacker does. Simple? Yes, and like most great ideas extremely simple in its thinking.

It is incredible that 84 years after its conception the gain-line theory, as it is called, remains one of rugby’s most potent concepts.

Australian teams that have played it – like this team has – have won and those who have not played it have lost. New Zealand, Wales, and South Africa have increasingly adopted the gain-line philosophy which at its essence needs an openside flanker. How do you stop the gain-line theory? Simple. Contest every ball to slow it down as much as possible and run your defence up hard at the ball carrier.

That is much harder to do than to say.

So what does that mean for Ireland? The game quite often does not move forward but just remembers old values and old ways; the old values of fraternity we are seeing in the joy of the crowd; the old values of discipline we are seeing from the players respecting the culture of the game and the old value of attacking the gain line and the return of the openside flanker.

Ireland could well be looking to its past to see where its future might be.