ON RUGBY:YOU CAN'T beat playing the Tri-Nations sides. Declan Kidney would, ideally, probably like to be appended to the Tri-Nations for one year just to sharpen up the learning curve and Sunday's 20-20 draw was a classic case in point. The lessons learned from that game and over the next two weekends, especially when South Africa come to Croke Park, will be invaluable, writes GERRY THORNLEY

Most of Sunday’s glitches can be worked upon, but the most salient lesson from the game was undoubtedly the contact area. It may not always be pretty, and it is often brutal, but it is modern rugby, all the more so at Test level. France showed as much in the physical challenge they threw down to the ultimate physical bullies, South Africa, on Friday night.

There has been a fundamental change to the game in recent times, and while lineouts, scrums and restarts remain important in the art of winning possession, the breakdown is now king in determining what a team can do with that possession or in terms of procuring turnovers. While Australia’s tendency to hunt more in packs, their speed to the breakdown, and low, hard, efficient clearing out were all significant factors in their superior work there, the terms under which ball carriers take contact is the starting point.

More and more, ball carriers and support players have to be aware of this. The ideal defensive situation is the two-man tackle on an isolated ball carrier and one-man charges by men in green such as Tomás O’Leary and Jerry Flannery – both brave beyond words – into two gold-shirted defenders were all very heroic, but also counter-productive. Once it even led to a Matt Giteau three-pointer.

All told, Irish players carried ball into contact 29 times in the first-half alone, and nine times possession was effectively turned over. The damage might even have been worse save for Jonathan Kaplan taking a harsh view of what looked like legal steals by Rocky Elsom, Adam Ashley-Cooper and pilferer-in-chief David Pocock. The first yielded Ireland three points, and the other two might have done had Ireland elected to go for the posts.

Three times, however, the Zimbabwean-born Pocock won his side penalties against Irish players for holding on. Perhaps the memory of having to sleep with a gun under his pillow at 10 years of age makes him more fearless than most when positioning himself over opposing ball carriers. His speed as first man into the tackle area, perfect body positioning and upper body strength – once withstanding three Irish players as they attempted to knock him off the ball – were simply phenomenal.

The best Irish player at taking ball into contact, as ever, was David Wallace. It helps that he has superb footwork, so that he can attack the soft shoulder at the last second, and then phenomenal leg strength in contact, and, critically, he also looks to present the ball with a full arm extension. This, in turn, means that an opposing player will have more difficulty staying on his feet or may have to come in from the side. Of course, if enveloped by a two-man tackle, this is more difficult to achieve, but Wallace invariably takes contact on his terms.

Luke Fitzgerald also uses his superb footwork to ensure a better chance of recycling the ball, as does Paddy Wallace to his credit (and he was one of the few Irish players to even look for or attempt offloads), whereas Jamie Heaslip relies more on his innate strength. But Mervyn Murphy will assuredly be putting together the clips of each side taking the ball into contact for the coaching staff and players to pore over and put to use in training this week.

By contrast, Australia took fewer risks when in possession, and often kicked primary possession downfield; and thus took the ball into contact far less often. But the only time they turned the ball over in contact was when Matt Giteau’s individual brilliance left Flannery and Paul O’Connell trailing in his wake and threatened a try – Rob Kearney making his try-saving tackle and Fitzgerald sharply manoeuvring himself into position over Giteau to earn a penalty for not releasing.

For the Australians there were markedly fewer headlong and heroic charges into two-man tackles. From the off, with their first carry, Peter Hynes turned into contact and the ball was recycled. Even the front-rowers, Ben Alexander and Stephen Moore, would spin into tackles, thereby ensuring a better likelihood of recycling the ball, whereas Wycliff Palu had the power and leg strength, à la David Wallace, to rumble on.

Lesson? Sometimes sacrifice a yard or two and momentum in order to afford a better chance of recycling possession.

Moving on then, changes are unlikely to be wholesale against the Fijians. At 33, David Wallace needs to be used like the thoroughbred he is, and may well be rested this weekend. Besides, Denis Leamy is straining at the leash. Superb players though all Ireland’s frontline backrowers are, they are all a bit samey, and there’s a case for looking at a fetcher/groundhog like Pocock if Ireland had one. The pity is that Shane Jennings is suspended, though Seán O’Brien might be worth a look.

There’s also an argument for resting John Hayes too, and for looking at more frontrow options, except that Hayes and Flannery need more game time with the Boks in mind, while Cian Healy needs as much exposure as possible, though Flannery looked as if he may have finished the game with a “stinger”. This is also, surely, the opportunity to give Leo Cullen or another lock a run, as Ireland will need three in the Six Nations, and likewise with Jonathan Sexton at outhalf.

If it’s deemed that O’Leary – like Flannery and Hayes – needs another game, then at the least Eoin Reddan should get a half, while Gordon D’Arcy is also worth another look in midfield. Keith Earls seems sure to start given the misfortune to befall the in-form Fitzgerald. Damn it, he was flying.

PS: If Bryan Habana is suspended for “kicking” Damien Traille the game is becoming akin to a nanny state. Quite clearly Traille pulls Habana’s leg into him to give the impression of a kick. Please view properly, men in suits! It is another new one for conning officials and, by rights, it is Traille who should be suspended.