RUGBY IRELAND v NEW ZEALAND:THE DEMARCATION lines appear to have been drawn between the firsts and the seconds. As expected, Declan Kidney has effectively reverted to the team which started against South Africa.
But picking the team was one thing. Now comes the hard part: specifically, how to go about taking on the best side in the world.
There’s been speculation Ireland might revert to a conservative, low-risk game, such are the perils of being caught out off turnover ball. The theory goes that, in the All Blacks’ last two European tours, the bolder approach was taken by France in Marseilles last year and Scotland last week, and all it got them were 39-12 and 49-3 pastings.
The key, surely, is to combine the two.
“It’s playing smart,” said Brian O’Driscoll. “There’s no point in completely attacking if you are up against a black wall. You’re going to have to play to the corners, play field position and build momentum.
“It’s not just about playing a brand of sevens against them and throwing the ball around willy nilly and expecting to break them open at some stage. That’s not the case.
“You’ve got to play controlled rugby, and sometimes your kicking game can be used as much of a tool as your running and passing game.”
In making nine changes in personnel from the team which played Samoa, Kidney has reverted to the team which started against South Africa, save Tom Court starting at tighthead in place of the injured Tony Buckley.
As an aside, this lowers Munster’s representation to three, the same as Ulster, along with eight Leinster men and Tommy Bowe.
It looks a calculated gamble, not least with the lineout which malfunctioned so badly under intense pressure against the Boks. Understandably, Kidney chose to see it differently.
“No, what I’ve done is placed a trust. They’ve had some more time together. South Africa have some very good combinations, different combinations to Samoa, and so we have both options within our 22. The experience the lads will have picked up and what they will have learned will stand to us,” he said.
The tourists have a hooker making his first Test start and a new secondrow combination, but Kidney said this would also make them more difficult to analyse. He also observed that the All Blacks don’t concede many lineouts by kicking the ball off the park.
There was a case for going after the sometimes susceptible All Blacks lineout in any case – “weaknesses” being decidedly relative – by including Devin Toner, as well as making more of an investment for the future.
Recalling Mick O’Driscoll is certainly the more conservative pick, but Kidney and co were probably influenced by the need to have more physicality at the breakdown, where the All Blacks tend to be ruthlessly efficient and with minimum numbers. The Munster lock also has a superior tackle count.
In any event, one ventures Donnacha Ryan would have started but for his suspension.
With Ronan O’Gara – who yesterday signed a new Ireland contract that will see him playing in Ireland for a further two seasons up to 2013 – having played in the last six defeats to the All Blacks, there’s a logic in making a further investment in Jonathan Sexton.
The argument for him receiving his first competitive pass from Peter Stringer – save for the final 17 minutes against the Maoris – seemed strong, but the management appear to be treating Leinster’s Eoin Reddan-Sexton half-back pairing as as settled a combination as their Munster counterparts, who have been playing together since they were knee high to a grasshopper.
“It’s a factor without being overly significant,” maintained the Ireland coach. “We need to try different combinations, too. International football does not allow you, like provincial football, to be chopping and changing all of the time. We need to find out a few things.
“In this particular case, it wasn’t a case of: ‘If he’s playing, the other guy has to play with him’. I’m quite happy to mix and match. It’s a factor, but it’s not one where if one plays, the other has to play with him.”
Kidney spoke of the need for having a mixture of fear and excitement, but given the overwhelming weight of history and recent form, one imagines the former is easier to engender.
Ireland, as the dogs in O’Connell Street know, have never beaten the All Blacks in 105 years of trying and 23 attempts, managing just one draw. History beckons, but it must also be psychologically daunting.
“Yeah, but that’s what makes it so good. If that didn’t excite you, you shouldn’t be here. It’s a huge challenge, but you can either crawl under a rock or you can look at it, take it on and see how we go. That’s what we’ll do.”
With John Hayes, Stringer and O’Gara on the bench, only Brian O’Driscoll and David Wallace survive from the team which lost a thriller to the All Blacks 40-29 in Lansdowne Road nine years ago this week. In effect, the golden generation has come to something of an end, or is past its peak.
“My background has always led me to believe, from Schools, that you have who you have,” said Kidney, “and who’s to say, if they win – I’m not sure what’s above golden generation – but when they win on Saturday that will make them platinum,” quipped Kidney.
“I’m sure those fellas, they’ve had a good few goes against them (New Zealand). The history books show the results the way they are.
“But are these fellas any more or less keen than the guys before? Or are they more or less talented? That’s what we’ll see on Saturday.”
IRELAND v NEW ZEALAND (Tomorrow, Aviva Stadium, 5.30pm, live on RTÉ 2 and BBC 2)
