Not the time to be tackling rule changes

ON RUGBY:Referee Jonathan Kaplan's strict approach to the new tackle laws did Ireland no favours on Saturday, writes BOB CASEY

ASKING PLAYERS to completely alter their mindset and natural instinct mid-tournament doesn’t make sense and it hurt Ireland dearly on Saturday. It will be interesting to see when Northern Hemisphere referees start introducing, presuming they will, the stricter interpretation of the tackle area.

Releasing the player and then getting back up (in two separate movements) is alien to all players. I know the IRB says the stricter approach to the tackle has been introduced since November but I haven’t seen it enforced in England or Europe like Jonathan Kaplan did at Croke Park and I play a few games now and then.

Why couldn’t Wayne Barnes or Chris White not have been given a game of such magnitude?

I’ve always been coached that once the tackle is made to use my momentum to slide back on my feet to contest for the ball.

The other major change is not being allowed support your own body weight by resting your knees or elbows on the ball-carrier’s body. Kaplan at least twice pinged Ireland for “elbows”. Two shots at goal in a three-point game.

Professional rugby players, have been getting away with this for years by putting some weight on your elbows, some weight through your knees and your feet. It was perfectly legal and Ireland were unbelievable at it but suddenly they change a fundamental way the game is played.

Would the summer not have suited better so a new approach could be honed in preseason?

Maybe I’m asking too much here but I fail to see the common sense element of all this.

It’s a nightmare not only for the player but the referee as well. They are coming up from the Super 14 and have to adjust to the Six Nations player mindset.

Kaplan had different interpretations not just of the breakdown but the scrum.From the 67th to the 72nd minute we had a scrum situation with a bemused Euan Murray eventually penalised. Nobody wants to see five minutes of resetting scrums.

Maybe we got suckered into playing a fast and loose game that suited the Scots but, in fairness, having spoken to Mike Catt, who knows Andy Robinson from Bath and England, the man gets teams playing for him. They should have beaten Wales and England.

Catt also mentioned Gregor Townsend as someone with a serious rugby brain as was also evident from the way he played.

The value of a left-footed kicker cannot be overstated either. Hugo Southwell’s boot got Scotland out of jail several times. A right-footer might have been charged down considering where the defence was coming from. The Killer B’s also did some quality counter-rucking.

The focus now switches to Leinster and Munster lifting some heavy spirits almost immediately as the Heineken Cup quarter-finals are less than a fortnight away. It makes for a marked contrast from last season when everyone returned to their day jobs on cloud nine.

This morning’s attitude may well determine how the provinces see out the season.

The Six Nations is an eight-week period of massive intensity, physically and mentally. Players must give everything; there is one day off a week and maybe a couple of weekends. The majority of the time is spent surrounded by grown men in the confines, albeit salubrious, of a hotel. It is life in a bubble so coping with the intensity and inevitable mental drag is the mark of a top-level professional.

Paul O’Connell said last year that on the Tuesday after achieving the Grand Slam everyone was back on the provincial training grounds. Back slogging it out as if nothing had happened.

A Grand Slam or even a Triple Crown at least ensures players are returning on a massive high, whereas at London Irish we are dealing with Delon Armitage and Paul Hodgson who have both been dropped by a struggling England and Steffon Armitage who has been in and out of Martin Johnson’s squad.

How we turn that into a positive as quickly as possible, get them playing well immediately, is a massive challenge. It helped that Paul joined us in Tenerife this week for our warm weather tune-up.

Life in camp is simple; when you are winning you love being around the lads. When coming off consecutive defeats the strain begins to show and relationships are tested.

But the change of environment and sun in Tenerife this week has been great for the soul. We looked at what we’ve been doing wrong and how we can fix it and at what we’ve been doing right and how we can develop that.

The lads seem grand if the South Sea islanders having the guitars out is anything to go by.

We have had one of the worst winters for several seasons so we needed this. We’ve got some quality work done heading into the last six games of the season and the play-offs are still in sight.

I’m not a sun-bed man but Matt Lovell, a nutritionist for England and London-Irish, actually recommends a session every six weeks, for the vitamin D impact.

Another key element of camp is the characters that come to the surface. Naturally every group of lads has at least one lady-killer around the pool. This being spurred on by the presence of the Polish (female) beach volleyball team although there was stiff competition from the German (male) swim team. Paul Biedermann – who beat Michael Phelps last year was there. Plenty of not so subtle muscle-flexing.

There are a few lads who get paid to play rugby for a living but really they want to be body builders. Gym monkeys discard their upper attire at the first opportunity to show off the ripples.

Of course, every squad has a Ned Flanders. Someone who just can’t shut up. Ryan Lamb is a funny lad and good for team morale but there is no stopping him once he gets going.

There is also someone who has been to Elevenerife. A ‘Topper,’ who always has to go one better on every story they hear.

We also have the ‘Keano’ is our camp. The guy who always gives 100 percent, no matter what, even if it is grab rugby at the end of a session. Take a bow John Rudd who also doubles up as one of our aspiring Olympic power lifters.

There is, of course, The Shambles. Always late. No passport. Wears the wrong kit to training.

The set-up was plush. Manchester City were there a few weeks back so it is top of the range. All we’ve got to do now is put it all together on the pitch.

Sale come to the Madjeski this Sunday as part of our annual St Patrick’s day celebrations. I know, a bit late, but a full house decked in green is expected.