Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

We played Prendergast on the bench at 19 versus Australia also.

We did, but I without Skelton, I wouldn't classify their pack as as difficult / heavyweight in comparison to Fra or SA.

Ahern needs to stop getting injured first

Haven't had a chance to watch it back properly but some thoughts:

TRK had a very insightful piece earlier this week as to how SA play and how to try and combat against it. The TLDR version that caught my eye is you need to pressure their lineout and make ours a weapon, dominant kicking game and try your best for parity in the scrums (a big ask admittedly against this lot). Need to take points when in the red zone.
Post match - we failed on all. 

Line lineout - our was 73% (11 throws) SA: 86% (21 throws - way more opportunities for them here as well as a better completion rate). 

• 
  Kicking - SP's kicking was largely on the money last week and our chasers got great ball back for us or forced errors. This week his (and JGP also lest ye think I'm honing on in him alone) kicking was poor. We kicked 29 times. We only got 2 of our 9 contestable kicks back cleanly. There were some aimless ones (here's an example -  https://streamable.com/0dtgpa ). Both him and TOB booted a ball into touch on the full. There were a couple of restarts (like against Munster that I pointed out previously) that went down into the 22, no chance for chasers and ample time for SA to clear their lines well. They got to claim several uncontested and others ones we didn't get the bounce or knocked it on. 

• The problem with the ones being knocked on by either team is that we were getting absolutely hosed in the scrum so it compounded the error. So then we started kicking long which meant we just gave the ball back to them.

SA had 71% of their possession in our half, I'd argue mostly down to kicking. We lost the kicking game and that's all we really had up our sleeve 'cos when you looked at the teamsheet we sure as hell hadn't the pace or guile to go around them in the backs or the strength to go through them. 

Scrums - an unmitigated disaster. Some poor reffing for some of them in the second half but by then the 'picture' had been painted for the refs. Still, he even gave us some sympathy ones where they demolished us and he told the 9 to just get the ball out. I'm shaking my head at those on about changing the scrum rules - dominant team deserves to get the penalties and the inverse. I don't blame SA for going after us here, the dogs in the street can tell you Porter is a poor scrummager. That should have been a 20+ point loss. 

Linebreaks - 3 in the whole game off over 90 rucks. They had 5 on almost 60 rucks. Two of ours were by James Lowe. He's a pure blunt force trauma winger these days... but you could put any of our backrows out on the wing and I think they'd do what James Lowe does (bar the kicking admittedly, though even that isn't at its best level, Crowley saved his blushes with the Kolbe charge down and kick-through). 

We've an outside centre who passed 3 times in the whole game. Bealham, Conan, Furlong, Doris, Beirne, Cian Prendergast all passed more. And he's like this most of the time and has been for years, I don't know how this doesn't get more comment. Did make 10 tackles but missed a couple, can't fault his effort all the same. Our 10 on the day offered virtually no running threat allowing them to fan out, and once put under pressure dithered several times or made poor decisions with speculative long passes. Aki trucked it up as he does but he's not as effective any more at that and they handled him well all day I thought.

Defence - JvdF, Doris and Porter (for all his criticisms in the scrum) fronted up well on the tackling front. Baird, for all his lineout heroices during the series (and he has been good overall) only carried for 4 metres off 4 carries and made 6 tackles. His lineout work has been peerless but I'd like to see more from him with ball in hand to be honest. Sheehan was another who went a bit missing at the coalface tackle-wise. 

Beirne wasn't his superstar self either this series but got his customary couple of turnovers and 8 tackles. In fairness, SP made almost all of his tackles, which is progress...  I still felt like he was getting dragged along for the post-contact metres ride for a lot of those tackles but at least he's bringing players down in a game. The flap cost us a lot of territory and I thought he shouldn't have let their 10 walk in for that try, JGP had too much to do and it was the wrong call, needed to make the carrier think. Maybe others might see that differently though, would be interested to hear. Crowley spared his blushes with that bouncing ball in the second half, needed to dive on that. It's no shock that he doesn't go well without a platform but as down as all as I'm sure ye think I am on him, the fact is he has youth on his side and needs days like this no more than a young prop does. I just think it's all been a bit too soon for him. The defence thing is hard to get past though, he's tackling less than last year per 80 mins I read today. I'll reiterate though, he still has plenty of time to improve his game.

Paddy McCarthy is one of the few bright spots (along with Baird). I don't mind a young prop getting folded if they're doing it elsewhere around the pitch. Beggars belief that Cian Healy went on as long as he did. Literally ANY young prop would have been more beneficial.

TOB - not sold on him to be honest. Maybe it was the hype on here but he doesn't seem to have this searing pace I'm reading about (at this level anyway or didn't back himself at all) and had a fair stack of errors across the series with knock-ons, poor kicks, turnovers (3 the other day). I certainly didn't see him lay a big claim to the jersey. The likes of Calvin Nash (who is probably a solid/serviceable at best international winger if I'm honest) can do what he does. I think both wing spots are up for grabs, Mack is probably the only locked in for me, I think James Lowe's race may be finally run. 

Crowley's penalty was absolutely idiotic, even if the ref ignored similar before that. You can't do that in a ruck and get away with it with eleventy hundred cameras on you. Had a tidy game out of position after that, and replicated the great scramble defence he did against Leinster, against Kolbe of all chasers. 

Doris had an industrious game bar a couple of turnovers, not sure I like him as captain but that's a whole other conversation.

James Ryan just seems a big pile of meh the past few years. I think there are others who can do what he does in terms of rucking/tackling and probably give a bit more if given the chance. There are plenty of young locks chomping at the bit.Like Porter, he looks a bit jaded and should have gotten a bit of a shake a couple of years ago that his place isn't a given. 

All in all a chastening lost and a series that has thrown up a lot of questions. There's either a shakeup in playing personnel needed or a change in coaching/gameplan... or both. 

*I'd give Paddy McCarthy and another prop the Six Nations jerseys, make Porter 3rd choice and tell him go away and learn to scrummage/rest and come back next year and fight for his jersey again. 

*Izzy/Edogbo/Ahern/whoever to take James Ryan's jersey for the Six Nations. 

*Are we really going to go through another Autumn Series and Six Nations not really trying another 7? Let Timoney/Hodnett/whoever get decent game-time in the three home games if you're gonna let JvdF play England/France away.

*Casey needs some more starts. 

*10... oh god, I think Crowley is the better player and will be the better player of the current two (shock, I know) but we need options. Harry Byrne could force his way into the reckoning. Whoever plays away from home is getting the dirty end of the stick but Crowley is better built for those sorts of games. Let SP play Italy and Wales where he'll get a better platform.

*Thanks for your service Bundee, let's try some of the Ulster young lads or Dan Kelly or Osbourne.

*13... I don't think Ringrose is out to pasture yet at all but we do need to try other options. Ulster's young lads have caught the eye. 

*New wingers please, Mack to play away from home. 

*New attack coach and lineout coach please.

Great post! Thought lock was shown as a position of weakness this series. With McCarthy out and Henderson not up to it we had to place a tall backrow there for a lot of minutes and it certainly didn't help an already weak scrum. In future every 23 should have a bench option that is a lock first and foremost,and if they can cover backrow at a push then great. Edogbo needs to be fast tracked (fitness permitting) with Ahern and Izzy options too. Ryan has his strengths but too often is average in games and doesnt offer around the field what we once hoped he would. Baird should have 6 nailed down but he's out for a few months now which is typical. Back 5 of beirne, joe, izzy, doris and a new 7 would be my hope, with edogbo on bench

Ya those lineout calls in Irish camp have worked great the last few weeks. Not sure how being familiar with them at Leinster is any advantage. Soroka was probably the best performer of a well beaten backrow unit when Leinster played Munster too but it seems the members of that Munster unit are 'too risky'. Even Jack O'Donoghue, who has 2 Ireland caps and is unlikely to get anymore, has more high level experience and also outplayed Soroka on that occasion. Not saying Soroka is a bad player but he has a long queue ahead of him for the Leinster 6 jersey, not to mention the Ireland 6 jersey. What about Cian P also? Oh I forgot, he plays at Connacht so must also be too risky in your eyes.

No wonder the national team is on the slide with attitudes like this.

I don’t think there’s much evidence any of Edogbo, Ahern or Izuchukwu are better scrummaging locks than Baird, and I’d say there’s a good chance Ahern is likely quite a bit worse given his gangly frame.

As poor as Leinster were against Munster in Croke Park, they utterly dominated the scrums.

Edogbo looks like he has all the ingredients for a prototype tight head lock and I’d love to see him accelerated and getting a good healthy spell, but the other two as the same players basically as Baird - more blindsides than locks.

Best thing irish rugby can do is to ship nienabaar and his anti rugby methods back to rassie and the saffers, the leinster boys have gone backwards since his arrival and he is the epitome of anti rugby

An yet SA play this same defensive system and we didn't try one chip kick or grubber against them. We know exactly how to play against it and instead we hoof the ball up un the air leading to knock ons and scrums. Scrums that we know we'll be 2nd best in.

Neinabar isn't to blame for either Leinster or Ireland's issues. The blame lies far closer to home.

I liked this post as thought you was being ‘ironic’ with the cohesion bit, then saw you’d doubled down in a follow up post. We really need to stop with the ‘cohesion’ or ‘familiar with the system’ **ite, it’s done us no favours this autumn having 8 front row players from the one team. Each player needs judging on his own merit, nothing against Soroka, I’ve liked what I’ve seen of him so far but the idea that he comes in to Leinster for an injured Baird and that automatically gets him into the Ireland six nations squad is a bit of a stretch.