Ireland still suffering from inferiority complex?

by Brendan Cole

Ireland managed to right the ship against England but their record against the very best is still the most troubling thing about this year's RBS 6 Nations.

The positive is that Ireland have shown an ability to grow and develop in the past. Take a look at the team's trajectory over the last 20 years and the story is one of slowly but surely growing gradually until they come to dominate rivalries with Scotland and Wales during the 1990s, and England during the 2000s.

Australia, New Zealand, France and South Africa are next on the list (excluding the special case that is Argentina). At this stage, Ireland have already made strides against Australia and South Africa. However, New Zealand and France still have a massive psychological edge in big games. To date, they are the only teams which have essentially forced Ireland out of games through sheer power and intensity in the Declan Kidney era (recall that the All Blacks did it at Croke Park early on in his reign, and it happened again against France in the pivotal game of this year’s RBS 6 Nations).

Ireland - not comfortable playing their 'betters'?

The defeat to France in particular hinted that a mental issue with playing against their ‘betters’ still hampers this Ireland team. On some level, Ireland still see New Zealand and France as a step way outside of their comfort zone. Fundamentally, the squad does not appear to believe they are quite good enough to beat the best on a regular basis.

The positive of the last number of years is that Ireland have spent the last 15 years slowly but surely eliminating those mental issues against other teams: the example of the relationship between Ireland and England is still a superb model of how what once seemed impossible can become reality.

Right now however, Ireland shy away from the pragmatism they do so well and towards a more elaborate gameplan that actually makes it harder to win against the biggest teams. 

Think back again to the France match: pre-match, Ireland players talked up the need to play a big first 20 minutes in order to turn around a bad run of results. And they played that big first 20: keyed up rugby at breakneck pace. Fatally, they failed to score points and as so often happens, France were able to soak up the pressure before turning a small momentum shift into a wave, scoring a cascade of points into the bargain.

France were calm and confident in the face of hyperactive Ireland and when they got the chance, they were utterly ruthless. Having begun at 100mph, Ireland had no response to the step up. Game Over.

Have Ireland neglected a little of the magic of 2009?

That is not to say Ireland would have beaten France with a better plan. But there is no doubt that in the opening spell of the match, and also just before half-time, Ireland failed to apply the simple principles that delivered for them in 2009. In that sense, it can be argued that rather than evolving, Ireland actually forgot some of what it was that made them so hard to beat in 2009. The other fundamental of the Grand Slam was Ireland’s ability to work with match situations instead of fighting them: recall the matches against Italy and Scotland.

Simplicity works so well for them: so why do Ireland try to do it differently against their most feared opponents?

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The broader context for Ireland and every international rugby team is that the structure of the RBS 6 Nations and the top level calendar means one-off games, rather than lengthy series of League contests, define the pecking order. The Rugby World Cup is no different.

The idea of playing perfect rugby is not always helpful.

It's interesting to take a look outside of rugby at a high quality Premier League side such as Manchester United. Alex Ferguson’s men can afford play a robust attacking style home and away from week to week and rely on a high scoring rate to either blitz the opposition early or mount a comeback should they go behind.

The occasional slip up is more than compensated for by lengthy spells of heavy points scoring and in general, aggression pays off. United play to a different template in Europe, recognising the realities of the competition they are involved in. On the other hand, you have Liverpool, who emphasise ‘not losing’ over winning despite the fact that wins are worth three points and draws just one, or Arsenal, purveyors of a delicate ‘perfect’ football that is prone to collapse under certain conditions.

In the RBS 6 Nations, the power and skill advantage to dominate every game is simply not within the compass of any one team. It is even tougher to play ‘perfect’ rugby away from home, where somewhat unfamiliar stadia and hostile crowds make for disorienting environments. As Ireland found against France, communication can be a problem.

That is not a criticism and Ireland are not alone in falling prey to the seductive idea of becoming the complete rugby team: it was also the fatal flaw of the New Zealand team that caused them to leave the Rugby World Cup behind them in France in 2007, despite playing the best rugby.

Though the rules and breakdown situation requires constant monitoring, Ireland are at their best inflicting punishment in defence and attacking in small, concentrated bursts of quality: the values that delivered the Grand Slam in 2009.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally, lots of interesting comment here and elsewhere on the last blog. As was pointed out, it is tough to get accurate height/weight stats. Among the most recent measurements released into the public domain are the Lions, and that has Ferris down as 18 stone plus. He was back to under 17 last week. Go figure........

As one commenter pointed out, it is probably easier to base remarks on simple observation. For what it's worth, personally, I think it is fair to say that Ferris is the most powerful forward in the Irish pack and his strength could yet be harnessed in the Irish second row. Ireland cannot afford to have a creaky scrum in New Zealand 2011.

Have to say I'm also baffled as to why Mike Ross can't get near the Irish (or main Leinster) setup as he looked very useful against Cardiff last week - and despite giving away one penalty for popping up looks a rock solid scrummager.

Maybe he's being kept in reserve!