A CURSE IN DISGUISE?
A curse in disguise? Ireland’s thirty-metre drive up the middle of Croke Park in the 76th minute was the maul of the championship and looked for all the world like being the final nail in the French coffin. However, the cruel fact of the matter is that had it been halted a few yards further back it is almost certain we would be discussing an Irish victory this morning. Instead, Ireland had to take the three points, putting them four clear with four minutes to go; possibly the worst lead in rugby.
The psychology of a four-point margin is terrible. A neither here nor there gap it created the perfect template for Ireland’s eventual mugging. By going four points behind, the French suddenly gained a collective awareness of exactly what they needed to do. Drop goals and penalties went out the window and they settled down to play rugby in its purest form; as a running, try scoring game. Meanwhile, the margin served to muddy the waters for the Irish. Should they rush up and blitz the French to limit their momentum? Or should they drop back slightly and try to make sure they weren’t left open to the sucker punch? In the end uncertainty abounded, and an ultimately disastrous chaos reigned.
Clearly, the bounce of the ball was crucial, but the unfortunate redrawing of psychological boundaries must be factored in to any assessment of this match’s endgame. Like poker players putting all their chips in for a last, desperate shy at the jackpot, France relaxed. Ireland, meanwhile, were like men coming to the end of a tightrope who have just looked down for the first time. As the sports’ shrinks are wont to put it, they got, all of a sudden ‘out of the moment’.
TEAM SELECTION ISSUES
There are, of course, other issues. Should it have been as close as it was? Ireland would surely have won had Brian O’Driscoll been in the team. Once they lost him though, they got their selection wrong. Shane Horgan, an Irish legend and a tremendous winger, was the wrong choice at centre. So much of rugby is about body shape and when it comes to the international game Horgan, tall and long limbed but lacking zippy, hole punching speed, is not the kind of centre Ireland have built their years of success on.
Things clicked into place for Leinster and Ireland when he moved to the wing and Gordon D’Arcy went the other way. Both have prospered since and it was entirely predictable that Horgan’s shift back to midfield would result in a dip in form. Even worse, at a time when the backline was obviously misfiring, Ireland sent Andrew Trimble on to the wing and left Horgan in the middle for the last twenty minutes. This left them with a classically built and super talented centre on the wing and one of the best wings in the world in the centre. Horgan will, of course, return to the wing with Geordan Murphy likely to drop out of the team as penance for his missed tackle on Raphael Ibanez for the first try while Neil Best looks to have played his way back into the side.
CROKE PARK ATMOSPHERE
As for the Croke Park atmosphere, the connection between the crowd and the team was not what we had hoped for. The fifteen yard gap between the pitch and the crowd, and the fact that many people who have attended matches at Lansdowne for years weren’t able to get there this time for reasons of expense and availability, are two possible reasons for the occasional dullness. A large and passionate French contingent, the Sunday afternoon kick-off and the presence of a certain amount of ‘occasion’-driven watchers also contributed to the neutralising of the crowd. The effect of placing the schoolboys and schoolgirls in the Nally terrace should also not be underestimated. At Lansdowne, this section of the crowd is the always noisy if often irritating base of the buzz. This time their influence was peripheral and it is no accident that the crowd, while it was well able to respond to good play, was prone to odd periods of sustained silence (maybe the dignitaries and alickadoos, never the most vociferous, should swap places with the kids for England’s visit?)
LOOKING AHEAD
Looking ahead to the next round of matches, Ireland, although it is cold comfort, have little to fear. Against a brave and bold Italy, England looked back in the rut Andy Robinson built. In how the match sets up psychologically, Ireland’s defeat to France is just about the worst possible result for Brian Ashton’s men. Surely this Ireland team will do its fans the favour of canning talk of a ‘Grand Slam Showdown’ for another year at least?
Wales and Scotland, meanwhile, served up a horrendous mishmash of low skills and less ambition. Scotland remain limited. Wales’s future, meanwhile, is clearly one with James Hook at outhalf. Whether or not that future happens with Gareth Jenkins in charge is down to whether the Llanelli clubman realises that sooner rather than later.
