Heartening displays from Rory Best and Marcus Horan were the major positives as Ireland A went down 17-13 to England Saxons at The Rec.
Ireland took to the field with experienced players in key positions against a relatively callow England XV. There were sub themes aplenty with RBS 6 Nations starting next week and Best and Peter Stringer were two of the men with a chance to get Declan Kidney’s attention.
Irish eyes were also focussed on loosehead prop Horan, returning from a lengthy spell out caused by a minor heart complaint.
An unusually poor Celtic rock version of Ireland’s call got proceedings off to an odd start but if the anthems were ersatz, the action didn’t disappoint.
Ireland started by dropping Shane Geraghty’s kick-off – John Muldoon at fault – but the England out-half let Ireland off the hook with a weak high chip inside the 22 which Gavin Duffy gratefully marked.
Ireland had the next opportunity and worked the ball smartly from the half-way line to the English 22 before winning a penalty almost dead in front of the posts for England going into a ruck off their feet. Paddy Wallace duly put Ireland ahead.
Best’s handling and smarts in the tight were already paying dividends and the Banbridge man looked in fine fettle early on. Horan also did well enough in the early exchanges, coping in the scrum and playing smart, tidy rugby in the loose.
Stringer looked slightly more uncertain, passing behind his first receiver on occasion, and making uncharacteristic errors throughout the first half.
But England soon went ahead. The Ireland scrum creaked first, conceding a penalty in a scrum on half-way and England punted to touch inside the 22. England back-rower Dave Attwood claimed the lineout ball at the tail and mauled and with penalty advantage for collapsing showing, England went to the blindside where scrum-half Ben Youngs linked with Harlequins winger Dave Strettle for the opening try. A well worked score but the chance was yielded by an Irish error in defensive organisation, with Ian Dowling marked absent on the left wing having stepped in to the centre.
Geraghty kicked the touchline conversion to give England a 7-3 lead.
From the kick-off, Dowling, eager to atone, gave another penalty, this time for hitting the man in the air and Ireland needed a boost.
Right wing Fionn Carr threatened to supply it with a moment of pure class, slicing England open with a beguiling sidestep when running from deep but Ireland failed to capitalise with Stringer again at fault. Carr’s break established a beachhead in the England 22 but the scrum-half went left to a well marked and unprepared Horan, ignoring a good alignment on the other side. Outnumbered, the Shannon prop turned it over and Ireland were repelled.
To their credit, Ireland kept the pressure on and England captain George Skivington handed them another easy three points soon after by reaching a long arm into an Ireland ruck. Wallace again converted the easy shot.
But England struck again when they up and undered from their own 22 and reclaimed – with a hint of a knock on – and with a quick ruck and a numbers miss-match, were able to get Geraghty in under the sticks for another try after good work down the wing from Kato. Geraghty again converted, this time from in front of the sticks, to put daylight between the sides at 14-6.
A third penalty – again for a rucking offence – gave Ireland a chance to reel in England again but this time, from close to the 10 metre line, Wallace couldn’t hit the mark and England went in eight points ahead and in control.
For Peter Stringer and Ian Dowling, prospects of a call into the senior squad had receded after poor showings in the opening half.
Both made a plethora of erros during the first half with Stringer struggling to connect with Wallace with any fluency and making a couple of handling errors at the base of the ruck and from off the top lineout ball.
Best departed at the break with John Fogarty coming in, the Ulster man apparently having done enough and he looks a shoo-in to be involved against Italy next week. Ryan Caldwell and Darren Cave also came in at the break, with Caldwell replacing captain Mick O’Driscoll after he took a bang to the head towards the end of the half and Cave replacing Matthews.
Ireland looked sharper after the break but having gone close down both wings, couldn’t find a way through just after the half.
But England worked their way back into it and Kato continued to look dangerous whenever he ran from deep. Ireland were also alive to chances as the game loosened up -Fergus McFadden’s decision to launch an attack with a chip and chase from under his own sticks epitomising the new attacking spirit.
Ireland got the next decent chance, yet another England rucking offence – handling their own ruck ball on the deck this time – giving Ireland a lineout platform 10 yards from the England line.
Ireland mauled off Caldwell but were stymied well enough and referee Jerome Garces eventually lost patience with England’s rucking indiscipline, giving England prop Paul Doran-Jones a yellow for flopping over an Ireland ruck ball that had been won in a promising position.
Stringer, who had continued to mix bright sequences with errors for, departed along with Tony Buckley with Ulster scum-half Isaac Boss and Leinster tighthead Mike Ross coming in for their chance to impress.
Ross immediately made an impact as Ireland took the chance to scrum and did so powerfully. Boss and Chris Henry, who had replaced Muldoon, took advantage of the hard yard won, with Boss breaking and feeding Henry inside to get the Ulster captain in untouched and Wallace converted from dead in front. Game on.
A mix-up between Carr and Cave, as Carr attempted to run back a kick gave England a chance to take the margin out to four. Geraghty stepped up to take the long range shot from 47 metres – at the very limit of his range – and could only hook it wide.
Ian Humphreys deservedly got his chance to impress for the final 10 minutes, replacing McFadden with Wallace moving to 12 but the Ulster pivot unfortunately had a nightmare spell.
Unfortunately, he started with an error. Gavin Duffy’s long pass looked a poor decision to Humphreys and he followed it with another, which Paddy Wallace then knocked on on his own 22.
But Ireland shoved magnificently – Ross again showing his power - and when the ball spewed out the back of the England scrum, they collected through Henry who fed Boss. The Ulster scrum-half sprinted clear and then got it to Carr and for a second, he looked like going the length of the field for what would surely have been the winning score.
Instead, Geraghty made a fantastic fingertip tap tackle to bring him down and keep England in the lead.
Ireland continued to apply the pressure with a series of scrums down the right wing and got to within 10 yards of the English line.
Humphreys eyed a drop goal shot with six minutes to go but turned it down with England getting pressure up in time.
An Irish scrum gave him another chance to strike the killer blow but he failed to get his pass away and spilled. Ireland gathered but were knocked back outside drop goal range.
A knock on by Carr after another Humphreys passing error gave England the chance to lift the pressure and close it out. A Geraghty kick put Ireland back on their own 22 and when Humphreys’ chip didn’t work out – it almost handed England a final try as Kato briefly had space – the game was up for Ireland A and it finished with a final Geraghty penalty for a Henry offside.
All in all, a good workout for Ireland’s fringe men with Best, Boss, Henry and O’Brien all providing food for thought. In terms of the broader picture, occasional lapses down the Irish blindside will also have been noted by opposition defensive coaches.
