Sean O’Donnell at the Aviva
Oh we of little Faith! How could we have doubted them? After all the years of Joe Schmidt and Andy Farrell, all the days of coming good in the final reel, how could we have felt so despondent, so downcast after the first 40? For in truth in the first half the tide was out. England enjoyed themselves as they splashed and gambolled in the shallow water. But the tide came in and produced a healthy swell and waves sufficiently choppy that England could not surf them. For that was the scale of the transformation that ensued in this ultimate game of 2 halves. I have since watched the game back and slept on what I saw and I offer here my considered musings to complement the excellent account given by our man in the press box, Peter Burke. All thoughts are welcome just no high tackles or Cunninghan-South hits.
Play the ball not the man! The game began with England much the sharper side. Their kick chase game was excellent. They were more confident under the high balls which they placed with pinpoint accuracy for their onrushing chasers and our backs were quite jittery under their bombs. Our attempts to kick back to them were often too long and gave them vital extra seconds on the ball. Their passing and handling were right on the money whereas Irish players seemed not to want, much less expect, the ball. The big strong English players often wriggled out of tackles, asking huge questions of our scramble defence which one has to say was excellent throughout. Thus England were held to the early try from wing Murley and their 10-5 half time advantage flattered Ireland who had a lovely score from Jamison Gibson Park who stepped Freddy Steward leaving the latter grasping air. At half time we wondered how long we could hold out with desperate defence. We feared England scoring early in the second half and kicking on from there. Well only the fly on the dressing room wall knows what words of wisdom and inspiration emanated from Simon Easterby but the transformation was startling and evident straight away. Ireland carried bravely and assuredly. Gone was the hesitancy and sloppiness that characterised the first period.
Holes were being found in the strong England defence. We now had the initiative and were taking the game to England rather than reacting to their agenda. James Lowe was probing and being a continuous thorn in England’s side. Ireland got their reward when Bundee Aki scored a fine individual try using his considerable strength and power to barrel over a number of English heavyweights. Sam Prendergast narrowly missed his second conversion of the day but was on target with a penalty to put Ireland ahead for the first time. Heading into the final quarter did we dare to start counting down the clock? Well there was no need! A lovely break by James Lowe-unlucky in my opinion not to have gotten the player of the match gong but Jamison Gibson Park was a worthy recipient-found Tadhg Beirne running an excellent support line to finish the move. And then Dan Sheahan consummated his comeback from injury to take the inside scoring pass for Ireland’s fourth. A truly purple patch from the men in green! Thus the countdowm clock became delightfully superfluous as we begged for more. But it was job done even if the sheen was slightly removed when England managed to secure two late consolations and salvage themselves a losing bonus point. Hopefully this will not cause us any anxiety on the final weekend in Rome. And what of the hot topic?
The Sam v Jack soap opera. And here, dear reader, I implore you to please put away your blue and red tinted glasses. Simon Easterby never played for any Irish province in his playing days and like Andy Farrell has no axe to grind. He will continue to make judgements according to the situation as he sees it. As long as performances like yesterday continue on his watch I will not be calling him wrong anytime soon. But for me Jack shaded it. Sam passed very well and marshalled his troops efficiently. However, as against Australia, Jack added a touch of dynamism in keeping with the trend of the game. Sam’s positional kicking was a bit askew in the first half and overall he kicked one from three from the tee. This begs the question as to whether they should go with Sam and use Jack as an impact replacement. Again I am old fashioned and believe in opening with your best player and for me that is Jack by a short head . A healthy rivalry serves Irish Rugby well. Fair play too to the crowd who created an excellent atmosphere and greatly reduced the amount of disruptive moving about during play.
And, finally, a big Thank You to the stadium staff. As many of you will know I am now a wheelchair user and I attended the game with my friend Noel who has restricted mobility himself but still manages to push my chair through thick and thin. I had heard from the ticket office people that they were now giving renewed emphasis to patrons with disabilities and had appointed specialist people to assist us . Surely enough these were in evidence and along with the stewards they took a proactive approach to assisting people. Indeed one genial steward took the photograph we circulated on Irish Rugby Banter yesterday. This new initiative is most welcome. But I must make one final gripe. As Noel and I made our way back to the carpark we had to pass through fairly densely packed crowds of people enjoying post match drinks. People in large groups formed circles and we had to disturb them to break a path towards the lifts. I do not believe it would overtax anyone’s imagination to find a way to have a small passage which would have to be kept clear to allow wheelchairs and people with restricted mobility or with small children to make their way to the exits. Nor should it unduly affect the enjoyment of those socialising. Some signage indicating the way to the exits would not go amiss. The Irish heroes on the day are too numerous to mention but for me the aforementioned Lowe and Gibson Park stood out among the backs whereas upfront Finlay Bealham, along with Sheehan, Porter and Beirne all put in a great day’s work. The bench, if not quite a bomb squad, added their own layer to the transformation, particularly the two Jacks-Conan and Crowley.