After a disturbing night, Ireland’s players gathered in the dressing room and sat down to listen to Andy Farrell express his frustrations. The Ireland coach has rarely expressed his distaste for his team’s performance so openly, but it was a brutal night. As he later told ITV: “I’m obviously very disappointed because I never thought we’d be talking about this Ireland team, we had a bit of a lack of intention in the first half – missing tackles, winning scrums on the field or battles in the air, it was just intention. Without that you’re not going to win any international games, let alone a game in Paris.”
It’s shocking how different this feels. Most people have witnessed Ireland’s decline over the past 12 months, but even during the toughest days of that period, one was never able to question their needs, desires or quality. Indeed, even on a day in November when the Springboks unraveled their disarray and raised questions about the structure of the game, at one point in the final minutes it felt like Ireland could snatch the title away. In Paris, any hopes of Ireland winning quickly faded into the drizzly night.
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Captain Kellan Dorris said little in the dressing room afterwards but delivered a key message. “Make the right calls,” Farrell asked his players as they regrouped before the second round – and it will be the team’s responsibility to identify and fix them after a number of issues have come to light. “We didn’t want to be a chasing team,” Doris reflected. “We have left ourselves a mountain too big to climb.”
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As always, one shouldn’t overreact to a week, but Farrell’s frustration speaks for itself. If, as Hemingway did not write about, the collapse of a great rugby team happens gradually, then suddenly some parts of Ireland will be worried about a team that can no longer mix with the elite. Now, their absence from the Paris game has eased – 12 injuries, a prop crisis, Bundee Aki’s suspension – but much of their game was not up to par with what it should have been, with Ireland dominating in the air and attacking line. The ball bounced in France’s favour, but as Farrell said: “I think this is a game where you make your own luck.”
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There is, of course, a feeling that the head coach’s break from the British and Irish Lions may come at the wrong time for a team in need of rejuvenation. No one begrudged the Englishman that he had seized the opportunity, or that he was carrying a healthy Irish squad, but it all but put the reloading and re-equipment effort on hold. While England and Scotland have accelerated their next generation on tough tours of Argentina and the Pacific Islands, games against Georgia and especially Portugal last July are perhaps not the best way to assess the Test readiness of those knockers.
Farrell appeared frustrated at the lack of preparation time ahead of Thursday night’s kick-off, despite taking part in the team’s regular training camp in the Algarve. There is suspicion that strategic differences between Ireland and Leinster over the past few years have meant that some provinces have taken longer to catch up, while the other three provinces face tougher challenges. Talented Edwin Edogbo could make his debut in Paris if he has been part of an Ireland training camp before. He likely won’t have much of an impact, but Farrell feels Lock isn’t quite at the pace he needs to be.
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It’s been an interesting season for the Irish sides in the United Rugby Championship, with Munster unable to sustain a strong start and Leinster often winning despite poor performances. Ulster’s form is encouraging, but doubts remain whether the next batch of Test match animals will actually emerge. For a country with a fairly small player base, this is a natural fluctuation. There is also a sense that international rugby has transcended Irish dogma. Once dominated by their high-precision, high-intensity multi-phase attack, the game is increasingly becoming one of fast attack from the kicking game, and Ireland are not necessarily strong in this area.
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This is a problem that at least feels solvable. France have improved a lot in the air as they progress, and it should be said that Ireland have lost two of their favorite three defenders due to injury. The fly-half question may be a harder one to answer – Sam Prendergast’s low ceiling, and especially his defensive deficiencies, are currently more evident than his high ceiling. It’s strange to think back to Marseille two years ago when Jack Crawley seemed to seize the opportunity and don the No. 10 shirt. While Monsterman had lost form and perhaps confidence, Prendergast still showed no such words. While Group of Six hopes are not entirely lost, he and Ireland still have something to think about.
