The good, the bad and New Plymouth
HughFarrelly assesses a tour on which he incurred Kiwi wrath and watched Ireland lose all three games, but saw promising signs
Tom Court tackles Australia's Matt Giteau during Ireland's loss in Brisbane on Saturday - defence, however, was an area in which Ireland struggled for much of the tour Down Under. Photo: Tony Phillips / Sportsfile
THE numbers make for pretty grim reading. Twenty-three days, 11 flights, six hotels, 12 pairs of recycled boxers, four 'Taranaki Daily News' attacks, one mayoral condemnation and more hakas than you could shake a stick at.
And that's just from this side of the fence: the Ireland players and management could add in three defeats, 14 tries conceded, an unfeasible number of withdrawals and one red card.
A downbeat tour ended on a downbeat note in Brisbane when the Wallabies held off an under-powered, mentally drained Ireland for a seven-point victory following a contest that could most readily be described as 'dour'. Not that it felt like anyone in Ireland was paying much attention.
This last four weeks of rugby action were always going to struggle to capture the imagination of the Irish public, who had the World Cup and the early (step-out, step-in again) shenanigans of the GAA championships to enthuse over.
Consequently, rugby coverage was pushed back in the sports pages and down the list in the radio and TV bulletins and it was not hard to see why. Flatness is an unavoidable consequence of over-exposure and the rugby season seemed never-ending even before this journey south.
As for the host countries, Ireland, particularly after the injury onslaught that ripped the guts out of their squad, were merely Tri Nations warm-up fodder for the All Blacks. The Kiwi media focus was almost exclusively on New Zealand with a token nod to Brian O'Driscoll's "Fighting Irish" (or "Shameful Seamuses" as they were dubbed after Jamie Heaslip's red card).
It wasn't quite as patronising in Australia because there was a genuine worry that the Wallabies could come undone, such was the feebleness of their performance in their second-Test defeat to England. Yet the Wallabies were something of an afterthought in Australia last week, ranked way below the Socceroos, Wimbledon, rugby league and whatever AFL scandal was going on.
However, while Saturday's Test was a fittingly low-key end -- certainly in terms of the quality of fare -- this tour was a worthwhile if winless exercise which threw up plenty of topics for debate.
Hits
New additions: Who could have predicted at the start of the season that Rhys Ruddock, Damien Varley, Dan Tuohy and Chris Henry would be capped before their next summer holidays? All came through strongly, as did Johne Murphy and relative rookies Sean Cronin and Niall Ronan, while the most gratifying cap won on this tour was the one that went to John Fogarty. For services rendered to Irish rugby, that honour was well deserved and those few minutes for Fogarty against New Zealand are worth more than the 13 caps won by Ross Nesdale in the late 1990s -- a hooker who was about as Irish as the Maori spear we brought back from Rotorua.
Old stagers: With so many experienced heads absent, it was vital that Declan Kidney had leaders to step up in adverse circumstances. Donncha O'Callaghan had a good tour in this regard, on the pitch and around the squad. Geordan Murphy showed excellent leadership, and form, against the Maori, while Mick O'Driscoll used all his experience to turn around a malfunctioning line-out against the Wallabies. Other players who have been around the block to step up to the mark were Paddy Wallace, Gavin Duffy and Andrew Trimble -- a rejuvenated 'veteran' at 25.
Expansion: As well as expanding playing resources through the new additions mentioned above, there was a definite extension in the width and verve of Ireland's back-line play. When Ireland landed the Grand Slam last year, backs coach Alan Gaffney was the least referenced member of the coaching ticket as the Irish stuck to a pragmatic game-plan revolving around kicking for territory and points. The Australian was front and centre on this trip and the Irish backs showed in the second half against the All Blacks and against the Maori that they had the ability to mix it up wide -- good to know heading into World Cup year with the new interpretations.
Mark Tainton: A tough Six Nations for the kicking coach when Jonathan Sexton got the yips, but Ireland's place-kicking stats on tour were up above 90pc.
Spirit: The intangible quality that shone through strongly on this trip. It may seem like a straw-clutching exercise to point to good morale and camaraderie when all three matches were lost but, given what transpired in New Plymouth, the Maori and Australia games would have been a lot worse without it.
Misses
Defence: Last week, Les Kiss mentioned Ireland's record of conceding just 16 tries in 18 internationals prior to the tour and then they shipped 14 in three outings. Admittedly, being down a man (and two men for 10 minutes) didn't help against the All Blacks but there were still tries conceded in all three games that should have been prevented.
No 9s: Not a good trip for the scrum-halves. Tomas O'Leary produced strong defence but had issues with his passing, Eoin Reddan's passing was up to scratch but he had problems with his speed to the breakdown, while Peter Stringer got just 17 minutes of game-time as designated cover. Nonetheless, these are quality No 9s who will be there for the World Cup.
Scrum: Ireland need a tight-head to lock the scrum and the weakened Wallabies front row exposed the crippling Irish weakness in this area. It comes back to the issue of overseas players being indulged by the provinces. So, it's broken record time again. Mike Ross is a tight-head who can perform this critical function in every game but needs a regular run of starts for Leinster to make his point and to bring on the rest of his game. The national team should always come first but the number of foreign props in the Irish set-up continues to suggest otherwise.
Southern pain: The hoodoo continues. A win of any description on this tour would have been a psychological godsend come World Cup time.
New Plymouth: Nothing to do with the scenery, warmth of welcome or vitriolic response to the piece in these pages questioning the dubious levels of diversion on a wet Thursday night. Rather, it is in terms of facilities for fans that you would question New Plymouth's capabilities of being a proper World Cup venue. Accommodation is relatively sparse and a three-hour wait for a taxi on match night is unacceptable. They have a year to sort it out.
Summary
This is a tour that will quickly be forgotten by the Irish rugby public but one that could have a significant bearing on Ireland's World Cup aspirations. For all the troubles to befall the expedition, those that made it there and back again will recall aspects of it very fondly. The 34-hour return journey, followed by a summer of hibernation allows plenty of time for the repercussions to ferment in exhausted minds.
The hangover will be intense and slightly surreal but this tour may also just allow Irish rugby to wake up the stronger once the various demons are attacked.
To sleep, perchance to swipe at imaginary crows ... .
- Hugh Farrelly
Irish Independent
