Kidney needs radical rethink
Worrying display demands change in approach and personnel
Ireland head coach Declan Kidney and captain Brian O'Driscoll at the post-match press conference. Photo: Sportsfile
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IRELAND went into their opening World Cup assignment stressing the need to enjoy themselves. This, they said, would see them produce their best rugby and get the campaign off to a positive start.
There was not a whole lot to enjoy yesterday.
Ireland were poor -- worryingly poor when you consider they have produced just one compelling performance (against England in March) to reflect upon from more than 12 months of rugby -- and the echoes of 2007 were sounding loud and clear at Taranaki Stadium.
This wasn't a warm-up match with nothing at stake; this was the biggest stage of all, with the rugby world watching. What was needed was a decisive display and comprehensive victory against the team ranked 18th in the world to send Declan Kidney's men into the critical Pool C clash with Australia carrying a belief they could upset the odds.
What we got was a spluttering 80 minutes of error and indecision -- interspersed with some bright moments -- that ended on a down note when Ireland's quest for a fourth-try bonus point turned into an American celebration as Paul Emerick raced onto Gordon D'Arcy's pass for an intercept try which he marked with an emotionally charged salute to the US supporters.
For Eddie O'Sullivan's side, it was a fitting way to round off an evening of monumental effort. The Americans used the heartfelt power of the 10-year 9/11 commemorations to fuel their exertions and they fought ferociously right to the end. They were helped by the awful conditions which, in the first half particularly, were reminiscent of the wind and rain you might ordinarily encounter at the Sportsground or Woodleigh Park.
However, US resistance and inclement weather are not sufficient to explain the deficiencies and lack of certainty in Ireland's play. Between spurned try opportunities and missed kicks (Jonathan Sexton missed three relatively straightforward attempts from five), Ireland left a stack of points behind them.
Yet, when Tommy Bowe crossed for the first touchdown just before half-time after good work by Sexton and a clever inside line, Ireland went 10-0 up with perfect timing. We expected them to kick on from a scrappy opening period and cruise away in the second, but it was the Americans who scored next through the boot of James Paterson and the errors that had pock-marked Ireland in the first half persevered.
Sexton was replaced by Ronan O'Gara on 51 minutes as the favourites sought greater control and two tries followed in the next 10 minutes, the first a well-worked forward effort from Rory Best and the second coming at the end of Ireland's best move of the match, with Bowe again profiting from an inside line, the pass this time from Brian O'Driscoll.
At 22-3 and three tries up, it was time for the Americans to fade and Ireland to sweep to their bonus-point goal but stoic defence, and an inadvertent scrum turnover, kept them out before the Americans finished on a high.
O'Sullivan deserves tremendous credit for masterminding this display. His side had less possession and only 30pc territory but, helped by the weather and referee Craig Joubert promoting chaos at the breakdown, they were set on destruct mode, with captain Todd Clever inspirational in the back-row.
Their coach can allow himself a wry smile at the turn of events for he was in charge when Ireland were in a similar confidence-draining position at the last World Cup. O'Sullivan and his players were unable to recover from a poor start to that tournament and that is the challenge facing Kidney now, principally the uncertainty and lack of creativity in the back-line, the high error count (conditions notwithstanding) and the absence of a discernible game plan.
Kidney said there was frustration in the camp at not getting the performance they sought and definite areas to work on but pointed to first-game nerves and stressed that the necessary improvements can be effected before facing a bullish Wallabies outfit in Auckland.
"You always want to have things free-flowing going into it... but it is what it is," said Kidney. "We need to take a look at it, but you know you have good players and you work with them.
"Having it put up to you isn't a surprise. We talked about the American lads -- not alone would they have had the day of emotion but it was like a job interview for them too, first game up, they are fresh, they are bursting to go. On our side, there were a bit of nerves going into it. They were tangible in the lead-up to the match in training, but that's not listing excuses. You have to able to cope with that.
"What we had to do to beat America was one thing, we just have to be smart when we play Australia next week."
So what does that entail? Well, against a Wallabies side buzzing from a Tri-Nations title and impressive opening win over Italy, the first thing Ireland need is to get assurance back into their ranks, and that starts with the game plan.
The positives yesterday were a powerful maul, an utterly dominant scrum, excellent lineout and, until that final play, an effective defence. These are powerful tools in a cup rugby environment and, given the paucity of invention in Ireland's back-line play, it is time to play the percentages with judicious use of back-line moves that carry a proven success rate.
Three line breaks and four off-loads against a weaker side like the US is unacceptable and there must be an injection of surety into the team to implement the pragmatic approach. Sexton had some good moments in general play but did not exude the overall confidence he has shown with Leinster, as evidenced by those missed kicks.
excellent
Confidence is a quality O'Gara does not lack and he could settle some of the doubts. Rob Kearney, who was zipping around as an extra in the warm-up, should be brought back in at full-back despite not playing for a month, and Cian Healy (despite an excellent scrum showing from Tom Court) and Sean O'Brien will bring more punch to the pack.
Ireland's midfield, short on game time, struggled yesterday and there is a case for bringing Fergus McFadden in for D'Arcy. When in doubt, go with form and McFadden's is better. Conor Murray deserves to hold on at scrum-half after another strong showing, while Andrew Trimble's power should be brought back onto the left wing, despite a decent display from Keith Earls.
With those changes and a streamlined approach there is still the capacity to get Ireland's campaign back on track -- maybe not with a victory but certainly with a better display than yesterday's dispiriting showing.
The prediction for Ireland remains the same: get to the quarter-finals behind Australia as underdogs and then bank on a 'Kidney Special'.
However, Ireland need to produce something to suggest that the 'special' is possible because 2007 proved how quickly the rot can set in.
IRELAND -- G Murphy (A Trimble 67); T Bowe, B O'Driscoll (Capt), G D'Arcy, K Earls; J Sexton (R O'Gara 51), C Murray (E Reddan 51); T Court (T Buckley 65), R Best (J Flannery 60), M Ross; D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell; S Ferris, S Jennings (D Leamy 60), J Heaslip.
USA -- B Scully; T Ngwenya, P Emerick , A Suniula, J Patterson; R Suniula (N Malifa 59), M Petri (T Usasz 67); M McDonald (M Ooeakiola 64), P Thiel (C Biller 68), S Pittman; J van der Giessen, H Smith; L Stanfill, , T Clever (Capt), N Johnson.
REF -- C Joubert (South Africa)
- Hugh Farrelly
Irish Independent
