The Daily Telegraph - 26.08.2019

I

might have to reduce my list

of teams who can win the

World Cup from six to five

having witnessed Ireland’s

57-15 thrashing by England

on Saturday. A knee-jerk

reaction? Maybe, but the reasons

Ireland should worry go beyond

this one result.

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt

did not seek to hide behind the fact

that his team came into the game

on the back of a heavy training

camp, when interviewed after the

match. He knows that this

accounted for some of the atypical

inaccuracy in Ireland’s play, but it

goes nowhere near to explaining

all of it.

Irish fans will hope this was a

blip, like Wales’s first warm-up

game at Twickenham, but current

problems are not current at all.

Ireland’s win/loss ratio since

they beat the All Blacks last

November is not disastrous but

only a partisan would deny that

they have not played anywhere

near the standards they set then.

Their recent Six Nations campaign

was underwhelming and the form

of their international players in the

subsequent European club

competitions was similar.

Ireland were below par against

England and listing the failures is

easy – nearly everything.

But doing so is not much help

and, anyway, it is secondary to

more important points.

For the first time in several years

I could not fathom what sort of

game Ireland were trying to play.

Suffocating defence and a precise

kicking game, augmented by

febrile chasing, has been the

foundation of previous successes.

The kick and chase was poorly

executed on Saturday but the more

important issue is that there was

no coherent pattern as to when and

where it was used.

Sporadic and unsuccessful punts

were interspersed with runs from

static carriers, off slow ball.

When Ireland turned to their

backs the attacks had no pace, little

deception and contained so many

badly timed runs and passes that

only twice did they look like

getting around England’s defence.

Bundee Aki’s try was a great

piece of individual skill but that

was it; nothing from the collective.

A couple of seasons ago, many

people, including me, said that

Ireland had the greatest depth of

talent in their history.

It did not seem so when you

witnessed the appreciable gap in

talent between their starting XV

and bench at Twickenham.

It only got worse when this

translated into an

incomprehensible tactical

performance where a good few

players looked lost, with no idea

how to find lucidity.

In 2018, some rugby writers (not

including me, by the way) claimed

that England were on their way

down and Ireland were the coming

team. On Saturday you got the

feeling that claim was wrong on

both counts.

Ireland could still prosper in

Japan; they have a relatively easy

pool. Whether some of their

stalwarts can still hack it and

whether their game strategy is still

fit for purpose is open to doubt.

In stark, and welcome contrast if

you are English, Eddie Jones has

reassembled his squad and revised

his tactics since their 2018

downturn. If people want to

stereotype their style as biff and

bash, so what?

Descriptions do not matter and

that one is simplistic and used by

people who do not understand

how difficult it is to carry the ball

in the intelligent and effective way

that England do when they play

well. It is not just a case of big men

running straight over defenders.

Carriers must maintain their

discipline and repeatedly keep the

depth, angle and timing of their

runs on to the ball.

They must take passes flat, on

the gain line, under immediate

pressure from defenders, then

retain the ball in contact and either

place it for quick rucked ball or

pass out of the tackle. When you

add carriers such as Kyle Sinckler

and Mako Vunipola – both capable

of sublime dexterity – you can

confound even the best defences.

Elliot Daly’s first-half try was

created by four superb carries and

offloads that shredded Ireland’s

defence and credit England’s

backs, who were ruthless in taking

advantage of the subsequent

overlap. It looked pretty simple; it

was not.

Eddie Jones will not play his

starting XV before the World Cup. I

have previously said this would be

a mistake, as that team need a run

before being asked to perform on

the biggest stage. I was wrong.

England have shown such fluidity

with their mix-and-match

combinations that the two-week

period between the last warm-up

game and their opening pool game

is enough.

Jones’s preparations have

focused on dealing with game

situations when planned first and

second combinations get disrupted

and teams must adapt in real time.

Barring injury, England will

arrive in Japan near the peak of

their preparation schedule.

Ireland’s game plan is barely fit for purpose

Sport Rugby Union

Joe Schmidt’s inept team no longer

look like World Cup contenders

BRIAN MOORE

By Richard Bath at Murrayfield

Coach Gregor Townsend admitted

that Scotland’s gutsy 17-14 win over

France on Saturday had almost cer-

tainly settled some of the remaining

selection issues ahead of the an-

nouncement of his 31-man World

Cup squad next Tuesday.

There are injury issues to con-

sider, with Tommy Seymour, Blade

Thomson and Sam Skinner all now

unavailable for the game in Geor-

gia, but the stock of some players

has risen enormously.

One of those is centre Chris Har-

ris, who was widely considered a

fringe candidate before Saturday.

However, his defensive solidity and

well-taken try against France have

pushed him one step closer to a

place on the plane, despite five

other strong candidates for the four

centre places in the squad.

Townsend could not hide his de-

light at Harris’s performance. “It’s

great just to see someone get out

there and get a reward for the hard

work he’s put in,” he said.

“He is an outstanding defensive

player who’s worked really hard to

improve his attacking. His passing,

his re-setting and his decisions

have been very good and he gives

100 per cent every time he plays.”

With Peter Horne’s performance

blighted by throwing an early inter-

ception pass for the first try, Harris

knows he is now genuinely in the

mix. It is, he says, the culmination

of the past two seasons since he

threw his lot in with Scot-

land.

“I know what I have to

do to get a ticket to Japan

and that one perfor-

mance may not be

enough,” he said.

“This has been

my goal and my

dream.”

Townsend had

originally envis-

aged using the two games against

Georgia to try to establish combina-

tions that he was expecting to take

to Japan. However in some posi-

tions, there will still be a lot to play

for in Tblisi as Scotland become the

first tier-one nation to play a

capped international in Georgia.

Expect Rory Hutchinson, who

has yet to start a game for

Scotland, and Sam Johnson,

who has been injured for the

previous two warm-up

Tests, to start if both

available.

“We picked

two balanced

teams [against

France] and now

we’re going to give opportunities to

players who deserve them or who

are coming back from injury,” said

Townsend.

With just over a week until the

squad is announced, expect Scot-

tish fireworks in Georgia.

Scores 0-5 Penaud try; 0-7 Ramos con; 3-7 Laidlaw pen;

3-12 Penaud try; 3-14 Ramos con; 8-14 Maitland try;

10-14 Laidlaw con; 15-14 Harris try; 17-14 Laidlaw con.

Scotland S Hogg; T Seymour (B Kinghorn 16), C Harris,

P Horne (R Hutchinson 65), S Maitland; F Russell,

G Laidlaw (G Horne 70); G Reid (A Dell 47), G Turner,

WP Nel (S Berghan 56), S Cummings (G Gilchrist 56),

S Skinner (G Stewart 60), R Wilson, H Watson,

B Thomson (J Barclay 42).

France T Ramos (M Medard 60); D Penaud, G Fickou,

W Fofana, A Raka; C Lopez (R Ntamack 37), A Dupont

(B Serin 60); J Poirot (C Baille 50), G Guirado (C Chat

50), R Slimani (E Setiano 60), F Lambey (R Taofifenua

50), S Vahaamahina, A Iturria, C Ollivon, G Alldritt

(Y Camara 60).

Referee Wayne Barnes (England).

Townsend delight as France win eases Scotland selection headache

Flawed: Ireland’s

line-out misfired

to great cost

against England

at Twickenham

Rising stock:

Chris Harris

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22 *** Monday 26 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph

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