Posts Tagged ‘Sean O’Brien’

Six Nations Week 2: Ireland v Wales

Posted: February 7, 2014 in Europe
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Saturday February 8, 9:30 AM Eastern – Lansdowne Road (Aviva Stadium), Dublin

Conditions in Dublin are supposed to be dreadful, which may ruin this match as a spectacle, but either way it will be a fantastic battle, and I can’t see more than a few points in it either way.

Both sides are at full strength as Irish captain Paul O’Connell and Welsh captain Sam Warburton return from illness and injury, respectively, to lead their sides. For Ireland, Gordon D’Arcy replaces Luke Marshall at inside center, mostly for defensive reasons. The speculation is that D’Arcy is trusted more than Marshall by his clubmate Brian O’Driscoll outside him, and his former clubmate Jonathan Sexton inside him. It is no secret that the Welsh love to attack down the 12 channel through the power of Jamie Roberts, so the Irish defense will have to be stout. For Wales, Gethin Jenkins returns at loosehead, and it will be interesting to see whether he can gain an advantage on Mike Ross at scrum time. Elsewhere in the front row, the matchup at hooker between Rory Best and Richard Hibbard, both Lions last summer, is a tasty prospect. They have very different approaches to the position – Best often plays like a fourth back-rower, winning penalties and turnovers at the breakdown, while Hibbard is just a tank who seems to relish massive collisions on both sides of the ball.

Both Best and Hibbard will need to get their throws right, because the lineout will be vital. It will be fascinating to see O’Connell and Alun-Wyn Jones, both  experienced and skilled lineout operators, try to outsmart each other in this area. Wales will miss the height of Luke Charteris, who has a hamstring injury. Andrew Coombs is a fine player, but at 6’4″ is 5 inches shorter than Charteris.  Ireland have their own giant in 6’11” Devin Toner, as well as Peter O’Mahony, who is excellent in the air.  Ireland know that if they can disrupt the Welsh lineout, they will deprive Wales of the perfect platform to attack on first phase through Roberts. Ireland will also seek to establish the rolling maul which was such an effective weapon against Scotland last week, although Wales will provide a sterner challenge.

There’s not much to separate the two packs, although Wales have a slight edge in carrying, as Hibbard and Taulupe Faletau (as Toby now wants to be known) are both immense with ball in hand. Without Sean O’Brien, Ireland have only Cian Healy as a top-class ball-carrier, although he is a major threat as Scotland found out last week. The Irish backrow and O’Connell will need to share the workload.

There is separation at 9 and 10, where Ireland are clearly superior, and that may be the difference in the game. Irish discipline has been good since Joe Schmidt took over, and they have to maintain that because Leigh Halfpenny will kick goals from anywhere. They also have to contain George North – that is the best they can hope for because the big Welshman is impossible to stop entirely. Rob Kearney and the rest of the Irish kick chase can deny him counterattacking opportunities, but the problem is that North has become increasingly adept at coming off his wing to get involved in the game all over the pitch. A nightmare for any defense.

Should be a cracking match, and could go either way. Ireland by 1

Below, highlights from last year’s match in Cardiff:

 

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Weekend Review – November 22-24

Posted: November 25, 2013 in Europe, Southern Hemisphere
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Well, the Irish defeat against New Zealand is all the rugby world is talking about today. “Heartbreaking” is the word being used in both the Irish and the New Zealand press. Ireland played like the best team in the world in the first half, racing out to a 19-0 lead after just 17 minutes. The All Blacks responded, but Ireland led at halftime 22-7. In the first 20 minutes of the second half, Ireland held firm, and the All Blacks managed just a single penalty to reduce the deficit to 22-10. But in the 64th minute, Ben Franks went over for a try, Aaron Cruden converted, and the stage was set for an unbearably tense final 15 minutes with Ireland ahead just 22-17. The Dublin crowd roared their men on, but the Irish looked out on their feet – such was the incredibly intensity of their effort over the first hour.

With five minutes to play, Johnny Sexton missed a kickable penalty that would have made it a two-score game. All Blacks captain Richie McCaw identified the kick as a key turning point in the match, saying: “The reality is, if that had gone over, it was probably game over. But when that missed, you could see a sense of lift in the boys – there was still a chance – and perhaps from the Irish boys, you could see that they were trying to eat up as much time, and sometimes when that happens, an opportunity will come.”  The Irish had possession and bravely tried to see the game out, but an opportunity did come for New Zealand when Ireland were penalized for going off their feet at a ruck just before 80 minutes were up. Although the All Blacks were 60 meters from the tryline when Aaron Smith took the quick tap, they demonstrated the self-belief epitomized by McCaw and Ryan Crotty went over for the score. That made it 22-all, with the conversion to come. There was then insult added to injury, as Cruden missed at his first attempt, only to be allowed to retake it when the Irish were judged to have begun their charge prematurely. Cruden made no mistake with the second attempt, and Ireland have still never beaten New Zealand.

It really was incredibly hard to watch, even as a neutral – the only comparison I can recall is watching France beat Wales 9-8 in the 2011 World Cup Semifinal, when Wales played with only 14 men for an hour after their captain Sam Warburton had been sent off. It will be interesting to see how Ireland responds to this. They should believe that they are real contenders for the Six Nations – such was the quality of their performance – but that is easier said than done. This defeat will haunt them.

The whole Irish squad deserves the highest praise, but special mention must go to Sean O’Brien, who was an absolute force of nature. He carried strongly, made a real nuisance of himself at the breakdown, and made 16 tackles, missing none. Condolences to hooker Rory Best, who broke his arm and looks like he will miss the beginning of the Six Nations. Congratulations to the All Blacks on their incredible achievement of going undefeated for an entire year. I am already looking forward to the England tour of New Zealand next summer.

Other results

Wales 17-7 Tonga – a pretty dreadful game. James Hook was good at flyhalf though – will Warren Gatland consider playing him there in the Six Nations?

Italy 14-19 Argentina – it was raining heavily in Rome. There were a lot of scrums. That’s about it.

Scotland 15-21 Australia – same old story for the Scots, they battled hard but just weren’t good enough. Australian fullback Israel Folau continues to amaze. Incredible to think that this is still his first year playing the 15-man code, after stints in rugby league and Aussie rules.

France 10-19 South Africa – not as good a match as I had hoped, as the French didn’t really turn up. They conceded a converted try almost immediately, and although the rest of the match was hard-fought, they never overcame that deficit.