Bob Dwyer Rugby Workshops

Croke Park, Dublin. Saturday, 13^th March, 2010.

Ireland produced an impressive display to mark Brian O’Driscoll’s 100^th cap, and, in the process, took another step toward a second consecutive Triple Crown. It was an impressive display by Ireland as they took the honours in virtually every facet of the game to shut Wales out to the tune of 27 points to 12. Had fly-half, Johnny Sexton, been his normal impressive self with his boot, another eight points or more could easily have been added to Ireland’s total.

The Irish look to me a more complete side this season. They have quality players all around the park and they have taken significant steps forward in both attack and defence. They now run straighter and therefore make more space between defenders. Their ‘back three’, in particular, are benefitting.

They added three tries yesterday, to add to their three against England, from an attack which can strike like a rapier when the smallest chance presents itself. They have an excellent balance amongst the group whose job it is to seize upon those tiny cracks which appear occasionally in all defences.

Their backrow of Ferris, Wallace and Heaslip is as good as any going around. They have pace, size and skill, and Heaslip, in particular, has genuine world class. He consistently threatens defences and opens up at least the half gap. With some better close-support lines from his team-mates, he will be an even more productive player.

Thomas O’Leary, at scrum-half, keeps the close-in defence very honest and punishes them if they are not. His try yesterday, taking advantage of excellent space made by the drive of their tight-five and Paul O’Connell’s peel, showed his genuine pace. Brian O’Driscoll continues to amaze with his ability to reel off one outstanding performance after another. I said a few years ago that I did not think that he was as good a player as he could be – and I was taken to task at first opportunity by a Dublin taxi driver. He is now perhaps at his potential with a greater awareness of the players around him and with more ability to use them.

The back-three – yesterday Murphy, Bowe and Earls, plus Kearney as a replacement – can unlock any defence and in any part of the park.  Last game it was Bowe who delivered the telling blows. Yesterday, it was Keith Earls.

Johnny Sexton was not his normal self yesterday, but he will grow into a fine player.

I have said more than once in the last month or so, that I believe that Keith Earls is a born outside centre. His straight running – not a common commodity – his strength and his acceleration make him a real handful. When he went into that spot yesterday, the pace of the Irish attack went up another level. My advice to the Ireland selectors is to keep him there at all costs – O’Driscoll and Earls, that’s a handful for any defence. When those around these two learn to use the extra space will subsequently be available to them, we will really have an attack worthy of the name.

Ireland’s defence was exemplary. They aligned well and, importantly, realigned with urgency and consistency. The slower players never allowed themselves to be caught wide and the quicker ones responded. They all “got off the line” with pace for the whole of the match and I was struck by their commitment to this necessary key factor even in the last minutes of a match clearly already won. Paul O’Connell commented last week that Les Kiss, their defence coach, “has taken our defence to another level’ and the team are obviously confident with his demands. Their “shut-out” of a potentially quality Welsh attack was significant. Wales did not really threaten the Irish line at all.

Ireland’s decisive victory was based around a team performance without any real deficiencies. The Irish scrum was good enough and on one occasion, with Wales threatening on the five metre line, they completely demolished the Welsh scrum, won the ball against the head and took play back towards the half-way. Their lineout is solid and can, at times, apply genuine pressure on opposition throw.

Wales, on the other hand, must be a nightmare for coach Warren Gatland. They have come so far over the last few years and, indeed as a rugby nation, have a rare instinct for quality attack. At times however – indeed, frequently, in this last six months or so – they allow themselves to be mediocre.

Their lack of discipline at times smacks of arrogance. They suffered badly against England from Alun Wynn-Jones’ “brain snap” and again yesterday when Lee Byrne’s “deliberate and cynical” action – to quote referee Craig Joubert – gave Ireland the opportunity for two tries. Lee Byrne then followed up with another “deliberate” penalty and three more points, when he threw the ball away to prevent a possible quick throw by Geordan Murphy.

The Welsh nation, as passionate about rugby as they are, has the right to expect more from their players. These players have the honour of representing their nation and its people and they must respond with respect and responsibility. To be chosen is not enough; your response means everything! The cross-field running of their attack and the sloppiness of their passing meant that no meaningful questions were ever asked of a quality Irish defence.