Under Discussion: Ireland's glorious defeat of the auld enemy, the Six Nations and a little look towards the World Cup
Chatting were: Alan Good, Peter Jackson, Tony Leen, Donal Lenihan, Simon Lewis, Charlie Mulqueen
TONY LEEN, Irish Examiner sports editor: This morning's Examiner lead headline was 'Turning point or one-off?'. In terms of the Aviva on Saturday, which was it?
SIMON LEWIS, Irish Examiner rugby correspondent: I would look at it as the end of the beginning. Having finally come to terms with the the direction this team should be travelling in and combining it at last in one pretty good performance, the victory over England is now the template to work off and build from. I think the players, having seen what they are capable of, will use this as the springboard to better things.
CHARLIE MULQUEEN, rugby writer: I was much taken by the fact that Ireland conceded only five penalties in the whole game, which leaves me wondering if we'd be better off with southern hemisphere referees when it comes to the World Cup! Romain Poite, Dave Pearson and Nigel Owens didn't think much of us in the first three games, but we got on OK with Jonathan Kaplan and Bryce Lawrence - if you except, of course, the touch judge in Cardiff. Is it all about different interpretations south and north or has our discipline improved all that much in such a short space of time?
DONAL LENIHAN, Irish Examiner rugby columnist: Discipline has become a focus for obvious reasons, but Ireland competed differently in the tackle area on Saturday. They looked to hold up bodies and force scrums and when the ball was on the deck they chose to leave it alone. Crucial decision that made life easier for the referee. What a pity we didn't do it earlier in the championship.
ALAN GOOD, Irish Examiner rugby writer: I think Ireland learned a lesson about trusting their defence, which, D'Arcy's missed one-on-one with Rougerie aside, has been excellent throughout the championship. They got the balance right on Saturday, and often drove past the ball instead of competing for it. It seemed to frustrate England, who were let have the ball but had no ideas as to how to unlock the Irish rearguard.
DONAL LENIHAN: The most pleasing aspect of Saturday's display was their structure in attack. It was helped somewhat by the fact that England are very poor in midfield and a centre pairing with the skill and experience of D'Arcy and O'Driscoll were always going to exploit that. Ireland's counter attacking was far better also with Keith Earls leading the way.
ALAN GOOD: Earls has been superb all championship, and getting better with each game. Where is his best position in green though?
DONAL LENIHAN: Not quite sure. He has issues at times when playing at 13, but that will come in time. At present he seems to get more involved from full back which is a plus when you have his ability. The jury is still out on his ability to cope with an aerial bombardment, because for some reason England never tested him on Saturday. They just didn't have the ball.
CHARLIE MULQUEEN: I felt before Saturday's game that Declan was being a bit hard on Earls moving him to full-back when he had been so at home on the wing against Wales. But he proved me wrong with a superb display, although I don't necessarily believe he should be the automatic World Cup 15. Rob Kearney has a fair claim on the jersey and I wouldn't forget Geordan Murphy or Luke Fitzgerald. I only hope that Luke's confidence hasn't taken a hammering by his total omission from Saturday's squad because he is a class act and could be the ideal utility player in New Zealand. On the Earls issue, well, he, too, can play in all four three-quarter positions and obviously at full-back and I suspect he will be a vital member of the squad in NZ.
TONY LEEN: Will it, and should it, continue to be a horses for courses selection by Kidney then? I ask that in the context of the back three, all of whom were superb on Saturday.
DONAL LENIHAN: It depends on the opposition. The key game in the World Cup is against Australia second up. They will not kick any ball to our back three, and therefore that will shape Kidney's thinking.
CHARLIE MULQUEEN: I really like the look of an Irish back line of Kearney, Bowe, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Earls, Sexton/O'Gara and Reddan/Stringer/O'Leary. Paddy Wallace, though, should be forgotten about without further delay.
ALAN GOOD: Are there any other areas where big decisions need to be made in terms of selection? Can we now surmise, with hindsight, that Sexton will start and O'Gara will finish games at the WC or is that still up for debate?
DONAL LENIHAN: Selection is a moveable feast with form and injuries dictating. Just look back to the autumn; Mike Ross got no game time while Sean O'Brien only started against Samoa.
SIMON LEWIS: We have to believe that Sexton can only get better after this, having emerged from his dip in form and crisis in confidence. O'Gara will want to start of course, but he is perfectly at ease in terms of his performance levels coming off the bench. The other issue will be the return of Stephen Ferris. After the way the back row performed against England, Ireland really are spoiled for choice there.
PETER JACKSON, rugby writer: So when Ferris is firing, who will be the odd man out?
DONAL LENIHAN: On current form, you could not change Saturday's back row. David Wallace has been as good as ever throughout the championship, O'Brien a revelation and Heaslip was back to his best against England. Good sides create competition for places. Ferris will have to work his way back into the side, but if he was fit and available in the morning, he would have to start on the bench.
ALAN GOOD: While Ireland now seem to have an embarrassment of riches in some areas, it's a head-scratching time for England, who are clearly nowhere near as good as they thought they were. Lawrence Dallaglio expressed surprise that England didn't see the Irish ferocity coming, and felt they weren't in the right place mentally. They played like rabbits in headlights from where I was watching.
DONAL LENIHAN: That's called inexperience. Sometimes young players have to experience days like last Saturday to add to their education. Martin Johnson was fully aware what was coming, given the experience and quality in the Irish team. They also had a cause. No matter how many times you caution a player about what he faces, sometimes you have to experience it. England are far from the finished article but I think Saturday will prove hugely beneficial to them in the long run.
PETER JACKSON: History would have told England what to expect. How many English teams in recent years have failed to match Irish intensity, be it from Munster at Thomond or the national team at Lansdowne/Croker? They will have seen that coming, but were unable to cope with it. Had Ireland won by 30 points, it would not have been an injustice.
SIMON LEWIS: England were awful on Saturday but they're not in need of any major overhaul. There were missing two-thirds of their back row in Moody and Croft, and Courtney Lawes will come back in in the second row. Like the vastly more experienced Ireland, this was all part of the evolution of a team. They'll be better for this.
PETER JACKSON: They'll need to be for sure, Simon. Right now the only country from the Six Nations going into the World Cup on any sort of a high is Ireland.
DONAL LENIHAN: On the basis of what I saw in Athlone on Friday night in the U20 international, England have some serious talent to come while Manu Tuilagi could well be fast-tracked into their ailing midfield for the World Cup. Don't forget Riki Flutey either.
PETER JACKSON: Tuilagi is considered to be the best of the brothers, which really is saying something. Saturday will have been a rude awakening for certain English players who will now realise they're not what they've been cracked up to be. The Youngs yellow card was as inexcusable as Care's had been on the previous visit.
ALAN GOOD: Much has been made of how poor a tournament this has been; is there anything positive for northern hemisphere rugby to take to New Zealand in September? Did the Welsh capitulation in Paris tell us much about either side?
PETER JACKSON: Only to raise renewed doubts about Wales' mental fragility and send thousands of Samoans into early celebrations all over New Zealand. On this form, Wales will struggle to beat them in their second World Cup game, at Hamilton in September. Maybe the time has come for Wales to be really bold, and make Sam Warburton their new long-term captain.
DONAL LENIHAN: It only offers a reprieve for France. They do not seem to have the appetite to address the shortcomings surrounding Marc Lievremont. A lot of the ex players that I have spoken to from France are totally disillusioned. This is the man that told us last week that he doesn't have enough strength to select from? How would he survive in Scotland, Italy or Ireland for that matter?
PETER JACKSON: He wouldn't, but the Welsh result has saved him and the French Federation further embarrassment, at least until they get to the World Cup.
ALAN GOOD: And Scotland finally scored some tries in Murrayfield, but having seemingly been pleased with their progress in 2010 with the Argentina series and the Springboks win, are they almost back to square one after this tournament?
SIMON LEWIS: Andy Robinson has told journalists they can win their group at the World Cup. Presumably that would be on the basis of their performance against England, rather than just the win over Italy. That would mean beating England in their final group game and although they did manage a try at Twickenham, they would need to be a lot more incisive in attack than they have shown to date.
PETER JACKSON: Scotland's most serious problem is that too few Scots seem to care. A crowd of barely 42,000, unheard of in the history of the Six Nations, meant there were almost 26,000 empty seats.
ALAN GOOD: I suspect the ditching of a professional side in the Borders heartland - the city sides in Edinburgh and Glasgow seem largely unloved - has a bit to do with that. Before we finish, back to matters Irish, and time to put heads on chopping blocks. If everyone was fit and Ireland were playing New Zealand in a World Cup final in the morning, what would be your starting XV?
PETER JACKSON: Kearney; Bowe, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Earls; Sexton, Reddan; Healy, Best, Ross; O'Callaghan, O'Connell; O'Brien, Wallace, Heaslip.
SIMON LEWIS: Kearney; Bowe, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Earls; Sexton, O'Leary; Healy, Flannery, Ross; O'Callaghan, O'Connell; O'Brien, Wallace, Heaslip.
ALAN GOOD: Kearney; Bowe, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Earls; Sexton, Reddan; Healy, Flannery, Ross; O'Callaghan, O'Connell; O'Brien, Wallace, Heaslip.
DONAL LENIHAN: Sorry, but if we have made the World Cup final against New Zealand, the team would pick itself at that stage.
SIMON LEWIS: Get off the fence, Donal!
PETER JACKSON: Donal, that fence is about to collapse!
DONAL LENIHAN: It's easy to pick a team from the comfort of the fence boys, ye should know... If all are fit: Kearney; Bowe, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Earls; Sexton, Reddan; Healy, Flannery, Ross; O'Callaghan, O'Connell; O'Brien, Wallace, Heaslip. Now, nobody cares what team we pick...it's irrelevant.
ALAN GOOD: Let's hope we can ask the question for real come the autumn then! We'll wrap it up there, thanks for your time today and throughout the Six Nations gents.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/QOS4E-qbCow/post.aspx
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