Ireland: The introduction of the Joe Schmidt era began with a bang with an easy rout against Manu Samoa, but the squad came crashing down to Earth the next week with a defeat to an Australian team still finding its feet under Ewen McKenzie. The Irish were able to turn it around the next week with an immaculate first 40 minutes against the All Blacks, before the game was taken from them at the death by Ryan Crotty's try, and a first victory against the New Zealand was lost. If the performance shown against the All Blacks can be the new standard set by Schmidt then Ireland look to be capable of making a big turn around this tournament from the lows they suffered last year by finishing 5th.
The side has an ideal draw, starting with two home games and are able to ease their way into the tournament by starting with Scotland before facing defending champion Wales. Should they start with two victories then they will be an extremely formidable side to reckon with. Despite the disappointment of last year, there was and is plenty of talent in the Irish ranks, and the experiences some gained (mainly half-back duo Conner Murray and Johnny Sexton) on the Lions tour will help advance their play this year. The depth of the squad was tested last year, and the likes of Ulster duo Paddy Jackson and Luke Marshall received their first caps, with both players now better because of the opportunity and providing Schmidt with additional options in the back-line. Marshall has a fair claim to being the starting 12 for Ireland, and while Gordon D'Arcy has been in rejuvenated form it is good for Ireland to see his replacement is ready.
The main topic for this year's 6 Nations will be the farewell tour of Brian O'Driscoll, for the obvious reasons. Certainly one of the greatest players ever, the main task of this season will be finding someone to replace him and getting that player game time in the Outside Centre position. Connacht back Robbie Henshaw appears to be the favourite for replacing O'Driscoll, and is so highly that Wales tried to poach him, but he was not included in the 6 Nations squad, so Schmidt is looking to someone with more experience in the immediacy. There are a number of contenders that have seen time in that position in the past, with Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster) and Keith Earls (Munster) coming to mind. Fitzgerald picked up caps at 13 in 2008 and Earls having deputized for O'Driscoll during the 2012 test calendar, and both are young enough that they could take the reigns through to the 2014 World Cup. Darren Cave (Ulster) has 4 caps at Outside-Centre, but none against a Tier One nation, and his performances for his province were not enough to garner a spot in the squad right now. If I were to place a bet I would put it on Fitzgerald as he would offer more size and power than Earls, but as the Leinster has struggled with health recently his participation is not guaranteed.
The Irish try-line defence last year was second best to Wales, conceding only 5 scores through the Championship, with the second-best percentage of tackles completed at 86% (again to Wales). The employment of the choke tackle has revolutionized the way the Irish play, and made them one of the hardest teams to score tries against. The side were penalized 56 times in the 2013 Championship, second most to Scotland, 16 of those directly costing the Irish, handing 48 points to their opponents. In the autumn series it seems that the Irish were able to adjust their play and conceded only 21 penalties bringing down the average down from 11.2 per match to 7 per match. I didn't look at the small North American tour cause it would be a lie to say that was really an Ireland XV. Let's be honest. The Australia match had a lot of penalties handed out while Nigel Owens only penalised 13 infractions in total for the All Black game one match later, so the numbers here might be a bit slanted. If this area is addressed and there is more discipline from the team then this side could be very difficult to score against.
Their attack last year was muted by an inability to make line breaks that would open up the field for their strike runners. Their 9 line breaks was bottom of the table, 10 less than leaders England. Interestingly, both England and Ireland scored the same number of tries (5) despite the disparity in line break totals, however the Irish were unable to generate as many penalties in their favour which could have lead to points. In the Autumn series they put up 8 tries in 3 games, 5 of them were in the rout of Samoa, and 3 in the first 20 minutes against the All Blacks. Part of the story for this 6 Nations will be seeing how the team continues to adapt to Schmidt's game plan. With so many Leinster players in the Ireland XV it should be a smooth transition for the team to adopt his game plan.
The depth of the squad in the forward pack is starting to be seen with re-enforcements in the tight five coming to the fore. Leinster prop duo Jack McGrath and Martin Moore have been winning plaudits for their performances off the bench for fellow internationals and starters Cian Healy and Mike Ross, and are providing Ireland with genuine depth at that position along with uncapped Connacht prop Rodney Ah You. Dan Tuohy and Ian Henderson have been immense in the resurgence of Ulster the past three seasons and will hope that their form this year will elevate them to the test arena alongside captain Paul O'Connell who has performed fantastically since returning from injury in the new year.
The main topic for this year's 6 Nations will be the farewell tour of Brian O'Driscoll, for the obvious reasons. Certainly one of the greatest players ever, the main task of this season will be finding someone to replace him and getting that player game time in the Outside Centre position. Connacht back Robbie Henshaw appears to be the favourite for replacing O'Driscoll, and is so highly that Wales tried to poach him, but he was not included in the 6 Nations squad, so Schmidt is looking to someone with more experience in the immediacy. There are a number of contenders that have seen time in that position in the past, with Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster) and Keith Earls (Munster) coming to mind. Fitzgerald picked up caps at 13 in 2008 and Earls having deputized for O'Driscoll during the 2012 test calendar, and both are young enough that they could take the reigns through to the 2014 World Cup. Darren Cave (Ulster) has 4 caps at Outside-Centre, but none against a Tier One nation, and his performances for his province were not enough to garner a spot in the squad right now. If I were to place a bet I would put it on Fitzgerald as he would offer more size and power than Earls, but as the Leinster has struggled with health recently his participation is not guaranteed.
The Irish try-line defence last year was second best to Wales, conceding only 5 scores through the Championship, with the second-best percentage of tackles completed at 86% (again to Wales). The employment of the choke tackle has revolutionized the way the Irish play, and made them one of the hardest teams to score tries against. The side were penalized 56 times in the 2013 Championship, second most to Scotland, 16 of those directly costing the Irish, handing 48 points to their opponents. In the autumn series it seems that the Irish were able to adjust their play and conceded only 21 penalties bringing down the average down from 11.2 per match to 7 per match. I didn't look at the small North American tour cause it would be a lie to say that was really an Ireland XV. Let's be honest. The Australia match had a lot of penalties handed out while Nigel Owens only penalised 13 infractions in total for the All Black game one match later, so the numbers here might be a bit slanted. If this area is addressed and there is more discipline from the team then this side could be very difficult to score against.
Their attack last year was muted by an inability to make line breaks that would open up the field for their strike runners. Their 9 line breaks was bottom of the table, 10 less than leaders England. Interestingly, both England and Ireland scored the same number of tries (5) despite the disparity in line break totals, however the Irish were unable to generate as many penalties in their favour which could have lead to points. In the Autumn series they put up 8 tries in 3 games, 5 of them were in the rout of Samoa, and 3 in the first 20 minutes against the All Blacks. Part of the story for this 6 Nations will be seeing how the team continues to adapt to Schmidt's game plan. With so many Leinster players in the Ireland XV it should be a smooth transition for the team to adopt his game plan.
The depth of the squad in the forward pack is starting to be seen with re-enforcements in the tight five coming to the fore. Leinster prop duo Jack McGrath and Martin Moore have been winning plaudits for their performances off the bench for fellow internationals and starters Cian Healy and Mike Ross, and are providing Ireland with genuine depth at that position along with uncapped Connacht prop Rodney Ah You. Dan Tuohy and Ian Henderson have been immense in the resurgence of Ulster the past three seasons and will hope that their form this year will elevate them to the test arena alongside captain Paul O'Connell who has performed fantastically since returning from injury in the new year.
Openside Flankers Chris Henry and Tommy O'Donnell have been in great form for Ulster and Munster respectively and will be competing for the 7 jersey with British and Irish Lion Sean O'Brien out for the tournament injured. One would presume Henry has the inside track for the starting spot given his experience at Test level and with Ulster in the Heineken Cup, but I would expect that both players will be given time to showcase their skills. Both are more in the fetcher mold than O'Brien, so the this will add a different dynamic to the team.
I will end this with a couple of effusive words on Munster captain Peter O'Mahony who is a fantastic leader and provides excellent balance to the Irish back-row. To be handed the captaincy at Munster at his age with the experience in that squad speaks to his ability, and his performances for Ireland so far has made the absence of Stephen Farris go unnoticed. As a player I appreciated those that did the right things the right way and O'Mahony is that type of player. A line out option, good on the floor getting turnovers, making hard yards, he is a great 6 and the type of heart and soul player that makes teams click.
I will end this with a couple of effusive words on Munster captain Peter O'Mahony who is a fantastic leader and provides excellent balance to the Irish back-row. To be handed the captaincy at Munster at his age with the experience in that squad speaks to his ability, and his performances for Ireland so far has made the absence of Stephen Farris go unnoticed. As a player I appreciated those that did the right things the right way and O'Mahony is that type of player. A line out option, good on the floor getting turnovers, making hard yards, he is a great 6 and the type of heart and soul player that makes teams click.
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