Failure doesn’t define you, but the question for this Irish team is how we can convert these setbacks and mould them into future success. As the Six Nations draws to a close, we shouldn’t look at this Irish team’s performance as a failure – no matter what happens at Kingspan Stadium today.
nstead, we need to look at it as a big learning step – for players, management and the 15s programme. Starting out, Greg McWilliams would have targeted three wins, and if they can come away with two – by beating Scotland tonight – it won’t be a bad return.
I’ve been chatting to some of the players this week and they’re hurting physically and emotionally. Who wouldn’t be after making 192 tackles against England? After shipping 59 points in the second half, morale is understandably low. They gave it everything, but being unable to fairly compete with England remains a hard pill to swallow.
It was a really physical battle, and my fear is they could be a very tired team today. This is a bit like the Italy game for Ireland – a must-win. It’s so important to finish on a high. It’s the battle of two amateur sides. Scotland are very similar to us, from their programme structure to their inconsistency on the pitch.
Their scrum can be very good, it dominated against Italy, and when they got their maul going last weekend they were very dominant. But then they also shipped tries. They’d have been really disappointed to go from 10-3 up to losing 20-13 so it’s a dangerous animal coming to Belfast, especially with no wins on the board and a World Cup to look forward to.
Their maul defence is very similar to ours, and they can let teams get in on them. They can be very passive in defence and the key for Ireland is going through the phases.
Scotland have a hugely experienced attack. Jade Konkel is out but they still have Emma Wassell and Evie Gallagher, who slotted in well at number eight. Then there’s Sarah Bonar, Chloe Rollie, Lisa Thomson, Rachel McLachlan, Rachel Malcolm and Helen Nelson. It’s an extremely experienced squad. If they’re allowed to play, it could be a long night for Ireland.
We need to start well and keep the ball. Greg will look to use his bench as he did against Italy: get ahead early and then get fresh bodies on.
Both teams have shown glimpses of what they can do but they’ve also been poor when they switch off. It’s about who can be consistent, get their set-piece right, keep the ball, go through the phases and punish the other.
The scrum is pivotal. Looking at clips from last weekend, some of our profiles were very poor. England were a flat platform, their backs aligned, but Ireland had bums in the air, their pressure going downward instead of outwards.
There was pressure on the front row from our flankers, who were dipping down with bums in the air. That’s criminal, because not only are you trying to withstand the pressure in front of you and behind you, but someone is also then hanging off your leg rather than being under the shelter of your bum.
When people are tired and working so hard, it’s little things like that that suffer. A lot of the improvements they’d shown against Italy were quashed by the tiredness that caught up with them against England. This is where I feel they’re missing the experience of Cliodhna Moloney.
Standout
Neve Jones (below) has been the standout performer for the Irish, a young player who’s led from the front and been exceptional, but if Cliodhna was there at the set-piece she’d have a little more savvy and that would only benefit our consistency at scrum time.
Scotland dominated the scrum against Italy and we can’t afford for our set-piece not to fire today. We need that platform to get us ball. England enjoyed 64 per cent possession and 81 per cent territory. At times, we barely got out of our 22, working tirelessly, making so many hard-hitting tackles. When we got the ball, we got so little time in attack.
We need to win the ball, keep it and do the basics really well. If we can keep things simple, that’ll win us the game.
As for what comes next, the contracts are key to progress but we can’t rush them. It can’t be a knee-jerk reaction or a short-term solution. These changes are not going to show up for two or three years, but if we can get the programme right, it’ll have a huge impact, allowing players to be the very best they can be.
But for now, all that matters is the 80 minutes on the pitch. A win in front of a home crowd allows the players to walk away from a tough campaign and into a well-deserved break with a smile on their faces – the future looking bright ahead of them.