YES I may have gone a little over board this week with the picture, but you can see what I am getting at. This Saturday Ireland take on Scotland in the RBS Six Nations championship.
In case you have been living under a rock, Ireland are three from three in the championship and are looking at a potential first grand slam since TV was black and white.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney has always credited his players with any victory that has come his way, but this time around he has picked up the rubble that was the post World Cup squad, and has turned them into a team that are hard to beat, but more importantly a team that are now winning ugly.
The team to take on the Scots shows four changes from the team that beat, England, Italy and France. That in itself is weird for Kidney. The man is normally as predictable as the Irish weather when it comes to team selection. The four changes are Stringer in for O Leary, Leamy in for Heaslip, Best in for Flannery (I seriously question this one) and D’Arcy in for Paddy Wallace. There are differing schools of thought on these changes. Does Kidney see the Scots as a side that he can beat anyway? Thus making changes to get the players to a higher level for the following week’s Welsh game? Is giving these new players a chance because they have trained well? Have the four that were dropped not impressed enough in the last three, or, and this is the one I am going for. Are these the only four positions that Kidney sees competition for?
If you analyse the rest of the squad, the two props pick themselves as do the locks. O Connell and O Callaghan are bound to dominate the Scots at line out time. Number six, Ferris has been a revelation. His physicality is akin to a number six from southern hemisphere sides. David Wallce and Ronan O Gara are irreplaceable. Briano, Kearney and Luke are all shoe-ins. So, therefore. Numbers, two, eight, nine and 12 all appear to be open. Kidney has decided, against the poor poor Scots, that now is the time for all these lads to get a chance. Most coaches would make the mistake of blooding new players. First caps and the like, but not Declan. He is bringing in people who he thinks can play a high tempo game. Best, Leamy and Stringer are in for this alone. Leamy and Best are not as dynamic in open play as Heaslip and Flannery, but it will be up the jumper tight stuff against the Scots, to start with anyway, therefore Kidney has gone with straight line bulk, followed on by a quicker passing scrum half. This is the reason too that the physically heavier and bulkier Gordan D’Arcy is getting the nod ahead of Paddy Wallace.
The game plan for Saturday will be similar to Munster’s game plans away from home in the last 10 years. Beat them up front. Pummel and pummel and pummel them up front. Don’t go too expansive unless in the “red zone” until the opposition fall down from exhaustion. Then and only then try something fancy. You see, when a game is a potential season-ender and grand slam destroyer, the best thing to do is go back to basics. Watch for the forwards to work in their pods. Watch for Stringer flailing his arms around like a demented octopus at the back of the rucks getting his men in order. Look out then for runners coming through off of the shoulder of Stringer, O Gara and D’Arcy. It won’t start pretty, but hopefully it will end pretty. After all, with a banana skin on the ground, is it not better to just step over it rather than try and do a tap dance on it?
Ireland to win this weekend and make it four from four with their four changes. The players won’t be looking past this weekend, but as fans, it might be worth your while now organising where you are going to watch the Welsh game.
