IRELAND’S first dip into the current international spotlight was hardly impressive against New Zealand.
The players looked tired, sometimes just going through the motions, and the atmosphere in the Aviva was far from electric.
Rugby correspondent Frank Quinn summed up the occasion, saying that “flashy lights and drums don’t make up for solid rugby. The grand stand finishes that we saw in the two England games so far had the much-needed X-factor.”
These autumn fixtures may be crucial to the coffers of the IRFU, but the punters who paid €145 per ticket will question the value of their decision.
After spending a few days of preparation in Portugal coming into the game, one would have expected a special sharpness from the Irish players but the post-match stats of 21 handling errors and the conceding of 13 penalties, six of which were converted by the accuracy of the boot of Damian McKenzie, proved to be their downfall.
It is going to be a tough three weeks ahead with games against Fiji and Australia following this Friday’s clash with Argentina.
There were some sore bodies in the home camp following the All Blacks match forcing changes for Friday’s tie against Argintina, but coach Andy Farrell was practical when asked about his bench selections.
“You can’t just pull a rabbit out of a hat and throw players in if they’re not ready. That is not the way it is here. We are not South Africa, New Zealand, or England,” he said.
Let’s hope this outing against Felipe Contepomi’s Pumas will provide better excitement for the home crowd.
With Munster enjoying a sabbatical, we turn our attention to Limerick’s representatives in the Energia All-Ireland League. The future, however, of imminent success looks grim.
In recent seasons we have been restricted to just two teams in 1A and the current crop of players amongst the six teams representing the city and county this season, have yet to create a serious challenge for the play-offs.
Can Young Munster match their achievement of 1993 at the end of this campaign?
The Cookies are proving to be our only hope and they are nicely placed in the current table with a home game in Tom Clifford Park this Saturday against City of Armagh.
