Lethargy for the grand old tournament has been growing in recent years, with the Heineken Cup more colourful, varied, approachable and enjoyable in an increasing number of fans’ eyes. But this opening weekend blew the cobwebs away. We had been told by all comers that the refereeing ws going to be positive, punishing those whose influence at the breakdown was negative. They seemed to get their message across, because the three games were all fantastic, with all teams looking to attack. It’s early days, but it’s shaping up to be the best Six Nations since 2007, or perhaps even better yet.
Ireland are up and running
It was a hugely commendable performance from Ireland. Last year, the team sat off Wales and let them dictate the game. Not this. Ireland imposed their game plan on Wales. Given the bizarrely fluctuating performance level of this team over the last three seasons, backing up the Agentina win with another good performance was absolutely critical. They have now done that. It creates a sense of building momentum, underlined by the manner win which Murray and Sexton appear to have developed an understanding of how each other plays. It has taken them some time, but they are such good players, that it has been worth waiting for. Now they just have to do it again, against England.
Kidney Casts off the Shackles
We were wrong and Kate McEvoy was right. Deccie nailed his team selection and tactics this week. O’Mahony utterly vindicated his selection over 50 minutes of barnstorming rugger. Gilroy’s kicking was loose at times, but he put in some huge hits in defence. A year ago, you feel Kidney would have played the ‘we know what he can do’ card and picked Earls on the wing, but he took the risk, and was rewarded. We still have a preference for Luke Fitzgerald in the back-three, but Gilroy ultimately delivered for his coach. Kidney has been wilfully conservative at times over the last few seasons, but with his contract renewal hinging on the outcome of this series, he has nothing to lose and appears willing to gamble a bit more.
If Rob Howley had got his own selection right, and picked the in-form Jason Tipuric from the start, perhaps things might have been different. But he didn’t, and it wasn’t.
Ireland have no bench
It took Deccie years to get the hang of the whole ‘bench’ thing, but in the last 24 months he got the knack for it. Just don’t expect him to use it much this year; because we don’t really have one. Ireland did have a good bench over the last couple of season, but that was when Reddan was making a strong case for selection and ROG could still influence a test match; neither is the case this year. Backrow is the only place where Ireland can bring on somebody to change the dynamic of the game, with Henry bringing something different to either of the starting flankers. O’Callaghan can replace tiring legs late in games, but he’s not going to really alter the balance of a match. Let’s not even talk about the front row.
The single biggest threat to Ireland’s hopes of winning the championship is fatigue to the likes of Murray, Sexton, Best, Ryan ,Healy and of course Ross, who will all be required to put in 70-80 minute shifts in all five games. England, by contrast, have a bench stacked with impact men – Danny Care, Courtney Lawes, James Haskell (whatever you make of them). Dare Kidney revisit his famous squad rotation in Murrayfield or Rome, and rest one or two of his key men should Ireland be closing in on a possible grand slam? Let’s cross that bridge when if we come to it.
Kidney does have some options to give more oomph to his bench. Earls hasn’t impressed recently in green (although we wouldn’t write off his hopes of being a test centre just yet), and Fitzgerald is worth considering for the 23 shirt. Paul Marshall performs the role of impact sub with gusto at Ulster, and is in far better form than Reddan. There are other options at 10, with Madigan the most enticing, but none have any test rugby experience, and it’s a safe bet that Sexton will accumulate 400 championship minutes this season, injury permitting.
Simon Zebo – the new Ugo Monye?
Yep, that’s what we thought a year ago. Joke’s on us! Last year Zebo looked exciting, scored lots of tries, but was pretty raw. We questioned whether he had enough football skills to be the real deal, or was he just a straight-line runner in the Ugo Monye mould. The extent to which he has improved his game over the last year is remarkable, and that flick will feature on highlights reels for years to come. Thankfully it got the reward it deserved with Church bashing over the line from close quarters. Zebo could/should/will (delete as appropriate) be the poster boy for Irish rugby for years to come, provided those dastardly Frenchies don’t steal him, as they tried to this year.
Forza Italia
What a win! What a match! Italy were simply wonderful. They offloaded, they ran and they had Parisse. Their fly-half, Lucky Luciano Orquera, played at a level he has probably never attained in his life, and everything came off. Their ambition was laudable; they played to win the game and not just to keep the score down, as they have so often in the past. In the 74th minute, protecting a narrow lead, they won a turnover and guess what? –they counter-attacked again. They have a chance now to win two or even three matches, but must try and bring the same energy on the road as they do in Rome, which they’ve never really done before, in order to beat Scotland.
The game was brilliantly presided over by Nigel Owens, who communicated clearly and fairly, and with no shortage of his usual wit (‘I could have penalised any of eight of you’, he said at one point). He looked utterly unflustered throughout, a man clearly enjoying himself in a high-pressure environment.
Whiff of Cordite 