One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes - Benjamin IsraeliSo once again the Irish rugby team floundered at a Rugby World Cup when they could have struck gold, could have tackled ecstasy and pride instead of grasping the air that was disappointment and agony. Is this the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Im not sure I agree.
Certainly there can be no denying that a great opportunity was lost to reach a first ever semi final. Our record against Wales over the previous decade was actually extremely good. Indeed from 2001 onwards we had only lost to Wales 3 times, 2 of which led to Welsh Grand Slams, before the RWC. So where did it all go wrong?
Firstly we were unfortunate to run into a rejuvenated Warren Gatland who looks a lot more like the coach who won a Heineken cup with Wasps and a Grand Slam in his first year in charge with Wales. Since that Grand Slam Wales have often been ravaged with injuries notably to their props. Gatland in the mean time was spending more time trying to wind up his opposition rather than look after his own side and had been under alot of pressure at times
As Eddie O'Sullivan pointed out in the Irish Independent though Gatland was very quiet in the lead up to this match and meant business. The quarter final showed he was back and this was emphasised even more by the heartbreaking loss to France with 14men and also running South Africa very close also in the pool stage whilst they saw off Samoa in a tough game and obliterated Fiji who had knocked them out at the previous world cup.
However enough about Wales and back to Ireland, and the one disappointment I would have is that for all the experience in the side they seemed clueless in how to respond to the challenge Wales had laid before them. Wales were happy to create havoc at the breakdown and Ireland were unable to anything about it. There was no change of plan and Sam Warburton and co. were happy to tackle the static Ireland attack all day long. As well as that Ireland's counter attacking was nonexistent.
Again Wales were happy to let Ireland just hoof the ball upfield and let Ireland try to manufacture something off the cuff. It just didn't work. We need look no further than Leinster to see how it should be done as they counter attacked with great success all year in the Heineken Cup(and that includes the first two games of the pool stages where Kearney started at full back).
Having said all that it shouldn't be all doom and gloom. For a start, and no matter how unhappy the team was with the eventual performance in the quarter final, Ireland turned this tournament on its head by beating Australia. A win against a Tri Nations outfit on southern hemisphere soil in a World Cup is no easy task. The bristling intensity they brought to the game was a sight to behold.
They should also take some pride in that they utterly pasted a somewhat boisterous Italy who made it known that their match against Ireland was the one where they could cause an upset and as well as that it was heartening yet heart-breaking to see them never give up against Wales in what was one of the games of the tournament.
Indeed the never say die attitude was once more epitomised by Brian O'Driscoll who yet again put his body on the line at any opportunity he could. This was highlighted when he thumped Leigh Halfpenny in the first few minutes of the match. Certainly he left nothing behind him in the dressing room.
So where does this leave Ireland now? Wholesale changes are not the way forward. Sure there will be tweaks made to the system but planning for the next World Cup is simply ridiculous. Ireland don't have enough players of enough quality and anything can happen in between the 4 years. Take for example Tomas O'Leary who was clearly Declan Kidneys 1st choice scrum half for most of his reign. Yet injuries and a dip in form saw him not even make the squad.
There has been quite a lot of talk about changes in the centre and a need for new second rows as Paul O' Connell and Donncha O'Callaghan are both in their early 30's. Sadly there is really nothing coming through in this department and my guess is that they will still be both wearing the number 4 and 5 jerseys respectively come the 6Nations.
The centre positions are a bit more interesting however. Frankie Sheahan on RTE is adamant at giving Tommy Bowe a chance at 13 whilst moving O'Driscoll to 12. This obviously leaves out Gordon D'Arcy. This would be an intriguing prospect, however I would suggest that D'Arcy wont give up his number 12 shirt so easily and retreat quietly into the night. If you look back over the years when BOD and D'Arcy played well, Ireland played well.
Undoubtedly it was the move of D'Arcy to centre which was the catalyst to Irelands Triple Crown success in 2004 whilst this team were in their prime in 2007 again, a time when the pair were playing scintillating rugby. If you still don't believe me consider Irelands form in 2008 without D'Arcy and their 2009 form with him.
There is one caveat to all that however. In two of Irelands bigger games this year D'Arcy has made two costly errors. Against France and Wales he missed tackles on both Aurelion Rougerie and Mike Phillips which were both crucial factors to losing those games. Essentially at the highest level Ireland cant afford to be making those kind of mistakes. All in all I don't expect to see D'Arcy start come the 6 Nations but certainly it won't be the last we see of him in an Ireland jersey.
Was the World Cup a complete failure? Are we set for dark times ahead? Clearly it's not a simple case of black and white. There are clearly positives and negatives to Irelands World Cup performance and whilst we do need a few new youngsters to rise through the ranks to replace the likes of O'Driscoll and O'Connell we still have the human battering rams that are Sean O'Brien and Steven Ferris alongside the guile of Johnny Sexton and Tommy Bowe to build good foundations upon. Certainly there is enough talent to be challenging at the top of the 6 Nations with the likes of France, Wales and England.
Interesting times lie ahead.
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