WHEN it rains, it pours. This was certainly the case for the Irish Development squad in Auckland, and, before departing for the hot pools and sunnier climes of the resort of Rotorua (240 kilometres south east), the squad received one more metaphorical downpour: first-choice out-half David Humphreys is heading home.
Humprheys' "footballer's ankle", first picked up in the Hong Kong Sevens and for which he needed a pain-killing injection to see him through the end of the regular season, may yet require surgery.
It is a blow for the touring party. Though he is a surprisingly brittle mood player, for all his innate talent, Humpherys remains arguably Ireland's most talented player.
Not everything he did came off in the opening defeat to Northland, but he has the sleight of hand, natural skills and creative instincts which are tailor made for Brian Ashton's style of play. He was also place-kicking sweetly, and you can't help but think that this Irish squad has lost its likeliest match-winner - presuming, that is, a win is even within sight.
The loss of the London Irish out-half compounds the loss of Eddie Halvey 24 hours beforehand, of the nine players unavailable before selection along with the original Lions' quartet, and of the six subsequent withdrawals. Of the eight losses to the original party, seven are internationals.
The cupboard is now looking a little bare - particularly in the pivotal out-half position. Manager Pat Whelan yesterday said that neither Paul Burke (due to take holidays in the Caribbean) nor Eric Elwood (work commitments) are available, and with Killian Keane also unavailable, the management have decided not to call up a replacement for the time being.
Instead, they will persevere with the talented Richard Governey, who is coming to terms with his latest conversion from full-back at club level and Ashton's new ways. They believe he will absorb the lessons of Monday, when his wasteful kicking and restarts undermined much else that was positive.
As an alternative, the Young Munster centre Michael Lynch is providing cover at out-half. Accomplished enough footballer that he is, it is perhaps worth recalling that this prospective front-line out-half on this tour was brought as a centre, then left out of the opening two games before making a try-scoring substitute's appearance on the right-wing. Either way, it is asking a lot of both of them.
The same applies to much of this squad, for of the 30 left standing only nine are full internationals. The opening two games have been a salutary eye-opener, and most of them have not as yet been up to it. The pack, especially, cannot live with the pace of the game over here where the rucks and mauls outnumber penalties, scrums and line-outs combined. But the backs could be doing much more. Over here, backs become forwards and vice versa.
Basic skills, such as ball retention in contact, has resulted in waves of recycled attacks, countless missed tackles and, in turn, a hatload of two-on-one tries out wide. Nine tries against the Irish left wing is symptomatic of the post-Geoghegan porousness out there, but it's a cumulative defect.
But Monday night's 74-15 thumping by the Academy may have been the point of no return and, thus, a turning point of sorts. Not only were the management no longer pulling their punches, the tone amongst the players was also noticeably more angry and self-recriminatory.
While admitting that "the younger guys are shell-shocked", Co nor O'Shea denied this tour is now becoming demoralising and, hence, almost self-defeating.
"To be honest, you've two sorts of people. You'll have people who'll take that and be demoralised, and I don't think they're any good to you," he said. "Or you've people who'll take it, learn the lesson and try and come back. And they're the ones you want. If we can get 20 to 25 of them, we're fine."
This is the first step on that painful process, and to that end it seems the players are starting to demand standards of each other - and not just leaving it to Ashton and Whelan. Yesterday's training session on the Rotorua National Stadium back pitch - another sand-based billiard top which would put most main pitches in Ireland or Britain to shame - was the best of the tour.
It was a hard session, with a heavy emphasis on ball retention in contact, whether either going to ground or moving it on. More so than before, players are now demanding fewer errors even in training, and not holding back in their criticisms. They are starting to get angry with themselves.
This tour is perhaps starting to sort out the men from the boys. Gary Halpin's expletive-ridden. end-of-session pep talk caught the mood. It's meaner. No more Mr Nice Guys?
Gone is the talk in between the opening two routs that possibly this tour was a bridge too far. "We are working and we're here to learn," said O'Shea. "I suppose we're learning the harsh lessons. We could go on a tour to Canada or Portugal and win all our matches, or maybe go on a tour like the last development tour, when the standard of opposition wasn't the same, and go back home and think everything is hunky dory.
"And what have we learned except a bit of good press back home? We want that, but we want to succeed. and the only way to get better is to play against this opposition.
Ross Cooper, the Academy coach and All Blacks selector, agrees that Ireland are right to dive in at the deep end. "I think they are doing a marvellous thing. They are coming out here to learn and they showed bits of attacking flair and options. They just haven't got that pace in their game yet and the athleticism that's required to play down here in the Southern Hemisphere. But it will come.
"We're at a huge advantage," Cooper said, "because we are playing that style of rugby all the time, through the Super 12. the tri-series and the Bledisloe Cup. So it's just born and bred in the New Zealand psyche
"Now for Ireland to change that they need to get coaching done at schools' rugby and right down to the bottom to bring that psyche through. You need to get alongside the referees and play advantage and these sort of things. It can be done, and I think they'll learn a lot."
