American novelist James Lane Allen once wrote that "adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it" – a statement that will carry a certain resonance for the Ireland players and coaching team, individually and collectively, as they try to come to terms with the disappointment of Twickenham.
Ireland dug deep in the second half but that shouldn’t camouflage the threadbare nature of many aspects of the display. Forewarned, based on the last two matches between the countries, they should have been forearmed, but instead looked startled and desperately unsure – something that they only began to shake a little and sporadically in the second half.
Watching beforehand, it was interesting to note the difference in body language between Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell, friends off the pitch, erstwhile Lions teammates and the respective Ireland and England captains.
Farrell’s slightly pinched expression and slow exhale at the end of the anthems suggested tension, while Sexton portrayed a clear-eyed, unsmiling focus. How deceptive appearances proved to be once South African referee Jaco Peyper’s whistle signalled the start of hostilities.
Ireland’s captain was welcomed to Twickenham on 51 seconds as the hulking figure of Manu Tuilagi galloped down his channel, a tactic that England would employ several times in the opening quarter of the match, largely to good effect, particularly on three minutes when he swatted Sexton aside en route to the Irish 22.
The next time Tuilagi came calling he was met by a more robust contact from the Irish captain. The home side, though, were dominating territory and possession, and the cadence of their attack was pitch perfect, identifying where and how they wanted to attack and offering their opponents little respite.
Barrelling along
That nuance could be seen in a beautifully weighted Farrell pass that sent hooker Jamie George barrelling along the touchline. Ireland scrumhalf Conor Murray took the early responsibility for clearing Irish lines, something he did well initially, but Sexton’s sheltered afternoon changed irrevocably on eight minutes.
He read England scrumhalf Ben Youngs’s speculative grubber kick in behind the Irish defence, but a capricious bounce and Sexton forgetting the first rule of sport – “secure the ball first and worry about what you’d like to do it with afterwards” – proved his undoing. George Ford gratefully pounced and England were handed a soft seven points.
A bit likes buses, the issues unfurled in threes for the Irish outhalf as twice on penalty advantage he miscued first a cross-kick and then a “bomb” that came down about four rows into the stand over the dead ball line.
Still, the passage culminated in a penalty, and Sexton was afforded what would ordinarily be a “gentle loosener” 25 metres out and slightly to the left of the posts, perfect for a right-footed kicker. To his horror he snatched at and smothered the effort, hooking it wide.
Youngs rattled the Irish captain with a late tackle and Sexton took a while to get to his feet
If he wasn’t spooked by the try, the nature of the kick would have set him thinking. Not that he had much time as Tuilagi was soon after dispatched down the Irish 10 channel. His unease was symptomatic of the team’s disjointedness, and the performance tics of 2019 resurfaced under pressure, as Ireland went to stationary ball-carriers, box-kicks and wraparounds.
Farrell kept his team playing in the right areas, first with a superb 40-metre penalty kick to the corner and then in doubling down by sending another to the opposite corner, a preamble to England’s second try. Jacob Stockdale was caught ball-watching from Ford’s chip.
Miserable afternoon
Sexton’s miserable afternoon showed no sign of abating; his unsympathetic pass fired at Bundee Aki ricocheted off the centre and back into Sexton’s hands, thereby giving away a penalty as at that point he was in front of Aki. Youngs rattled the Irish captain with a late tackle and Sexton took a while to get to his feet. Farrell’s late penalty gave the home side a 17-0 interval lead.
The Irish captain tried to lead by example, but the core constituents of his game – his kicking (it was noticeable that his restarts lacked purpose and precision), passing and link play – continued to misfire. But, to his credit, he never hid, and it was his clearout from Peter O’Mahony’s surge towards the England line that ensured quick ball and paved the way for Robbie Henshaw to power through Farrell’s tackle. Sexton’s conversion was grouse-like in trajectory.
It hadn’t been a good few minutes for the England captain, who had earlier clung to CJ Stander’s leg with the death grip of a frightened child on the first day of school and was penalised. He missed five out if 15 tackles, and then flung a poor pass to Elliot Daly when a try was in the offing.
When Conor Murray was replaced on 53 minutes, Sexton might have suspected that he would soon follow, and perhaps would have if he hadn’t been captain, but Andrew Conway’s departure for a HIA kept him on the pitch until the final whistle. He abdicated all kicking duties at that point, leaving the line-kicking to Ross Byrne and the conversion of Andrew Porter’s try to John Cooney.
The clamour for change will be considerable but Andy Farrell is too shrewd to be bothered by white noise
He may have been nursing a knock but gamely battled on at inside centre – although he couldn’t shake off those kicking woes, one final overcooked cross-kick summing up his afternoon. Ross Byrne did get some game time and in his preferred role at outhalf, more by accident than design. Only Andy Farrell will know if that would have been the case before his hand was forced.
Below the benchmark
Sexton won’t need to be told that his performance was way below the benchmark he has set but, by the same token, Ireland’s captain has never shirked a challenge in his rugby career.
Ireland’s head coach will have much to ponder before the game against Italy. The influx of young, fresh legs gave the visitors carrying options they didn’t have previously in the game. The clamour for change will be considerable but Andy Farrell is too shrewd to be bothered by white noise.
The key here is accountability in performance terms, and if players and coaches honour that notion then changes will be made because Ireland's display was substandard. And if adversity does indeed reveal character, then Andy Farrell will know a great deal more about his playing resources by the time the Six Nations Championship finishes.
It won’t necessarily be applicable in two weeks’ time but by the time Ireland venture to Paris, everything will have to be put right: players, patterns and performance.
